Cultivation of Grafs-Land.-*- Stall-feeding what neceflary in. 



pecially \vhere the crops are drawn and put upon a cfofe fed dry pafture, as 

 great improvement of the land may be effected without the danger of injury by 

 poaching. 



There is another practice often adopted in fattening cattle in the winter, which 

 is that of confining them to the yard, and letting them have their food in troughs 

 or boxes for the purpofe in open fheds. This, though a better method than that 

 juft noticed, is probably, from the (lock being left too much at liberty, lefs advan 

 tageous in the point of fattening than that of wholly confining them to the Malls, or 

 what is ufually KtmtdJldJI-feeding, as by this means they are kept more quiet, and 

 free from interruption, and of courfe feed more quickly, and with greater regula 

 rity ; which feem to be points of great importance in this fyftem of management. 



The fubftances that may be employed in the way of winter fattening animals 

 are very numerous : but the principal of the more fucculent kinds are carrots, 

 parfnips, potatoes, cabbages, turnips, grains, &c.;and of the more dry forts, oil 

 cake, oats, barley-meal, rye-flower, bean-meal, and other limilar materials, with 

 various forts of ftraw cut into chaff by means of machinery. In the application 

 and management of thefe articles, confiderable care is neceflary to enfure their 

 fulled effect. For as the art of fattening, whatever the nature of the animal may be, 

 would feem to depend in a great degree on regularly keeping up the excitement of 

 the fyftem, by theufeoffuitable rich food, to that high pitch that tends towards in 

 direct debility, which is probably the point moft fuitable for inducing reft and a 

 difpofition to fleep, which experience has fhown to be the conditions the moft 

 favourable to the depolition of the fatty material in the cells of the adipofc mem 

 brane ; it is obvious that the fattening procefs may be greatly accelerated or 

 retarded by the method of diftribution that is adopted in refpect to the food. If 

 much nice attention be notbeftowed in this way, great lofs may be quickly fuftained, 

 efpecially where the more expenfive forts of dry food are made ufe of. On the 

 fame principle of promoting the full and equal excitement of the fyftem, it will be 

 of the greateft utility and importance not only to keep the animals warm, perfectly 

 clean in themfelves, and free from all kinds of filth; but alfo their fheds, ftalls, 

 mangers, troughs, or other places from which they take their food : as by fuch means 

 that conftriction of the hide which is the fure indication of their not thriving in a 

 proper manner, may be avoided, and at the fame time that difguft, which probably 

 arifes in confequence of the parts of the food left upon the places where the cattle 

 feed taking on or running into a ftate of fermentation, be prevented ; and of courfe, 



VOL. JI. 4 D 



