COTTON-SEED MEAL. 85 



the other hand, I have known certainly hundreds of cases where 

 it has been fed with perfect satisfaction and with the best results. 

 I think there must have been some special causes, in those cases 

 where the result has been unsatisfactory, which were not, per- 

 haps, apparent. I alluded, when speaking of the subject yester- 

 day, to the reputation of cotton-seed meal in England, wiiere Dr. 

 Voelcker has investigated the nutritive qualities of cotton-seed 

 meal as compared with linseed meal ; and I know it has been 

 used there with great success. In a few cases objection was 

 made, and those cases were investigated by Dr. Voelcker and 

 other thoroughly competent scientific men, and it was ascer- 

 tained, upon getting at the facts, that the objectionable effects 

 resulted from feeding undecorticated cotton-seed. It was found 

 that the hulls collected in a large lump in the stomach, and of 

 course threw the stomach out of order. In every instance that 

 has come to my knowledge where any objection has been made, 

 the injury has resulted from feeding cotton-seed meal which has 

 not been decorticated, or from feeding it in too large quantities, 

 or what might be termed injudicious feeding. 



I merely rose to state that I think we should not draw gen- 

 eral conclusions from one, two or three cases ; that the subject 

 is worthy of more careful experiment and investigation ; and 

 that, before we condemn cotton-seed meal, we should wait until 

 we have a larger number of experiments ; for so far as I have 

 heard of its use, in hundreds of instances, at least, the result 

 has been satisfactory. 



I think we have upon the Board one of the largest feeders in 

 the State, and I would like to hear what his experience has 

 been. It has been suggested that we cannot feed beef cattle in 

 Massachusetts. I understand he has eighteen head of beef 

 cattle feeding now. 



H. S. Porter, of Hatfield. In regard to cotton-seed meal, I 

 have been using it for the last ten years with very great success, 

 not only for dairy purposes, but more especially for fattening 

 purposes. I have used it in small quantities — three quarts a 

 day, mixed with Indian meal and shorts, and I have found it 

 very beneficial ; so much so, that I continue to use it, and I 

 have never perceived any bad effects from it. I once thought 

 I lost a very nice calf, that I proposed to push pretty hard, by 

 over-feeding with cotton-seed meal ; but for fattening purposes, 



