voi,. XVI. NO. as. 



AND HORTICULTURAL REGISTER 



221 



uratcr, niKi conUeil by slcaining, and the bruisod 

 aeaiis MPie ^'veii tn tlie lot on raw food m noon, 

 ml onc-lialf of (he potatoes in tlio iiiornins and 

 noiiicr half in the afternoon. It was ."soon discov- 

 reil lluit the lot on the cooked food consniiiPd 

 nore tiiinips than the olhor, the consnniption bcinpf 

 xactly '-'^ iMt. JO lb., whilst, when eaten raw, it 

 iras only '2'> ':"t. I qr. 14 lb., the ditference beinjj 

 55 lb. cii'ry day, which contirnied during the pro- 

 jrcss of the experiment for 3 months. 



JSteers were experimented on as well as heifers, 

 liere heinir two lots of '^ each. They also got as 

 nany Swcdi.sh turnips as they could eat, but had 

 iO lb. of potatoes and 4 1.31b. bruised beans, 2 oz. 

 )f salt, and l-'-i stone of straw each, every day. 



The co«t of feeding the heifers was as follows : 

 i heifers on slenmtd food consumed of 

 Snedis'h turnips, 37 cwt. 1(3 lb. at 4d. 

 per cwt. • £0 12 42 



Potatoes, 3 cwt. 3 qr. at Is. 3d. 4 8 



Beans, 1 bushel, 3 



Salt, 0| 



Coals and extra labor, 2 



Live weight of 1 heifer, when put to 

 feed on raw food, 74 st.=42 st. 4 lb. 

 beef, at 5a. (id. per st., sinking offal, JCI 1 12 7 

 Cost of keep 12 weeks 5 days, at 



as. 5d. per week, 3 8 10^ 



Total cost, £15 I 54 

 Live weight of the same heifer when 

 finished feeding on raw food, 8!l st. 

 3 lb. =50 St. 1 lb., at (is. Gd. per St., 

 sinking offul, 16 5 5J- 



U 



:ostof3 heifers 1 week, (7^•. 4 jd. each,) £1 2 



i heifers on raw food consumed of Swe- 

 dish turnips, 25 cwt. 1 qr. 14 lb. at 4d. 

 per cwt. £0 8 C,^ 



Potatoes, beans, and salt, as above, 7 8|- 



yostof 3 heifers 1 week (5s. 5d. each,) £0 16 3 



'! stotson stetrmed food consumed of Swe- 

 dish turnips, 28 cwt. 2 qr,, at 4d. per 

 cwt. £0 7 10 



Potatoes, 3 cwt. 3 qr., nt Is. 3u. 4 8 



Beans, 2 qr. 7 lb. 3 



Salt, 



Coals and extra labor, 



1 



:o8tof2stots for 1 week (8s.6id.each,)£0 IG Oi 



I slots on raw food consumed of Swedish 

 turnips, 17 cwt. 2(ir., at 4d. per cwt. £0 5 10 

 Potatoes, beans, and salt, as above, 7 8^ 



:ost of 2 slots for 1 week, (6s. 9^-d. each) £0 13 6j 



The following table shews the progress of con- 

 ition madfc by the heifers and slots. The first 

 olumn denotes t'leir average live weight at the 

 ommencemoit of feeding ; the second, their ave- 

 age live weight at the end of feeding ; the third, 

 heir increase of live weight in 3 months: 



Jeifers on steamed food, 

 4cifers on raw food, 

 5tot3 on steamed food, 

 Jtots on raw food, 



The camj)arative profits on cooked and raw food 

 land thus : 

 jive weight of heifers when put to feed 



on slenmed food, 74 sl.=42st. 4 lb. 



beef, at 5s. 6d. per st., sinking offal, £11 12 7 



Cost of keep 12 weeks 5 days, at 7s. 



4 1.9d. per week, 4 10 



Total cost, £16 11 7 

 live weittit of the same h.eifers when 

 finished feeding on steamed food, 

 90 st.=50 st, tt lb., at 63. Cd. per st., 

 sinking nffal, 16 9 1 .« 



Loss on steamed food on each heifer, £0 2 5^- 



Profit on raw food on each heifer, £1 

 Live weight of 1 slot when put up to 

 feed on steamed food, 84 stones = 

 50 8t. 4 lb., at 5s, Cd. per stone, sink- 

 ing offal, £13 

 Cost of keep 12 weeks 5 days, at 83. 

 6^d. per week, 5 



4 



8 4 



Total cost, £18 12 4 

 Live weight of the same slot after be- 

 ing fed on steamed food, 104 st. 7 lb. 

 =.56 St. 10 lb., at 68. 6d. per stone, 

 sinking offal, 18 8 7^ 



Profit on each slot on steamed food, £0 3 84 

 Live weiaht of 1 slot when put on raw 

 food, 90 st.=51 St. (i lb., at 5s. 6d. 

 per stone, sinking the offal, .£14 2 10^ 



Cost of 12 weeks 5 days keep, at 63. 



9 l-4d. per week, 4 6 1 



Total cost, £18 8 11^ 

 Live weight of the same slot after be- 

 ing fed on raw food, 106 st. 7 lb. =.58 

 St. (1 lb., at 6s. Cd. per stone, sinking 

 offal, 18 19 9J 



Profit on each slot on raw food, £0 10 TO 



The facts brought out in this experiment, are 

 these: It appears that turnips lose weight on being 

 steamed. For example, 5 tons 8 cwt. only weigh- 

 ed 4 tons 4 cwt. 3 qrs. 16 lbs. after being steamed, 

 having lost 1 ton 3 cwt. 12 lbs., or one-fifth of 

 weight ; and they also lost one-fifth in bulk, when 

 pulled fresh in February, but on being pulled in 

 April, the loss of weight in steaming decreased to 

 one-sixth. Potatoes did not lose above 1-50 of 

 their weight by steaming, and none of their bulk. 

 The heifers on steamed food not only consumed a 

 greater weight of fresh turnips, in the ratio of 37 

 to 25, but after allowing (or the loss of steaming, 

 they consumed more of the steamed turnips. All 

 the cattle, both on the steamed and raw food, relish- 

 ed salt ; so much so, that when it was withheld, 

 they would not eat their food with the avidity they 

 did when it was returned to them. 



Steamed food should always be given in a fresh 

 state — that is, new made; for if old, it becomes 

 sour, when cattle will scarcely touch it, and the 

 sourer it is, they dislike it the more. "In short," 

 says Mr Walker, "the quantity they would con- 

 sume might have been made to agree to the fresh 

 or sour state of the food when presented to them. 

 We are quite aware that, to have done a large 

 quantity at one steaming, would have lessoned the 

 expense of coal and labor, and also, by getting 

 sour before being used, saved a great quantity of 

 food; but we are equally well aware that, by so 

 doing, we never could have fattened our cattle on 

 steamed food." 



An inspection of the above table will show, that 

 both heifers and slots increased more in live weight 

 on slenmed than on raw food; the larger profit de- 

 rived from the raw food arising solely from the ex- 

 tra exjiense Incurred in cooking the food. Il ap- 

 pears, however, that a greater increase of tallow is 

 derived from raw food. The results appear nearly 

 alike with heifers and slots of the same age ; but 

 if the slots were of a breed possessing less fatten- 

 ing properties than cross-bred heifers, — and Mr 

 Walker does not mention their breed, — then they 

 would seem to acquire greater iveifrht than heifers, 

 which I believe is tlie usual experience. The con- 

 clusion come to by Mr Walker is this: "We have 

 no hesitation in saying that, in every respect, the 

 advantage is in favor of feeding with raw food 

 Hut it is worthy of remark, that the difference in 

 the consumption of food arises on the turnips alone. 

 We would therefore recommend every person wish- 

 ing to feed cattle on steamed food, to use potatoes, 

 or any other food that would not lose bulk and 

 weight in the steaming process ; as there is no 

 question but, in doing so, they would be brought 

 much nearer to each other in the article of expense 

 of keep. * * Upon the whole, we freely give 

 il as our opinion, that steaming food for cattle will 

 never be attended with any beneficial results un- 

 der any circumstances, because it requires a more 

 watchful and vigilant superintendence during the 

 whole process, than can ever be delegated to the 

 common run of servants, to bring the cattle on 

 steamed food even on a footing of equality, far less 

 a superiority, to those fed on raw food." 



Similar results, as to profit, were obtained by 

 the experiments of Mr Howden, Lawhcad, East 

 Lothian. " To me," he says, " it has been most 

 decidedly shewn, that preparing food in this way 

 [by steaming] is any thing but profitable." Il ap- 

 pears by iMrHowden's experiments, that raw pota- 

 toes and water will make cattle fat — a point which 

 has been questioned by some of our best farmers. 



I\lr Boswell, of Kingcaussie, in Kincardinshire, , 

 comes to the same conclusion in regard to the un- 

 profitableness of feeding cattle on cooked food. 

 He says : " Il appears il is not worth the trouble 

 and expense of preparation, to feed cattle on boiled 

 or steamed food." His experiments were made on 

 10 dun Aberdeenshire horned cattle, very like one 

 another, and their food consisted of turnips and po- 

 tatoes. Five were put on raw food and five on 

 cooked. When slaughtered, the butcher consider- 

 ed both lots to be " perfectly alike" in beef and tal- 

 low. Those fed oh raw food cost £32 2s. Id. ; and 

 those on cooked, £.34 5s. lOd.; leaving a balance 

 of expense of £2 3s. 9d. in favor of the former. 



"A Man's a Man for a' that." — Robert 

 Burns paid little respect to the artificial distinctions 

 of society. On his way to Leith one morning, he 

 met a country farmer ; ho shook him earnestly by 

 the hand, and stopped to converse. A young Ed- 

 inbiirg blood passing by at the time, reproved the 

 poet for this defect of taste. "Why, you fantas- 

 tic gomeri !" said Burns, '' it was not the great coat, 

 the scone bonnet, and the saundaer boot hose I 

 spoke to, but the man that was in them ; and the 

 man, sir, fur true worth, would weigh down you 

 and me, and ten more such, any day." 



They have an importation of East India chick, 

 ens at New Orleans, which stand three feet high, 

 with feet nearly as largo as n boy's hand. 



