FARMERS' REGISTiER— STEAMED FOOD— FODDER. 



41 



when it is used in a crude state. For old horses 

 especially, whose teeth being worn are incapahle 

 of effectually grinding the corn which their work 

 may render nece-ssary to their support, and whose 

 powers of digestion are weakened b)" age, this is 

 an incalculable advantage- Being softer than dry 

 food, it is besides more readily consumed, and con- 

 secjuently allows more time for lying down and 

 taking rest, a difference ol' more importance in its 

 favor than may be generally imagined, for a 

 horse takes from three to four hours to masticate 

 a stone [14 lbs.] of hay, but a mash of potatoes of 

 double that weight may be eaten in forty minutes. 

 But lor young and working cattle, in the full en- 

 joyment of their health and strenglh, it may admit 

 of doubt whether the constant use of such soft food 



e^e 



may not wearen the powers of digestion, and relax 

 the tone of their muscular fibre; ibr it lias been 

 found, from vcrj^ careful trials, that, when only a 

 email quantity of roots is given, the health and 

 condition of the animals are improved by giving 

 them in a raw state, as, in that form, they have a 

 kindly effect upon the bowels; and, besides pro- 

 moting the digestion of grain and straw, which 

 they do in a remarkable manner, they impart to 

 the animal an additional degree of life and spirit. 

 In cases, however, where they have formed the 

 cliief article of food, boiling or steaming has been 

 found to possess a more fattening quaHtVj for it has 

 the effect of depriving vegetables of apart of their 

 watery juices, leaving only the farinaceous and 

 other solid portions: thui^ potatoes lose about an 

 eighth of their weight by the evaporation of water, 

 when they are steamed,and about one-sixth of kiln- 

 dried or baked, in which state they are, from the 

 chemical change which they have undergone, more 

 nutritious than when raw. There is, however, 

 very essential difference in the quantity of nutritive 

 matter obtained from varioiis qualities of the potato; 

 for although when dried, the fibrous, or solid 

 matter may be of equal weight, j-ei it has been 

 shown by various experiments that the product of 

 starch, which constitutes the most nutritious por- 

 tion of their substance, varies from one-fiflli to 

 one-seventh of their product.* 

 • The superiority of the method of fattening cattle 

 with food thus prepared has been proved by many 

 experiments; and it is even said, that some post- 

 masters on tlie Western road having, in pursuance 

 of a suggestion of the Bath Agricultund Society, 

 boiled the oats for their horses, and given them 

 the water to drink, have ascertained that a bushel 

 given in that manner will maintain a horse in 

 better condition than two in the common way. t 

 So broad an assertion may well be received with 

 hesitation: yet the experiment is worth a trial; and 

 if used ^\-ith caution, and mixed with a certain 

 quantity of diy food, there can be little doubt that 

 steaming a portion of horse provender, whether 

 mixed with roots or not, will be found an economi- 

 cal plan. Mr. Cunven recommends it to be given 

 warm; and no one at all acquainted with stable 

 management can be ignorant of the comfort of a 

 warm mash to a horse after extraordinary fatigue; 

 it also improves the appearance of the coat, and 

 the seeming condition; but it is not natural to the 

 animal ;and notwithstanding the experience of Mr. 

 Curwen, it may yet be doubted whether, as a con- 



Sir Humphry Davy's Agricultural Chemistiy, p. 128. 



t Mechanic's Magazine, October, 1831. 

 Vol. II.— 6 



stant practice, it would not be too relaxing. At 

 the utmost, the mere chill sholdd be taken off. 



The objections usually urged against steaming 

 are,-the expense, the trouble, and the difficulty of 

 preparing the feeds for several teams* But an 

 o^^ary steam apparatus may be put up for a mere 

 trifle, and food enough for a dozen or twenty horsea 

 be got ready, with little difficulty, in a short space 

 of time, and with a very moderate quantity of fuel. 

 When the cattle are not sufficiently numerous to 

 justify the erection of a steaming-shed, the copper 

 commonly placed in the corner of eveiy wash- 

 house may be replaced by an iron boiler, and used 

 for this purpose. 



J^odder. 



Notwithstanding the numberless experiments 

 Avhich have been lately made on almost every kind 

 of cattle food, and the extensive use of straw as 

 fodder, it is remarkable, that no accurate account 

 has yet been published of the relative proj)ertieg 

 of the different sjjecies. Those writers who have 

 treated the subject the most scientifically yet vary 

 in their estimation of its quahties,* and these are 

 subject to many gradations, according to the soil 

 and season, as well as to the nature of the grain 

 by which it is produced. It is thought that, when 

 grown on gravelly or rich clay soils, it is more 

 valuable as fodder, than when it is reared on black 

 deep loam or cold moorish land; and it is now 

 generally admitted that it possesses more succu- 

 lence when the corn is rather green than when it 

 is in a riper state. It is supposed by many that 

 the straw of wheat is the most nutritive; it certain- 

 ly makes the strongest manure, and is thought to 

 be the best for either steaming or cutting into chaffs 

 Although that of oats is usually preferred, as more 

 soft and more ]:ialatable to cattle, that of barley is 

 so poor and brittle, that it is only employed as 

 litter; it is extremely difficult to save it in any toler^ 

 able degree of order; and, though it has been said 

 to possess more nutriment than that of wheat, yet, 

 when the crop is fully ripe, the ears break off in 

 handling, which has been contended as sufficient 

 proof that it contains but veiy Uttle sap.j Rye- 

 straw is so scarce in all except the northern coun- 

 ties and some parts of Wales, and is in such de- 

 mand for thatching, brickmaking, &c., Xhat it ia 

 but seldom applied to other uses. 



When not allowed to be carried off the premi- 

 ses, the chief value of white straw, for farm pur- 

 poses, lies in its conversion into manure — for al- 

 though it may carrj^ store -cattle through the 

 winter, it will neither fatten them nor enable any 

 animal to work — and its intrinsic worth, for the 

 uses of litter and of occasional feeding, has been 

 estimated by experienced farmers as high as 30s. 

 the ton; J but that calculation was made at a time 

 when all farm produce, and consequently manure, 

 was higher than at present, and it may now be 

 reduced to 20s. Weight for weight, there is a 

 material difference between that and the common 

 price of haj'; but as the same quantity cannot be 

 substituted for hay, either its own proportionate 

 increase of quantity, or the value of any other 



* Professor Von Thaer, Principes Raisonnes d'Agri- 

 culture. Annalesde rAgriculture Francaises. 

 t Scottish Husbandry, pp. 378—386. 



t Sir John Sinclair: Scottish Husbandry, 2d Ed., p. 

 880. Brown, of Markle, Treatise on Rural Aff'airi, 

 vol. i. chap. V. 



