Sfl8 FARMERS' REGISTER— RAW OR PREPARED FOOD FOR CATTLE. 



beans each beast per day, the stots on good pur- 

 ple-topped Swedish turnips, and the same quan- 

 tity of bruised beans per day, — we were enabled 

 to make a better selection than we could have 

 done from any lot of lean cattle, because they had 

 then fully begun to display their feeding qualities. 

 Both lots previous to 2dth February were kejjt 

 amongst others in the open court-yard with sufK- 

 cient sheding. 



On being put up preparatory to this experiment, 

 the heifers were divided into two lots of three each, 

 as nearly equal as possible, both in point of weight 

 and apparent feeding qualities, and put into an 

 open court-yard wiht sheds, which had peen di- 

 vided with a railing for the purpose of keeping 

 them separate, and lots were cast to determine 

 which three were to be put on vaw, and which 

 three on the steamed food. 



The same preparatory process was followed 

 with the stots, equally divided, two and two in 

 each lot, — only with this diflerence, that the stots 

 were kept entirely under cover of the sheds, but 

 loose, and having abundance of room -to walk 

 about, with plenty of light and air. 



The heifers were allowed as many purple-top- 

 ped Swedish turnips topped, rooted, properly clean- 

 ed, and cut into pieces, so that they could get them 

 into their mouths, as they could consume, with 3 

 lbs. of bruised beans, anct 20 lbs. of potatoes each 

 beast per day, in addition to the turnips, with half 

 a stone of straw each. 



The stots were allowed as many of the same sort 

 of turnips as they could eat, whh 4| lbs. bruised 

 beans, and 30 lbs. of potatoes each beast per day, 

 with half a stone of straw each. That is to say, 

 the food of the stots and heifers was the same only 

 with this difference, that the stots were allowed 1^ 

 lbs. beans and 10 lbs. potatoes more perbeast than 

 the heifers, each day. 



The mode of preparing the food was steaming, 

 by placing a tub, with holes in the bottom, above 

 a common furnace pot or copper, used for making 

 tlie harvest porridge. The tub was drawn off and 

 on the top of the pot by a block and tackle, attach- 

 ed to a sort of crane for shilling the tub into the 

 position when wanted. The tub used for prepar- 

 jng the food of the three heifers, was in diameter 

 at top 3 feet 1^ inches, at bottom 2 feet 10^ inches, 

 in depth 1 foot 8 inches. The tub was filled as full 

 as it would hold in the first place with turnips, 

 which required from five to seven hours to steam; 

 —the potatoes were put in on the top of the turn- 

 ips, about an hour or three-quarters of an hour be- 

 fore being taken off, when the turnips had fallen so 

 much down or lost bulk sufficient to admit them, — 

 the beans were put in last, from twenty to thirty 

 minutes before being taken of^',— and all three 

 when taken off were thrown into other tubs with a 

 shovel, and well mixed. 



The food for the stots was prepared exactly in 

 the same manner but in a separated tub, at an 

 adjoining farm. The size of this tub was less than 

 the other, being in diameter at top 2 feet 7h inches, 

 at bottom 2 feet 4 inches, and in depth 1 foot 7^ 

 inches. The food in both cases was given to the 

 cattle in wooden stalls or troughs, always properly 

 cleaned once each day. 



Both lots, the cattle on steamed as well as raw 

 food, were fed three times per day, — at day-break, 

 at noon, and lastly an hour before sunset. 

 The bruised beans were given to the loti; on raw 



food at noon, the potatoes one-half in the morning 

 and the other half at noon. 



In both cases, the greatest attention was paid to 

 give both those on raw and those on steamed 

 food as much as they could eat, but no more, so 

 that iheir food might be as nearly as possible eaten 

 up at the times of refeeding, this being, in the 

 o|)inion of the reporter, always a prime considera- 

 tion in every case of feeding, so that the stalls may 

 be always kept clean, and regularly cleared of the 

 refuse. 



A table is annexed of the live-weight of the 

 cattle at the beginning of the experiment, the 

 weight at the expiiy of every month, and the pro- 

 gressive monthly improvement, with the total im- 

 provement in weight during three months; and 

 lastly, their live-weight, when sent away to be 

 slaughtered, — with a comparative statement of 

 their live and dead weights. 



The apparatus for weighing the cattle is simply 

 a common steelj^ard, such as is used at the toll-bars 

 in the county of Edinburgh for weighing carta. 

 The cattle stand on a flat board, which is covered 

 with a little chaff or straw, to prevent the treading 

 of their feet making a noise to frighten them — the 

 board being laid upon blocks of wood, Avhich are 

 put into the frames where the cart-wheels stand, in 

 weighing carts, and elevated just sufficiently high 

 to make the board swim clear of the frame-work of 

 the steelyard. The cattle walk on to the board, 

 which is surrounded on three sides with hurdles or 

 gates, to keep them steady on it during the time 

 they are Aveighing, the servants standing behind 

 at the open end where the cattle enter. With this 

 very simple apparatus, one might engage to 

 weigh ten cattle in as many minutes — the cattle 

 in general going as easily off and on the steelyard 

 as moving a little backwards and forwards on plain 

 ground. 



We very soon discovered that the cattle on the 

 steamed food consumed considerably more turnips 

 than those on the raw food, having laid down for 

 the three heifers on raw food two cart-loads, con- 

 taining together 25 cwt. 1 qr. 14 lbs. of turnips, and 

 at the same time the like quantity for the three 

 heifers on steamed food; but at the end of four 

 days, very few turnips were left to put into the 

 steam-tub, while apparently little more than the 

 half of those laid down for the raw food was con- 

 sumed. We then added another load of 12 cwt. 

 2 qrs. of turnips to the steam, and at the end of 

 seven days, the three heifers on the raw-food had 

 consumed the quantity laid down for them, while 

 the three on steamed-fbod had consumed the same 

 quantity, and very nearly the whole of the addi- 

 tional quantitv of 12^ cwt., at least all but about a 

 half tub, or 250 lbs. of raw turnips; and in order to 

 be very correct, we proceeded to Aveighthe steam- 

 ed turnips which were lef> unconsumed, when we 

 found they only weighed 195 lbs. This circum- 

 stance of the weight being much less than we 

 expected, put us on making a series of experi- 

 ments, of^ the difference of the weight when put in 

 raw and after being steamed, the result of which 

 will be afterwards detailed, and also in ascertain- 

 ing, by a more lengthened experiment, the rela- 

 tive quantities of food consumed by each lot of 

 cattle. 



On this first and short experiment during one 

 Aveek of seven days, the three heifers on raw food 

 had consumed, as before stated, 25 cwt. 1 qr. 14 



