THE HOG. 411 



To these observations on the keep and fatting of horned cattle, 

 horses, and hogs, I would gladly have added remarks of like extent 

 on the growth and fattening of sheep ; unfortunately, I have only 

 been able to obtain very imperfect information on this branch of 

 rural economy. I have, however, sought to ascertain approximately 

 the relations which exist between the weight of a young animal, the 

 food consumed, and the increase in live weight, by means of the fol- 

 lowing experiment : 



Two sheep six months old weighed together 184.2 lbs. 



Sixteen days afterwards they weighed. 151.8 



Total increase 17.6 



Increase per day, per head 0.55 



In the sixteen days the two sheep ate : 



Hay 22.0 = TIay 22.0 



Potatoes 53.3 = Hay 16.9 



38.9 



Or per head in hay 19.45 



Or per head per day . — 1.21 



This would give us about 2.9 of hay provender per cent, of the 

 live weight, so that a ration which should be represented by 100 of 

 hay would be followed by an increase on the weight of a sheep of 

 six' months old of 27.7 per cent. 



^ VI. OF THE PRODUCTION OF MANURE. 



The forage consumed on the farm being the source of the manure 

 produced there, it would seem that it must be easy to calculate the 

 value of all that comes from the stables and cow-houses day after 

 day. I do not mean the mass or weight of the dejections here, for 

 it is certain that the more or less w^atery nature of the food mate- 

 rially influences the weight of the dung produced; and if a common 

 iiiode of calculating the quantity of dung by merely multiplying the 

 weight of food consumed by three be correct in some cases, it is 

 very far from the truth in others. 1 he dung produced on the farm 

 must be calculated on different grounds from this ; and without pre- 

 tending to any degree of accuracy which is really unattainable, it is 

 still very possible to get at the quantity of azote which is contained 

 in the litter and in the dejections, so as to be able to refer to a stand- 

 ard the quantity of manure made. 



Were not the azotized principles of the food partly exhaled by 

 animals, the whole quantity not appearing in the excretions, it is ob- 

 vious that it would suffice to have ascertained the quantity of azote 

 contained in the food, to be in a condition to decide on that con- 

 tained in the dung adde-d to the litter. But this cannot be done ; to 

 be convinced of the fact, it is enough to take the least complex case, 

 that of a full-grown liorse, receiving as his allowance per day : 



Hay 22 lbs. containing 1775.3 grains of azote. . 



Oats ...•;. 11 " 13S9.4 



Straw 11 " 308.7 



Litter 8.8 " IDS.O 



Azote 85S1.4 



