1854, 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



75 



around the neck with a spring hook or snap, are 

 the easiest for the cattle, the safest, all things 

 considered, and the most economical way of se- 

 curing cattle in the barn. I have used them sev- 

 eral 3'ears, and find them very convenient, and 

 easy for cattle to repose in, and would advise any 

 one who has stancheons now in use, to change 

 them for chains the earliest opportunity. 



As the swallow controversy appears to be agi- 

 tated at times, I will add that 1 saw them quite 

 plenty in Wilmington, Vt., the 30th of August. 

 Yours ever, with respect, 



J. E. Blake. 



Warwick, Me., Dec. 12, 1853. 



Remarks. — We agree with you that chains give 

 the cattle more liberty when standing, and more 

 ease when lying down, than they can have in 

 stancheons. Yet we changed from chains xo 

 gtanchcons, and so have most of the farmers in 

 this vicinity, thinking tlie latter the best, all 

 things considered. Thank you for your article, 

 and hope to hear from you again. 



For the Ifew England Farmer. 



FEEDING STOCK. 



Mr. Editor : — The season has again arrived 

 when stock must be housed and fed ; and al- 

 though the weather has been so mild that stock 

 have found nearly, if not quite, all their living 

 in the fields and pastures, up to within a short 

 time, still, the amount of hay on hand is not 

 large for tlie season. It therefore behooves ev- 

 ery farmer to make the most economical disposi- 

 tion practicable, of hay and other fodder. Last 

 year the supply of hay was still less than this 

 which induced me to adopt a system of feeding 

 with a view to determine, if possible, the most 

 economical disposition of fodder. ^luch has been 

 written, and many valuable suggestions made 

 through the Farmer, upon this topic. Yet many 

 farmers still doubt whether any improvement lias 

 been made in this branch of their business. The 

 method I adopted, and its results, I will endeavor 

 to give fur what they are worth. 



The stock fed was eight cows and four oxen. 

 Four of the cows gave milk all winter, and four 

 came in, in Feliruary and March. I commenced 

 my plan of feeding, December 1st. To each of my 

 four milch cows, 1 gave nine pounds of common 

 meadow hay, cut and wet with scalding water, to 

 which was added two quarts of fine feed — and 

 fed out us warm as might be night and morning. 

 My dry cow I fed thesiime, minus one-half the^i/if 

 feed. My oxen were fed the same (they wt-rc not 

 worked any to speak of) only sulistituting a>b 

 meal for i\\ii fine feed, and part of the time suli- 

 stituting the same bulk of cut corn stocks instead 

 of the meadow hay. At noon time I gave all 

 round a small foddering of cut corn stover. Up 

 to December first, I fed my milch cows on uncut 

 English hay. Upon the warm, cut meadow hay 

 and finefetd, my cows immediately increased their 

 milk and kijit tlirougli in first rate condition. My 

 oxen gained tiesh all winter, and at spring were 

 fair beef. 



The cows that came in in Febniary and ^farch 

 were fed in the siime manner, only substituting 



half English hay. All the fodder was measured 

 at every feeding through the winter. The small 

 quantity fed at noon, I counted equal to two 

 pounds of hay. At the latter end of March, my 

 meadow hay was all exhausted, when I fed my 

 milch cows wholly with the liest of clover hay, 

 cut and served up as before, reducing the quanti- 

 ty oi fine feed one-half. My cows soon fell off in 

 their milk. 



It is generally understood, I believe, that the 

 average of milch cows, rc((uire twenty-five pounds 

 of English hay per 4av in order to keep in good 

 condition. Taking tins for granted, we have the 

 following as the results of my experiment : — 



Twenty-five pounds of English hay, — worth on 

 an average $13 per ton, or G4 mills per pound 

 equal to 0^ cents. Twenty pounds meadow hay, 

 worth ordinarily $G per ton, or 3 mills per 

 pound, equal to (J cents — two ([VLnriR fine feed , 

 worth forty cents per bushel, equal to five cents, 

 making eleven cents, which substracted from IGiJ 

 cents, leaves 5\ cents gain per day for each cow 

 by the latter mode of feeding. It may be said, 

 this gain is not sufficient to pay for the fuel to 

 heat the water and the extra labor involved. If 

 five cents per day fjr each cow was all the ad- 

 vantage to be found in this disposition of fodder, 

 I grant it would "hardly pay," but there are oth- 

 er and quite important gains — the most essential of 

 which is an increased quantity of milk ; and cat- 

 tle fed in the way proposed, are kept in much 

 better condition, and are therefore worth more in 

 the spring ; especially is this the case* with cows, 

 as it makes quite a difference in their value, 

 whether they have got to appropriate tlie larger 

 part of their summer feed to restore the flesh lost 

 in winter, or whether the principal part of their 

 food shall go to the production of milk. Again, 

 with a little extra labor and a small outlaj- for 

 grain, more stock can be 1)etter wintered. Stock, 

 too, fed with a regular given quantity, (varying 

 only to suit the emergencies of temperature) af- 

 fords a sjitisfaetion to the feeder in knowing when 

 his stock is sufficiently fed, ^vhich every good far- 

 mer knows the Avorth of. There are other con- 

 siderations in connexion with this subject, which I 

 should like to advert to, but must defer to some 

 future time. T. a. s. 



Westboro\ Dec, 1853. 



Remarks. — We shall be vei'y glad to hear from 

 you often. The above is worthy of careful con- 

 sideration. 



HOW MUCH SUCJAR DO WE EAT ? 



Last year there was consumed in thix country 

 about 750,000,000 lbs. of cane sugar, and 27,000,- 

 000 lliH. of maple sugar. This gives more than 24 

 pounds of cane sugar, and one pound of maple 

 sugar to every man, woman and cliild. This does 

 not include molasses or honey. If tliis sugar was 

 put into barrels holding two hundred pounds, and 

 each liarrel occujiied a space of three feet square 

 onlv, it would require 33() acres of land for it to 

 stand upon. The liarrcls, if placed in a row, 

 would ri-aeh two hundred and twenty miles, if 

 this sugar M-as put up in paper packages of five 

 pounds each, it would require 140,400,000 sheets 

 ofwrajiping paper, and if only a yard of string 

 was used to each package, there would l)c re(j[uired 



