No. 11. 



Sieafn. 



169 



place, so as to discharge the smoke into the 

 chimney flue 2 a little above the sheet iron 

 which surrounds the pipe immediately at the 

 arch, to prevent the passage of heated air out 

 of the apartment. 



The error consists in changing part of the 

 figure from a side view in a horizontal direc- 

 tion, to a diagonal one, showing one side, end, 

 and top of the stove; but not making a cor- 

 responding change in the dotted lines, show- 

 ing the upper parts of the two ends, and part 

 of the upper edge of the farther side of the 

 casing, which is not concealed by the hori- 

 zontal portion of the stove pipe. 



P. 



23r(l Dec, 1837. 



Steam. 



The chief value of boiling, or steaming 

 the food for animals, seems to consist in ren- 

 dering it more easy of digestion, and thus, 

 perhaps enabling them to retain a greater por- 

 tion of its nutriment than when it is used in 

 a crude state. For old horses especially, 

 whose teeth being worn, are incapable of 

 eflectually grinding the corn which their 

 work may render necessary to their support, 

 and whose powers of digestion are weakened 

 by age, this is an incalculable advantage. 

 Being softer than dry food, it is besides more 

 readily consumed, and consequently allows 

 more time for lying down and taking rest, a 

 difference of more importance in its favor 

 than may be generally imagined, for a horse 

 takes from three to four hours to masticate 

 14 lbs. of hay, but a mash of potatoes of dou- 

 ble that weight may be eaten in forty min- 

 utes. But for young and working cattle, in 

 the full enjoyment of their health and 

 strength, it may admit of doubt whether the 

 constant use of such soft food may not weaken 

 the powers of digestion, and relax the tone of 

 their muscular fibre; for it has been found, 

 from very careful trials, that, when only a 

 small quantity of roots is given, the health 

 and condition of the animals are improved by 

 giving them in a raw state, as, in that form, 

 they have a kindly effect upon the bowels; 

 and, besides promoting the digestion of grain 

 and straw, which they do in a remarkable 

 manner, they impart to the animal an addi- 

 tional degree of life and spirit. In cases, 

 however, where they have formed the chief 

 article of food, boiling or steaming has been 

 found to possess a more fattening quality, for 

 it has the effect of depriving vegetables of a 

 part of their watery juices, leaving only the 

 farinaceous and other solid portions: thus pota- 

 toes lose about an eighth of their weight by 

 the evaporation of water, when they are steam- 

 ed, and about one-sixth if kiln-dried or baked, 

 in which state they are, from the chemical 



change which they have undergone, more nu- 

 tritious than when raw. There is, however, 

 very essential difference in the quality of nu- 

 tritive matter obtained from various qualities 

 of the potato; for although when dried, the 

 fibrous, or solid, matter may be of equal 

 weight, yet it has been shown by various ex- 

 periments that the product of starch, which 

 constitutes the most nutritious portion of their 

 substance, varies from one-fifth to one-sevenh 

 of their product. 



The superiority of the method of fattening 

 cattle with food thus prepared has been 

 proved by many experiments; and it is even 

 said, that some persons having, in pursuance 

 of a suggestion of the Bath Agricultural So- 

 ciety, boiled the oats for their horses, and 

 given them the water to drink, have ascer- 

 tained that a bushel given in that manner 

 will maintain a horse in better condition than 

 two in the common way. So broad an asser- 

 tion may well be received with hesitation: 

 yet the experiment is worth a trial; and, if 

 used with caution, and mixed with a certain 

 quantity of dry food, there can be little doubt 

 that steaming a portion of horse provender, 

 whether mixed with roots or not, will be 

 found an economical plan. Mr. Curwen re- 

 commends it to be given warm; and no one 

 at all acquainted with stable management 

 can be ignorant of the comfort of a warm 

 mash to a horse after extraordinary fatigue; 

 it also improves the appearance of the coat, 

 and the seeming condition ; but it is not natu- 

 ral to the animal ; and, notwithstanding the 

 experience of Mr. Curwen, it may yet be 

 doubted vvhother, as a constant practice, it 

 would not be too relaxing. At the utmost, 

 the mere chill should be taken off. 



The objections usually urged against steam- 

 ing, are the expense, the trouble, and the dif- 

 ficulty of preparing the feeds for several 

 teams. But an ordinary sleam-apparalus 

 may be put up for a mere trifle, and food 

 enough for a dozen to twenty horses be got 

 ready, with little difficulty, in a short space 

 of time, and with a very moderate quantity 

 of fuel. When the cattle are not sufficiently 

 numerous to justify the erection of a steam- 

 ing-shed, the copper commonly placed in the 

 corner of every wash-house may be re- 

 placed by an iron boiler, and used for this 

 purpose in the following manner. 



In the top there are two holes, one for re- 

 ceiving a funnel to supply the boiler with 

 water, and the other for admitting the neck 

 of a leaden pipe, which conveys the vapour 

 to the steamer; the funnel is furnished with 

 a steam-tight plug, and the boiler should be 

 kept about two-thirds full. Adjoining ihe 

 boiler, a strongly rivetted box, of sufficient 

 dimensions to contain the intended quantity 

 of food, is placed upon a frame of equal 



