396 



MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. 



nothing to do but select them from its food, and 

 by means of the circulation to place them where 

 they are wanted. If your object be, as in the 

 yonng gro'WTng animal, to increase as well as to 

 sustain it you choose those vegetables which 

 contain a large proportion of muscular fibre, or 

 nitrogen and phosphate of lime for the bones, 

 sucb as peas, beans, oats, barley, Sec. IC with a 

 full grown animal, your object be to sustain its 

 condition with an increase of fat. you give those 

 vegetables which contain fat ready formed, as 

 lentils, Indian com. oil-cake, &c. But as you 

 have generally a mixed object in view, namely, 

 to produce bone, muscle, and fat also, you must 

 necessarily give a mixed food — the operations 

 of which I will now explain. The composition 

 of tlje animal and the vegetable world is iden- 

 tically the same, and the latter, wherever we 

 find it, contains in a greater or less degree all the 

 elements of the former. The vegetable world 

 is sustained entirely from inorganic nature, the 

 earth on which we tread, and the atmosphere 

 we breathe, occupying a middle sphere, its 

 v.-hole existence being to collect materials to 

 build up the animal, consequently entirely sub- 

 servient to it. The inorganic world, again. Is 

 composed of a few simple elements, of which 

 hydrosen, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, phospho- 

 rus, sulphur, and some saline substances, as po- 

 tassium, sodium and calcine, form the chief, the 

 very elements of vegetable and animal life. Ge- 

 ology, chemistry, physiology, are therefore es- 

 sential to the right understanding of this subject, 

 bearing ever in mind that the lower are always 

 administering to the wants and necessities "of 

 the higher orders of creation. There is no mo- 

 tion in an animal body, or emotion of mind, but 

 what causes a corresponding absorption of the 

 tis.sues of the body, and In order to keep up this 

 daily waste, a certain amount of food is neces- 

 sary. This is called sustaining the bod}-. Thus 

 cattle working hard require a larger amount of 

 food than when at rest. This necessity being 

 duly attended to. constitutes health. But fatten- 

 ing, gentlemen, is an unnatural condition, and 

 requires an increase of substance. Hence the 

 necessity of unnatural means, as the absence of 

 exercise, light and the influences of the atmo- 

 sphere, a mixed diet 'to bring out all tlie mate- 

 rials of the animal bodj- to the greatest perfec- 

 tion) in a dry. warm .state. Mr. Cltitder^s beau- 

 tiful eJtperiments prored that irarmfh alone 

 with an. animal would produce one-third more 

 Jlexky and at the expense of one-fourth les.i food. 

 Mr. Norton aho proved that the absence ofliaht 

 ^cith warmth produced still greater results. 

 The reason of this is obvious. Ev<»rT,- animal 

 pos.«esses both a nutritive and respiraton.- appa- 

 ratus ; the one to sustain the body, the other to 

 sup port its vitality, by producing heat or warmth. 

 This first object is effected by the gluten in the 

 food principally, the basis of which is nitrogen. 

 The second bv the starch, sugar, and gum. con- 

 tained in the food, which form bile, the basis 

 of which is carbon. Tlie bUe passes into the 

 intestines, where it meets with oxygen, and 

 thus becomes carbonic acid. In this .state it en- 

 ters the circulation, where it meets with perox- 

 ide of iron (which the blood always contains), 

 the carbon unites with the iron, and forms car- 

 bonate of iron. In this state it passes to the 

 lungs, where it meets with fresh oxygen during 

 inspiration, which re-converts the carbon in the 

 carbonic acid, which pa.sses off during expira- 

 tion, while flie peroxide of iron is reformed, and 

 taken back by means of its carriers to be again 



transformed into carbonate. The result of this 

 combustion of carbon is heat. The heat of the 

 animal body is nearly 100 degrees: all food, 

 therefore, before it can be assimilated must be 

 raised to its own temperature, w hich can only 

 bs done by the consumption of carbon, or in 

 other words, food. Potatoes, llnseed-cake, and 

 oleaginous seeds, on account of the starch, su- 

 gar, oil. and gum they contain, are well adapted 

 to accomplish this end. If we reflect for one 

 moment on the immense importance of the liver 

 and lungs in the animal economy, is it not 

 strange to see the score of diseased ones which 

 our shambles are constantly exhibiting ? show- 

 ing the great inattention the farmer pays to the 

 comfort and well-being of his cattle. Fat is a 

 reservoir of carbon for the sj-stem to draw upon 

 for the ptirposes of combustion, in the event of 

 the food not containing a sufficient quantity of 

 the proper elements to keep up animal heat 

 As manure is an important result attending tlie 

 feeding of animals, it may be well to remark 

 that its quantity depends upon the refuse of 

 food, and the amount of absorption going on in 

 an animal's body, or in other words upon its 

 own destruction, thus retumimr to inorganic 

 nature, as food for vegetable life, the elements 

 of its own nature. But the quality depends 

 upon the quantity of nutritious food given to the 

 animal. The young, growing animal requiring 

 increase as well as sustenance, consumes all the 

 nitrogen and fatty matter in its food. The milk- 

 ing cow the same. But In the full-grown, feed- 

 ing animal a large quantity of these ingredients 

 is not consumed : a rich and valuable manure 

 is the result. In choo.sing animals for feeding 

 pmposes, the farmer often exhibits a remarka- 

 ble knowledge of physiognomy. He likes a 

 klndh'-disposed, quiet-looking animal, with sym- 

 metry of carcass ; one built for strength, broad 

 across the back and loins, and long quarters, 

 where large masses of muscles are placed, a 

 narrow and deep chest and " a good handler," 

 or where there is a large quantity of fine, soft 

 hair, with plenty of fatty matter underneath to 

 nouri.sh it Thus furnished, he has only to put 

 into operation the suggestions of science, and 

 the result must necessarily be both profitable 

 and useful. When we see the exten.=ive appli- 

 cation of capital, industry, and science to the 

 manufactures of this country, and the comfort 

 and wealth they produce to thousands of onr 

 fellow-creatures, also the dominant iuflueuce of 

 its interests, threatening the downfall of the 

 British farmer, surely it is time, and ourboanden 

 duty, to unite these same principles, that the 

 abundance of the soil may satisfy both landlord 

 and tenant and be the means, under the bless- i 

 iug of Divine Providence, of producing plenty i 

 of cheap food to the many tliousands of onr 

 wanting fellow-creatures. 



The Ch AiKMAS proposed the health of Messrs. 

 Smith and Wood. 



Mr. Smith reyjlied, and expressed his grati- 

 tude to Mr. Wood for his elaborate exposition 

 of the subject and still hoped to see science and 

 practice combined much more than he had 

 done. . 



Mr. Wood proposed the healtli of the Chair- 

 man, which was received with loud cheers. 



The Chairma.v rose and expressed his grati- 

 tude for the kindly manner in which tliey had 

 drank his health. He would have pone farther 

 into the subject before them had it not been so 

 ablv treated bv gentlemen of practical science^ 

 It was from practical men they must expect 



