FEEDING STOCK, 39 



Art. XII.— feeding STOCK. 



On the use of Prepared Food in feeding Cattle. 

 By Professor Johnston. 



[The following Lecture was delivered at the meeting of the Agricultural 

 Chemistry Association at Inverness. The Professor commenced by ob- 

 serving that no district was more interested in the feeding of cattle than 

 that of Inverness. As a cattle-exporting district, the extension of sound 

 information in regard to the economical use of food, must be of the greatest 

 importance. He proceeded to prove the interest that was being awakened 

 on this subject, by the variety of implements having a bearing upon it 

 exhibited at the recent cattle show at Newcastle.] 



Amongst these lie found cliaff-cutters, a, peculiar machine 

 for crusliing- corn and other seeds, and other instruments — 

 all showing' how much regard was being paid to this subject 

 by practical men. There was no doubt but that the subject 

 of the quantity of food which cattle required to produce a 

 certain weight of beef was beginning to attract g'eneral 

 attention ; and before he entered upon the few points which 

 he meant to notice in connection W'ith this question, perhaps 

 it would be necessary to explain, shortly, the general com- 

 position of food. In all kinds of bread, there were contained 

 three different kinds of matter. First of all, there was a 

 certain quantity of fat, which the butter they ate repre- 

 sented. Secondly, there w-as a certain amount of sugar j 

 and then there was besides, the third constituent, which was 

 represented by the white of an egg-. Wow it was of the 

 very greatest importance what description of food was used, 

 and what proportion it contained of those three kinds of 

 matter, as bearing tipon the jnu-pose it w'as intended to serve. 

 Cattle had in their bodies different forms of matter also, but 

 particularly flesh and fat ; and the farmer should be suffi- 

 ciently accjuainted with the nature of food, to be able to 

 distinguish what he should use when he wished to produce 

 fat, or when he wished to produce fat and lean both to- 

 g-ether ; and the food which was given would eflect the one 

 or the other of those purposes, according- to its composition. 

 The white of an egg-, or albumen, would supply nothing, or 

 nearly so, to the animal but muscle. Then the fat went 

 directly to form fat. The starch in food kept the body 

 warm, and when fat was wanted, sex'ved the purpose of 



