FARMERS' REGISTER— FOOD FOR MILCH KINE. 



557 



and may prove a useful hint to those who are at a 

 distance Irom the coast, in regard to the employ- 

 ment of common salt. 



Tiie use of salt for various agricultural ]iurposcs 

 to which it could be profitably applied has hitherto 

 been prevenicdby the heavy duly on its consump- 

 tion. That impediment is now, however removed ; 

 and it may, therefore, be expected to become an 

 object of serious attention to ev^ery one engaged in 

 husbaridr)', and more particularly of tliosc en- 

 gaged in the management of cattle ; some of the 

 advantages of its application to which stock may 

 be thus enumerated : — 



I. It restores the tone of the stomach when im- 

 paired by excess in other food, and corrects the 

 crudity of moist vegetables and grasses in a green 

 state. 



II. It helps digestion, keeps the body cool, by 

 which many disorders arc prevented; and it de- 

 stroj's botts. 



III. It renders interior food palatable; and is 

 so much relished by cattle, that tiiej^ seek it with 

 eagerness, in whatever state it may be found, and 

 hav-e been rendered so tame by its use, that if they 

 i«tray from their pasture, they v/ill return at the 

 usual time for their accustomed allowance. 



I V^. When given to cows, it increases the quan- 

 tit}^ of their milk, and has a material effect in cor- 

 recting the disagreeable taste it acquires from tur- 

 nips. 



It has, in fact, been long used for cattle of all 

 descriptions iu the East Indies, in America, and in 

 various parts of Europe, and among other expe- 

 riments of its efiects that have been tried in this 

 country, is one recorded l)y Mr. Curwen, who 

 employs it largely at his extensive farms, and who 

 gave it from the 19th November, 1817, to the 3rd 

 February, 1818, to his stock, in the following pro- 

 portions, viz.: 



Stocli. 

 Cov/s andbreedmg heifera 

 Young and fat cattle 

 Working oxen 

 Heifers and young oxen 

 Youncp calves 



Number. Clujintity. 



40 4 oz. 



43 3 " 



18 4 " 



21 2 " 



20 1 " 



During v/hich time they remained in the highest 

 health.* 



Steamed chaff may also be given to milch cows 

 with great advantage. Mr. Curwen, whose judi- 

 cious zeal ibr the improvement of agriculture is 

 too well known to require any eulogy, uses a 

 steam boiler of 100 gallons contents.f on each 

 eide of which are fixed three boxes, containing 

 eleven stone each of chaff, (cut hay and straw, 

 with the husks of corn,) Avhich, by bemg steamed, 

 ffains more than one-third of its original weight. 

 The steam is conveyed by various stop cocks into 

 the lower part of the boxes ; and thus two or three 

 boxes may be steamed at the same time ; the 



* See the .\ppendix to Sir John Sinclair's Code of 

 Agriculture, p. 43. 



t An engraving of it is given m the 30th volume of 

 the Transactions of the Society of Arts, from which it 

 obtained the lesser gold medal. See also, for various 

 observations on steaming, together with plates, the 

 publication termed " British Husbandry,''' in the 

 Farmer's Series of the Library of Useful Knowledge, 

 p. 129. 



quantity of fuel required is about two lbs. fcjrcaoh 

 stone of chaff. 



In giving the steamed chaff to the cattle, two 

 lbs. of oil-cake arc mixed with one stone of cliiiff ; 

 and the milch cows and oxen are fed with it morn- 

 ing and evening, having an allowance of one 

 stone at each time. On being taken from the 

 steamer, the food is put into wooden boxes, which 

 are mounted on wheels, to be drawn to the place 

 where it is intended to be used ; and the chaff re- 

 quires to stand some time before it is fit for use. 

 Jlr. Curwen estimates the daily cost of food for 

 each cow as follows : 



Pence. 

 Chaff, two stone, steaming, &c. 1 

 Oil-cake, four pounds 4 



One cwt. of" turnips 4 



Wheat straw 1 



Total 



10 



The average of nnilk on a stock of thirty-six 

 milch cows, was nearly 13 wine quarts for 320 

 days ; which was sold at 2d. per wine quart. The 

 calves brought from £2 to £5 for rearing. The 

 produce is stated by Mr. Curwen to be nearly 

 half clear profit, estimating the manure as equal to 

 the calves. The cows were never suffered to be 

 turned out ; and to prevent their being lame, their 

 hooves were properly pared, and they stood with 

 their fore feet on claj'. One great advantage at- 

 tending this method was, that most, if not all the 

 milch cows were in such a condition that, with a 

 i^ew weeks' feeding after they were dr3', they be- 

 came fit for the shambles, with very little loss 

 from the first cost. As a substitute for chaff and 

 oil-cake, Mr. Curwen recommends cut hay; 

 which, when steamed, would make a much supe- 

 rior food, and he entertains no doubt would greatly 

 augment the milk, as well as benefit the health 

 and condition of the animals. Of this there can 

 be little question ; for straw, or even the corn- 

 husk, which is said to contain more nutriment, can 

 add but little to the product of milk : it may keep 

 store animals from starving, but it will never im- 

 prove their flesh ; and it may be received as an 

 axiom, in feeding all animals, that the value of 

 the food is in proportion to the quantity of nutri- 

 tive matter contained inits component parts. Bulk 

 is also necessary to sustain the action of the 

 stomach ; but it serves no other purpose. 



Mr. Curwen gives cooked food from October to 

 June, nearly eight months out of twelve, and his 

 plan of treatment has been adopted by several 

 farmers in different parts of the kingdom, with the 

 most complete success : it is also partially prac- 

 tised in the Isle of Man, where the cottagers have 

 long been in the habit of pouring boiling wafer on 

 the chaff with which they winter-feed their cows;* 

 as well as in some parts of Scotland. Pea-meal 

 is also fjivenby some Scotch dairy-men, by whom 

 it is said that '' no food is found to produce so much 

 effect." The following method of preparing it, 

 combined with chaff and turnips, as customary at 

 Kyle, in Ayrshire, which we copy from a recent 

 publication, seems to merit particular attention : — 



" Take a bushel of chaff and eight or ten sound 

 yellow or Swedish turnips, having the tops and 



Agricultural Survey of the Isle of Man, p. 109. 



