PROCEEDINGS OF THE FARMERS' CLUB, 163 



with the head, as ranch as to say, 'Don't you know that this stuff 

 is about as palatable and suitable for horse feed as an ordinary 

 brush-heap ?' Why do the cows give it a smell and pass by on 

 the other side in pursuit of something better, if it is already the 

 most nutritious and suitable ? Does the conversion of the succu- 

 lent juices of the grass into woody fiber fit and prepare it for 

 digestion and assimilation ? If not, why should we let it mature 

 because our fathers did so ?" So far as we can judge, this is a 

 question of appetite, not nutriment. We see daily evidence in 

 the human family where appetite is gratified at the expense of 

 health, nutrition, and economy. It is not quite certain that the 

 instinct or reasoning faculties of dumb brutes teach them what 

 kind of food to eat to promote the interests of their owners. 



Mr. A. R. Goodrich, Centralia, Boone Co., Mo., gives a detailed 

 statement of his experience in favor of not cutting timothy until 

 fully ripe. He is sure that it then contains much more nutriment 

 than when cut ffreen. 



Mr. T. A. Larzelere, Columbus, N. J. : "Timothy cut at that 

 time you will find far softer and more desired by the horse than 

 that cut two weeks earlier. Timothy cut before the blossom, for 

 cows, is a great waste ; it is exclusively a horse ha}''. Be kind 

 enough to try and suggest the same to some of your trustworthy 

 friends, and in time you will add millions by saving in your State, 

 and the horse, if he could speak, would bless you." 



Improved Roofing. 

 Mr. H. W. Johns exhibited specimens of his improved roofing. 

 He employs a strong canvas as a foundation, which is well satu- 

 rated with pine tar and afterward coated with durable water-proof 

 material, composed mainly of gum of several kinds, which is not 

 so offensive as the coal-tar cement roofing. The roof can be made 

 white, if desirable. That color is eminently superior to a dark 

 color for roofs, especially in the summer, as a dark-colored roof 

 will absorb much more heat than one painted with a light color. 

 The attic rooms of a dark-colored roof, in hot weather, will always 

 be much more uncomfortable to the occupants than if the roof 

 were painted white. On the same principle, shingles will not 

 wear so long if painted black as when painted white or some light 

 color, which will reflect a much larger proportion of the solar boat 

 than black paint. 



