310 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



ter to throw beanstalks under cattle, a practice 

 which cannot be too speedily abolished. Aline had 

 suffered much by standing out full a month in the 

 late rainy weather, yet all my cattle ate the chaff 

 from them alone, without hesitation ; indeed, rath- 

 er in preference." 



On page 400 of the same volume of the Massa- 

 chusetts Agricultural Repository and Journal, is 

 the statement by Benjamin Hale, of the saving 

 made by the use of the straw cutter employed to 

 cut hay and straw as fodder for horses. 



Mr. Hale was a proprietor of a line of stages 

 then running between Newburyport and Boston. 

 He says : 



"The whole trhiount of hay purchased from April 1 to Octo- 

 ber I, 1816, (six months.) and used iit the stage stable, was 

 32 tons 4 cwt. 10 lbs., at $2t per ton, (the lowest price 



at which hay was purchased by him in 1816,) is... $800,00 

 From October 1, 1816, to April 1, 1817, whole amount 

 of hay and straw purchased for and consumed by 

 the same number of horses, viz : 



Straw, 16 tons 13 cwt. 3 qrs.10 lbs $160,23 



Hay, 13 tons 4 cwt 1 qr. 10 lbs 350 00 $510,23 



Deduct on hand April 1, 1817, by estimation, 4 tons 



more than there was Oct. 1, 1816, at $25 100 410,23 



Saving by the use of a Straw Cutter 4 months of the 

 last 6 months, or the difference in expense in 

 feeding with cut fodder and that which is uncut. . 389,77 

 Whole amount of hay used for the horses of the Sa- 

 lem stage, twenty-five in number, from April 1 to 

 October 1, 1816 -22 tons at $30 per ton, the low- 

 est price in Salem 660 



Whole amount consumed by the same number of 

 Horses from October 1, 1846, to April 1, 1817, — 



Straw, 15 tons 13 cwt 187,80 



Hay, 2 tons 15 cwt 81 268,80 



Saving in using chopped fodder 5 months 391,20 



Total saving in using the straw cutter in Newbury- 

 port four months 389,77 



Do. at Salem five months 381,20 



Total saving in both places, average time 4| months, $780,97 



"The member of the board of Trustees of the 

 Massachusetts Agricultural Society, to whom the 

 above account was communicated by Mr. Hale, 

 was informed by that gentleman that he used no 

 more grain from October, 181G, to April, 1817, 

 than was used from April, 1816, to Oct., 1816." 



It will readily be perceived that the large amount 

 of saving reported in this statement is greatly in- 

 creased by the extreme high price of hay, during 

 that year of scarcity. The saving of the last six 

 months, over the former six months, although the 

 cutter was in use but three-quarters of the time, 

 i3 53 per cent. Much of this saving is effected by 

 the substitution of straw for hay, and a reduction 

 in the quantity. 



The quantity of hay used in Newburyport from 

 April 1 to October 1, 1816, is 72,138 lbs.; from 

 October 1, 1816,^ to April 1, 1817, is 37,390 lbs. 

 straw and 20,636 lbs. hay, being less in weight by 

 19i per cent.; ami reduce the straw to its equiva- 

 lent value in hay, and it would be 6129 lbs., mak- 

 ing the whole equal to 26,765 lbs. of hay, less 

 than of the preceding six months by 64 per cent, 

 in its nutritive properties. 



The quantity of hay used in Salem from April 1 

 to October 1, 1816, was 49,280 lbs.; from October 

 1, 1816, to April 1, 1817, was straw 35,056 lbs., 

 and 6160 lbs. hay ; whole weight 41.216 lbs., be- 

 ing less in weight for the last 6 months hy 17 1-4 

 per cent., anil reduce the straw to its equivalent 

 value in hay, which would be equal to 5763 His., 

 and it would then be as hay 1 1 ,923 lbs. ; less in 

 value as hay for the making of muscle by 75 3-4 

 per cent, for the last six months, than for the for- 

 mer six months. 



It would be extremely difficult to conjecture how 

 so largo a saving could be effected by the use of 



the cutter, without a very lar^e allowance for 

 waste during the first period. It is probable that 

 the grain furnished all the nutriment required by 

 the horses, and the straw was only wanted to fill 

 up the stomach, for which it was as useful as hay. 



It is much to be regretted that in this statement 

 of Mr. Hale, all thefacts in the case are not given; 

 the horses should have been weighed at the com- 

 mencement and at the close of the term of trial, and 

 their relative condition might have been known ; 

 the quantity and quality of the grain, and the man- 

 ner in which it was given, should have been stated, 

 that the public might have the whole evidence in 

 the case, on which they might have formed their 

 own opinion. It might have appeared upon more 

 careful examination, that these horses for at least 

 a portion of the time were overfed, and that much 

 of the food given them passed through them in an 

 undigested state, and of course was of no benefit 

 to them, or in other words was wasted. It is dif- 

 ficult on any other conjecture to account for the 

 great difference on the two sides of the account. 

 It is not intended to intimate that Mr. Hale inten- 

 tionally withheld any facts within his knowledge ; 

 he doubtless stated all the circumstances of which 

 he was informed by those in his employ, and find- 

 ing that his savings had been so great, he was dis- 

 posed to give the public the benefit of the informa- 

 tion, supposing it to be as full as could be expect- 

 ed. 



This statement of Mr. Hale has been copied in- 

 to many of the agricultural papers with remarks 

 of approval, which has occasioned disappointment 

 on the part of those who have adopted the use of 

 the cutter and have not realized so great benefits, 

 as by this account they were induced to expect. 

 For these reas ins, we have been disposed to exam- 

 ine it more particularly, that farmers might be in- 

 duced fully to inquire into all the circumstances 

 belonging to a case before they form a conclusion 

 either for or against it. 



In the New England Farmer, vol. 12, page 233, 

 is the following communication. 



"Beverly, Jan. 25, 1834. 

 "Mr. J. R. Newell: — Dear Sir, — It is with 

 pleasure that I comply with your request, asking 

 the result of 1113' experience on the subject of feed- 

 ing stock. My stock consists of 51 head, viz : 8 

 horses, 6 oxen, 25 cows and two yearlings. This 

 stock was fed in the usual way, with English, salt 

 and fresh meadow hay, with meal and potatoes as 

 their condition required, to the 1st of December 

 last, at which time I commenced chopping my hay. 

 In giving the result of my experiment 1 must in 

 some measure ask the privilege of a Yankee, viz., 

 that of guessing ; but in this case I think lean 

 guess pretty correctly, as much of the hay has 

 been loaded in consequence of having to remove it 

 from one barn to the other, and calculating the 

 number of days a load would last, the result is as 

 follows : 



700 lbs. English hay, at $16 per Ion $5,60 



200 lbs. fresh bay, at 4 " 40 



100 Ins salt hay, at S :l 40 



3 bushels corn meal 2,25 



8, " long red potatoes 1,60 



$10,25 per day. 



400 lbs. English hay chopped, at $16 per ton.. 3,20 



100 His. fresh bay, at $4 per ton 20 



100 lbs. salt hay, at 8 " 40 



3 bushels corn meal 2,25 



4 "• long red potatoes chopped..., 60 



140 gallons pure water •■ 00 



