188 THE POTATO. 



ing into the account their improved condition and capa- 

 bility for work. Professor Lamb says that 151bs. of pota- 

 toes yield as much nourishment as four pounds and a-half 

 of oats. Von Thayer asserts that three bushels are equal 

 to 1121b. of hay; and Curwen, who tried potatoes exten- 

 sively in the feeding or horses, says that an acre goes as 

 far as four acres of hay. A horse fed on potatoes should 

 have his quantity of water materially curtailed." But 

 the tubers nowadays are far cheaper than when these emi- 

 nent authorities wrote, and the steaming apparatus is 

 cheaper too. Personally, we consider cooking almost 

 essential, for reasons we will show by and by. 



For Cattle Feeding;. We find in South Lancashire, 

 in the great potato-growing districts, that potatoes are 

 used a good deal for dairy cows, particularly by farmers who 

 serve milk to the important towns there studded so thickly 

 about at least that is so in plentiful seasons. And food 

 that is good enough for such stock undoubtedly contains 

 value for other bovines. Again, in the fen districts and in 

 Devon and Cornwall, we find that the crops are in certain 

 seasons largely used for milking cows, say when the aver- 

 age price on the farm does not run to above 2 per ton 

 for the heavier yields and coarser sorts. 



How to Serve to Horses and Cattle. The 



tubers should be cleaned and steamed or boiled, and served 

 whole while warm with chaff to cows. A peck, or, say, 

 three gallons is a fair daily allowance for an average dairy 

 cow, but more is often served if the supply be not limited. 

 Lots of farmers feed the tubers raw, probably more than 

 cooked, but in such cases the starch therein is less digesti- 

 ble; and this starch is not only the principal constituent 

 of the tuber, even to the tune of 60 per cent., but it is the 

 most nutritious. So you may serve raw, and the potato 

 will be no more useful than turnips; but when steamed 

 or boiled it is more than doubly as nutritious as any other 

 root. 



