DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 718 



long been famous for its fat cattle, but the 47 head now standing in the stablea 

 of Geo. W. Jones, at Deerfield, Mass., go a little ahead of anything yet seen in 

 the county. They are all Durhams (see mention made of them, following what 

 is said of the Jerseys, as the Best Cows. The question may be considered yet, 

 as an open one — awaiting further discussion, and to be somewhat governed by 

 circumstances, after all that may be said upon the subject); great fellows, so 

 large they can hardly move themselves, the heaviest yoke weighing 4,600 lbs., tho 

 next 4,400, and the whole averaging over 4,000 per yoke. They are fed 8 qts. a 

 day each of meal and bran, and all the hay they want; water is supplied to their 

 mangers in pipes. Those now in stall will be taken to Boston about Christmas, 

 when Mr. Jones will stock up for the winter, his usual supply being 80 to 90 

 cattle, 600 to 700 sheep, and about a dozen horses. Last year he cut about 350 

 tons of hay, all of which, and about 75 tons more, he fed out. The cattle are 

 kept in a sub-basement of the barn which has to be well ventilated during the 

 winter, else it would become oppressively warm from the number of cattle con- 

 fined there. Jones puts upon his own land, which lies along the west bank of 

 the Connecticut river for half a mile, all the manure from his stock, raising 13 

 or 14 acres of heavy tobacco every year, for which he gets prices considerably 

 above that paid for tobacco grown by patent fertilizers. In fact, he is one 

 farmer who has found out how to make farming pay." 



Remarks. — Now, then, suppose Mr. Jones did this without cutting hia 

 hay (having machines for that purpose), and without scalding his meal (which, 

 of course, he did not, otherwise it would have been mentioned), and, again, 

 without the addition of the molasses, as given in the next item, whereby time, 

 And consequently that much of the feed would have been also saved, any one 

 can see, at a glance, how much better it would have paid if all these plans had 

 been known and adopted, as every one can do, hereafter, thanks to Dr. Chase. 



3. Fattening Cattle, to Give Appetite.— The following item, 

 with which we shall close the question of fattening cattle, is a quotation from 

 iStewarVs Prize Essay upon feeding and fattening stock, which is so unique, i. e., 

 so unlike anything else I have ever seen upon the subject, and yet, is so appar- 

 ently reasonable, to say the least, I cannot do better than to quote what he says 

 in his essay, as to the use of molasses in fattening stock, by which he claims a 

 great saving in time, and consequently a saving of the additional food that 

 would be required for the longer period required to fatten them, if the molasses 

 was not used. It is intended to be understood, no doubt, that by using molasses 

 with 8 or 10 times as much water with it, to moisten the dry food, they will 

 eat more of it, and consequently fatten in less time than if the molasses was 

 not given. His ideas about cooking food is also worthy of consideration, espe- 

 cially in fattening stock. The item is as follows: 



"In fattening animals time is often a matter of importance to the feeder. 

 Sometimes a month gained is equal to 20 per cent, greater weight at a later 

 period. Cooking food renders its constituents more soluble and digestible, 

 therefore more rapidly entering on flesh an fat. As a condiment and appetizer 

 for fattening animals, molasses has no equal. A small quantity of sweet, upon 

 hay, will cause a larger quantity to be eaten with a relish. We have often tried 

 molasses upon poor animals with great satisfaction. A poor horse wiU show a 



