226 



MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. 



the expense of the kernel within. This he 

 considered a piovision of Natui'e, to enable 

 the grain to hear the inclemency of the win- 

 ter, and to preserve the powers of vegetation 

 from being thereby injured ; but at the same 

 time he conceived that that very thickening 

 of the skin might in some degree impair its 

 tendency quickly to vegetate, and that there- 

 fore barley reaped just before being ripe, 

 and allowed, to complete the ripening pro- 

 cess in the sheaf, might reasonably be ex- 



pected to germinate more speedily, and piXK 

 duce a better malt. 



At the conclusion of the discussion, the fol- 

 lowing Resolution was passed : " That in the 

 opinion of this meeting it is preferable to cut 

 barley before it becomes dead ripe, farticu- 

 larly in imsetlled weather ; to bind in small 

 sheaves immediately on its being cut, and set 

 up in stooks, with hoods ; also that the raking 

 sliould not be mixed with the general crop." 



The use of Beans in Feeding Horses. — Americans, prone to experience and 

 change in laws and constitutions, in pursuits and in places of living, are yet 

 a people of routine as to agricultural practice. For instance — while in other 

 countries so many things are used as food for horses and other animals, we 

 go on forever, and without calculation, using the same three or four kinds of 

 diet, no matter what may be their price. We seem to suppose that horses 

 can only be fed on grass, hay, strata, oats, corn, and chopped rye. Now in 

 Europe, they feed on carrots, potatoes, pumpkins, apples, turnips, flax-seed, oil- 

 cake, and not a Utile on beans and peas. How many American farmers have 

 ever taken the trouble to ascertain the comparative value of beans and oats; 

 for example: How do they know but in many cases, they might have bean 

 or pea crops, that would give more nutriment for a given cost, and therefore 

 the more economical food ? But, alas ! to examine such questions it requires 

 the lalor of thought ! and that, to some people, is dreadful to think of! To 

 those who do accustom themselves to reflect and inquire, the following sug- 

 gestions, founded on facts and experience, may appear interesting, and may 

 lead, not only to thinking, but to practical experiments and results, on that very 

 interesting subject of inquiry, /Ac cost of feeding farm-stock ; in which, (espe- 

 ciallv when we consider how extensively mules and oxen might take the place 

 of horses,) millions of dollars are wasted in the United States: 



August 13. — Mr. Briggg introduced tlie 

 Bubiect for the evening's discussion — " On the 

 most economical mode of keeping Cart- 

 Horses," by remarking that according to 

 chemical theory (and he believed it would be 

 found correct in practice also) different de- 

 scriptitms of food, both for men and the infe- 

 rior animals, are nutritive in proportion as, on 

 analysis, ihey contain nitrogen — that being 

 one "of the main ingredients of gluten, which 

 is universally acknowledged to be the most 

 nuti-itive part of all i()ad ; and that the intrin- 

 sic value of any kind of ibod, for the produc- 

 tion of muscle and strength, must therefore 

 depend upon the quimtura of that constituent 

 (nitrogen) which it possesses. From chem- 

 ical analysis it is found that the quantity of 

 nitrogen contained in the different articles of 

 food suitable for liorses is extremely variable ; 

 hence their relative value nnist also vary in a 

 like proportion. But in the market that cri- 

 terion is not the regulator of y)rice, and, there- 

 fore, by a judicious selection of food Mr. 

 Briggs maintained iliat much saving might 

 be effected in the cost of keeping horses. He 



thjn qutited a Table extracted from M. Bous- 

 singavilt's work on " Rural Economy," in 



which is given the i-elative value in iiutri- . j i - i .. 



meat of a great variety of articles of food, | of such a nature as to yield the elements ot 

 (466) 



taking 100 lbs. of good meadow hay as the 

 standard or basis of calculation ; from which 

 it appeared that it required, on the average, 

 350 lbs. of wheat straw, or 68 lbs. of oats, 

 or 23 lbs. of beans, to yield the same quan- 

 tum of nutriment as 100 lbs. of bay. A very 

 common allowance for a farming-horse he 

 stated to be, per day, 20 lbs. of hay and 1| 

 pecks of oats, costmg per week — 



a. d. 



140 lbs of hay at 70s. per ton 4 4 



lOi pecks of oats at 24 stone (or 136 lbs.) per 

 quarter, SHy 8 stones at Is. (equal in value 

 in nutriment to lh'4 lbs. of hay) 8 



Per week 12 4 



Now, suppose a horse were allowed one bush- 

 el of beans, or 63 lbs. of bean meal, per week, 

 it would, according to the Table, be equal in 

 strength of nutriment to about 274 lbs. of hay; 

 and as he calculated that the above method 

 of feeding (with hay and oats,) was equiva- 

 lent to 304 lbs. of hay alone, an addition of 

 only 30 lbs. of hay, or its equivalent, appeared 

 ♦o be necessary, when 63 lbs. of beans were 

 sub.stituted for" eight stones or 112 Ib.s. of oats. 

 But then ag^iin, an animal cannot subsist on 

 condeusedtood alone, but requires also bulk, 

 not only properly to distend t!ie sfom;;cb. but 



