414 



NEW ENGLAND FARRIER. 



Sept. 



planted with compost is up and looks finely, that 

 planted -with guano is destroyed "root and branch ;" 

 some of it came up, but soon withered, and on ex- 

 amination I found the root eat off or killed, and 

 the kernel turned black. I could see no difference 

 in the effect of the fermented or dry, both retaining 

 the same killing qualities, I have no doubt but a 

 judicious application, with a knowledge of its char- 

 acter would have shown a different result. 



Bolton, VL, June, 1856. i. R. J. 



ing the animals themselves, to establish the true, 

 unmistakable comparative value of different species 

 of food. Something of the kind has been done, 

 but not enough to establish what is desired. As it 

 is, we can only give our correspondent the tables as 

 established by chemists in their analyses — and we 

 will here copy that of Boussingault — by w])ich it is 

 stated that 100 lbs. of hay may l)e replaced by 



Bran 85 lbs. 



Oats 68 lbs. 



Bark'y 65 lbs. 



Indian Corn 59 lbs. 



Rve 77 lbs. 



Linseed Cake 22 lbs. 



Beans 23 lbs. 



COMPARATIVE VALUE OF DIFFERENT 

 KINDS OF FOOD. 



The careful study of the prices of substances 

 used as food, and their relative value, is a matter 

 too much neglected by most farmers. It is a study 

 incumbent on the farmer — doubly so at the present 

 time, in view of the high prices of all kinds of 

 grain and fodder. We commend the careful peru- 

 sal of the following article upon this subject, cop- 

 ied from the Maine Farmer. It will be found spe- 

 cially applicable at the present time, to western far- 

 mers. The time has been, since we have been a 

 resident of the West, when it mattered but little 

 what kinds of food cattle were wintered on, or how 

 much they consumed. Corn found a slow market 

 at from 15 to 18 cents per bushel, payable in "cats 

 and dogs" — wheat, 31 cents; hay, $2,50 per ton, 

 &c. But the time has come when the western 

 farmer should acquire the best economy in feeding 

 his stock. 



"Will you please insert, if convenient, the com- 

 parative value of corn with good hay, for feeding ' /^'"j^j^q e^p^g/of 

 store cattle? There are various opinions in regard i^^ 22 lbs of hav ") 

 to it. Some think ten bushels worth a ton of hay. ^^ - ^^ *^f 1,^,) \'h. 



"There are no certain data, as yet, by which a 

 very certain comparative value of the different 

 kinds of feed can be given. It is true that some 

 very excellent tables have been given by different 

 chemists, who have labored long and diligently in 

 analyzing the substances named, and ascertainin 



Peas 27 lbs. 



Potatoes 230 lbs. 



Carrots 382 lbs. 



Wheat Straw 426 lbs. 



Oat Straw 383 lbs. 



Barley Straw 460 lbs. 



Pea Straw 64 lbs. 



The editor of the Genesee Farmer, (Dr. Lee,) 

 who is exceedingly well "posted up," as the saying 

 is, in these matters, says there can be no doubt that 

 100 lbs. of ground corn meal mixed with the re- 

 quired bulk of cut straw, will be of more avail in 

 sustaining animal life, during the winter, than any 

 other food that can be obtained at the same price. 



In commenting upon the above table, the same 

 writer observes, that, if this table of equivalents 

 can be relied upon, it appears that 100 lbs. of hay 

 is equal to 426 lbs. of wheat straw, and that 22 

 lbs. of oil cake is equal to 100 lbs. of hay, 68 lbs. 

 of oats, 85 lbs. of bran, &c. Boussingault found 

 that his 17 horses, averaging 1070 lbs. each in 

 weight, ate and did well on a ration of 33 lbs. of 

 hay per day, working eight hours regularly every 

 day. To obtain the same amount of nutritious 

 food in straw, a horse must eat 165 lbs. of the 

 straw per day — a feat which he is incapable of per- 

 forming. But if we give him 30 lbs, of straw, 

 " hay,) 5 lbs. of oil cake, (equal 

 and 3 lbs. of corn meal, (equal 

 to 5 lbs. of hay,) he will receive the same amount 

 of nourishment, and in about the same bulk, while 

 the cost of wintering him in this way would be con- 

 siderably reduced. 



By carefully studying, sajs he, the prices of sub- 

 stances used as food, and their relative value, most 

 farmers may save co;isiderable expense in keeping 



the_ ingredients of which they are composed, and;^^^^:^. ^^[^^1,^^,^^ ],,. ,anti„g them, (no farmer can 

 their proportions in every hundred pounds. y.^^^ ^^.^^s ^^^ , -^^^ ^^^^ ^{^j^j^ contains the 



Ihese are undoubted y correct, and show the ^^^^ nutriment for them at a given cost." 

 comparative amounts oi this or that ingredient; and 



hence a general estimate may be made of their 

 comparative value as feed. It must be remembered, 

 however, that these estimates are only approxima- 

 tions to the truth, and not real truths. The reason 

 is, because ,the stomach of different animals are 

 formed differently, on purpose to draw nourishment 

 from its owner from materials different from what 

 another one would. The stomach of an ox and 

 that of a horse are different. The horse or the 

 ox will live very well on hay, but the ox will do 

 better on some kinds of jjoor hay than the horse. 

 They both fatten on the meal of Indian corn, but 

 neither of them could live on meal alone. Their 

 stomachs are made to be distended with bulky ma- 

 terial, and if they do not receive this stimulus of 

 distension, they languish. Hence, when we say 

 that 60 lbs. of Indian corn are as good as 100 lbs. 

 of hay, and will yield them as much nourishment, 

 ome allowance must be made, for it will not do to 

 say that if you supply them with as much nourish- 

 ment from a given amount of corn as they would 

 derive from a corresponding amount of hay — you 

 need not feed them with hay at all, A long series 

 of" well conducted experiments is necessary, in feed- 



The Plough, Loom and Anvil, — ^This long- 

 familiar and standard journal comes to us for July 

 with new attractions. In paper and typographical 

 execution, it is equal to many of our be.st printed 

 books. But the chief attraction which it has re- 

 cently gained, is in the acquisition of our late fel- 

 low-laborer, Professor John A, Nash, of Amherst. 

 Prof, Nash is one of the best agricultural writers 

 in the country ; a gentleman of sound judgment, 

 of critical and keen observation. He writes fluent- 

 ly, but in a plain and comprehensive style. Few 

 persons are so well informed in agricultural chem- 

 istry as he, and there are a still less number who 

 can so clearly express their ideas on a subject em- 

 bracing so many technical terms. His Progressive 

 Farmer, which is a scientific treatise on agricultural 

 chemistry, ought to be in the hands of every far- 

 mer in the land, and there is not one but might 

 be benefited by its perusal. We congratulate Mr. 



