92 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Feb. 



is the great dependence — the staple material for 

 this purpose, but there are many other crops 

 ^vhich can be raised to advantage among us, and 

 ^vhich are very valuable for furnishing food to 

 stock, and thereby saving hay. 



In order to ascertain the real value of these 

 crops for the purpose above named, it wul be 

 necessary to compare the nutritive properties of 

 the several articles with good hay as the stand- 

 prd. 



Experiments, and close and careful comparison 

 of the results of many trials, have given the fol- 

 lowing as the comparative difference between the 

 articles mentioned and good hay. We have pub- 

 lished these results before, but we now put them 

 in tabular form, so as to give the reader an easier 

 mode of comparing them. 



100 pounds of hay are equal to 

 270 pounds of green Indian corn, 

 442 pounds of rye straw, 

 184 pounds of oat straw, 

 153 pounds of pea straw, 

 201 pounds of raw potatoes, 

 175 pounds of boiled potatoes, 

 330 pounds of mangol wurt3el, 

 504 pounds of turnips, 



54 pounds of rye, 



46 pounds of wheat, 



59 pounds of oats, 



45 pounds of peas or beaDS, 



64 pounds of buckwheat, 



67 pounds of Indian coro, 



68 pounds of acorns, 



105 pounds of wheat bran, 



100 pounds of rye bran, 



167 pounds of wheat, pea, and oat chaff, 



179 pounds of rye and barley. 



From this "bird's-eye view," it will be easy to 

 calculate the fodder value of any of the above 

 articles which you may raise. For instance, if you 

 have 50-1 lbs. of turnips, they will give as much 

 nutrition to your cattle as 100 lbs. of good hay, 

 or in other words, it will take 5 lbs. of turnips to 

 be equal to 1 lb. of hay. 



An ox, it is said, requires 2 per cent, of hay 

 per day if he does not work, and 2h per cent, if 

 lie works. Suppose, therefore, you have an ox 

 that weighs 1500 lbs., he will require oO lbs. of 

 hay per day if he does not work. But you wish 

 to feed him in part with turnips. If you give 

 him 15 lbs. of hay, how many pounds of turnips 

 must you give him to make up the supply? 

 Ans. 75 lbs., which, at 60 lbs. to the bushel, will 

 be 5 pecks. 



Again, according to the table, a little more than 

 half a pound of Indian corn is equal to a pound 

 of hay. If, therefore, you give the same ox but 

 15 lbs. of hay, how much Indian corn must he 

 have to supply the 15 lbs.? Ans. A little over 

 8-^ lbs. Allowing corn to weigli 50 Ib-s. per 

 bushel, it will take 5 quarts and a third. 



Allowing the estimates in the table to be cor- 

 rect, they will be a convenient guide to farmers 

 in feeding cattle, Szc , on other articles, in order 

 to save their hay. 



A milch cow is said to require 3 per cent, of 

 her weight per day. A sheep, full grown, 3^ -pex 

 cent. — Maine Farmer. 



A Luxury fok Animals. — It is related of 

 Rev. Sidney Smith, that when on his farm, each 

 cow and calf, and horse and pig, were in turn 

 visite<l, and fed and patted, and all seemed to 

 w^jcome him ; he cared for the comforts of ev- 

 •srv living being around him. Ho used to say, 



"I am all for cheap luxuries, even for animals ; 

 now all animals have a passion for scratch- 

 ing their back bones ; they break down your 

 gates and palings to effect this. Look ! there is 

 my universal scratching, a sharp-edged pole, rest- 

 ing on a high and low post, adapted to every 

 height, from a horse to a lamb. Even the Edin- 

 burgh Reviewer can take his turn ; you have no 

 idea how popular it is. I have not had a gate 

 broken since I put it up. I have it in all my 

 fields." ______ 



LEGISLATIOKT—LAN D DEAUfAGS 



COMPANIES. 



BY HENRY F. FRENCH. 



[There are few subjects in which a large number of farmers 

 can be more interested, in all parts of New England, at least, 

 than in that of Drainage. There are comparatirely few farms 

 but need it in one place or another, and there are few other 

 things that have led to so much misunderstanding and litigation, 

 and that have destroyed the pleasant social relations in meigb- 

 borlioods, as fluwages and drains. 



We have been permitted to read some chapters of a work o-n 

 the subject designated in the title of this article, in advance of 

 its publication, and do not believe we can better meet the wants 

 of the general reader, than by transferring some portions of the 

 chapter on "Legislation" in relation to drainage and flowages, 

 and of"Lind Draining Companies," to our columns. 



We understand the work is to be published in the course of 

 two or three months, by the enterprising Agricultural book pub- 

 lishers, A. O. JIooKE & Co., of New York ] 



Nothing more clearly shows the universal in- 

 terest and confidence of the people of Great Brit- 

 ain in the operation of land drainage, than the 

 Acts of Parliament in relation to the subject. 

 The conservatism of England, in the view of an 

 American, is striking. She never takes a step 

 till she is sure she is right. Justly proud of her 

 position among the nations, she deems charge an 

 unsafe experiment, and what has been, much safer 

 than what might be. Vested rights are sacred in 

 England, and especially rights in lands, which 

 are emphatically real estate there. 



Such are the sentiments of the people, and 

 such the sentiments of their representatives and 

 exponents, the Lords and Commons. Yet Eng- 

 land has been so impressed with the importance 

 of improving the condition of the people, of in- 

 creasing the wealth of the nation, of enriching 

 both tenant and landlord by draining the land, 

 that the history of her legislation in aid of such 

 operations, affords a lesson of progress even to 

 fast young America. Powers have been granted, 

 by which encumbered estates may be charged 

 with the expenses of drainage, so that remain- 

 der-men and reversioners, without their consent, 

 shall be compelled to contribute to present im- 

 provements, so that careless or obstinate adja- 

 cent proprietors shall be compelled to keep open 

 their ditches, for outfalls to their neighbors' 

 drains, so that mill-dams and other obstructions 

 to the natural flow of the water, may be removed 

 for the benefit of agriculture, and finally, the 

 Government has itself furnished funds, by way 



