PRINCIPLES OF FEEDING. 33 



roots, chaff, and meal — indeed, much in the same way as if 

 feeding, only the nourishing food in smaller quantities. Those 

 who have good grass and a large proportion, and whose arable 

 land, both from its nature and limited proportions, is not 

 capable of supplying roots to a large extent, will act wisely 

 in not attempting winter feeding, but content themselves with 

 growing and developing the cattle destined for summer grazing, 

 which can be done without roots at all, although a few pulped 

 and distributed through the chaff help the latter down wonder- 

 fully. Winter feeding is an expensive necessity for those who 

 have but little grass, and whose land requires liberal supplies 

 of fold-yard manure. In such cases the problem to be solved 

 is, how to obtain the maximum return at the least cost. Few 

 pretend to say that house feeding can be made to pay per se ; 

 but great will be the advantage if the increase in the animals 

 covers the outlay in food, and we have the manure as our profit, 

 for that represents a very considerable item. We may calculate 

 that during four months (which is about the average time 

 fresh beasts required to be housed) each animal will make 

 from eight to ten yards of manure, which at 6s. a yard — a 

 fair price for such manures — gives a return of from 48s. to 

 60s. per head. Now, we believe that this result can be attained 

 by careful management, and we proceed to sketch out a pro- 

 gramme which we have adopted for some years, and which has 

 proved satisfactory. The forwardest animals are drawn out 

 from the rest, at the period when the lattermath is ready for 

 pasturing. They are supplied, by means of cattle cribs, with 

 a mixture of equal parts of decorticated cotton cake and palm- 

 nut meal, two pounds of each per head, given in the mornings. 

 At first they do not eat this well, picking out the cotton cake, 

 but a few days sufiice to bring them to their food, and they 

 soon let one know if it is not given punctually. Not only does 

 such a mixture supply a large proportion of feeding material, 

 but the rather binding nature of the cotton cake tends to correct 

 the too laxative influence of the grass. According to the state 

 of the weather, these cattle are brought into the yards about 

 the middle of October, and have pulped turnips, chaff composed 

 of a mixture of hay and straw, and 61b. of meal, i.e., 21b. of 

 barley meal added to their previous food. The proportion of 



