356 AMERICAN CATTLE. 



proportions, to supply them three times a day, as much as they 

 will eat. The whole of the materials are moistened and blended 

 together, and, after being well steamed, are given to the animals 

 in a warm state. The attendant is allowed one to one and a 

 half pounds per cow, according to circumstances, of bean* meal, 

 which he is charged to give each cow, in proportion to the yield 

 of milk; those in full milk getting two pounds each per day, 

 others but little. It is dry, and mixed with the steamed food on 

 its being dealt out separately. Bean straw, uncooked, is dry and 

 unpalatable; by the process of steaming, it becomes soft and 

 pulpy, emits an agreeable odor, and imparts flavor and relish to 

 the mess. In albuminous matter, which is especially valuable 

 for milk cows, it has nearly double the proportion contained in 

 meadow hay. Bran undergoes a great improvement in its flavor 

 by steaming, and is probably improved in its convertibility as 

 food. Rape cake has a large proportion (nearly thirty per cent.) 

 of albumen, rich in phosphate and oil. * * * During May, 

 my cows are turned out on a rich pasture near the homestead; 

 towards evening they are again housed for the night, when they 

 are supplied with a mess of steamed mixture and a little hay, 

 each morning and evening. I have cooked, or steamed food for 

 several years, and my experience of its benefits is such, that if I 

 were deprived of it, I could not continue to feed with satisfac- 

 tion.' 



"Mr. Mechi, near London, England, has practiced cutting and 

 steaming straw, mixed with materials similar to Professor Hors- 

 fall. He estimates straw worth about ten dollars per ton, to feed 

 after steaming. His experiments have been quite extensive, and 

 the results most favorable to cooking food. His practice has net 

 generally obtained yet in England, but it is constantly extending, 



*This is the English "horse bean" a Tery different article from our American 

 field bean which our climate does not well produce. L. F. A. 



