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THE GKNESEE FARMER. 



in milk or beef. Boussingault's cow, being larger than Dr. Thompson's, consumed 28 

 lbs. 1 oz. 1 dr. (dry weight) of' aftermath liay and potatoes, every 24 hours, and voided 

 10 lbs. 8 oz. 12 drs. (dry weight) as excrements. Tliese experiments prove that con- 

 siderably more than half of the matter taken into the system as food passes into the 

 general circulation, and is not voided by the bowels. Whether a large or a small cow, 

 other things being equal, will separate the greater amount of aliment from any given 

 quantity of food, has often been debated. Boussingault believes that large cows, 

 properly fed, yield a better return than small ones ; the subject, however, need= further 

 investigation. On scant pastures, all concede that small cows pay best. 



It is interesting to inquire how the matter that escapes as dung compares in its 

 chemical elements with that which was consumed as food. Each of the cows kept by 

 Dr. Thompson consumed 161f lbs. of carbon in grass in 14 days. In the dung of the 

 brown cow there was fmmd 67 lbs. ; and in that of the white cow 64 lbs. These figures 

 show an absorption by the lacteals which surround the intestines, and convey aliment 

 to the heart, of 94f lbs. of carbon in the white cow, and 9 If in the brown cow. 



Of nitrogen each cow consumed 6^ lbs. ; and while the dung of the Ayrshire con- 

 tained 2^, that of the brown cow contained 2 7-10 lbs. 



Of oxygen, the food consumed contained 148 lbs. ; the dung 54^ in the brown cow, 

 and 52 in the white cow; showing that in the former 93-|- lbs. entered into the blood 

 vessels ; and in the latter 96 lbs. 



Of incombustible mineral, (ash) ISf lbs. Avere consumed by each cow; of which the 

 dung of the brown cow exhibited 14^ lbs., and that of the white cow 13f lbs. 



Of water, the dung of the brown cow contained 902^ lbs., and that of the white cow 

 860 lbs. Cows, especially when giving milk, are large consumers of water. Bous- 

 singault's cow while subsisting on potatoes and hay, drank 132 lbs. in 24 hours. In 

 the potatoes there were 23 lbs. 12 oz. of water; and 2 lbs. 9 oz. in the hay. Of the 

 158 lbs. 5 oz. of water daily consumed, 53 lbs. 10 oz. escaped in dung; 15 lbs. 14 oz. 

 in urine; 16 lbs. 3 oz. in milk; and 72 lbs. 10 oz. by the lungs and cutaneous ti-ans- 

 piration. One can obtain some idea of the freedom with which water passes through 

 the aperatures in the walls of all cells, as well as along the tubes of all vessels, whether 

 lacteals, lymphatics, veins, or arteries, when he is told that lean meat is three-fourlhs 

 water. 



To aid nature in dissolving the solids taken into the digestive apparatus, is a point 

 of great importance to the stock-grower and dairyman; but instead of being at the 

 expense of grinding corn and other grain for cows, fatting cattle and swine, we have 

 found reason to believe tli;itj4jooking:^\^liout grinding pays better, especially where 

 grain is cheap'.' Probably 100 lbs. of corn boiled soft will yield three or four per cent, 

 less nutriuigntto^ .tli4. blood than the same corn made into meal and then cooked and 

 fed as mush , [)ut it will cost the farmer, generally, a little more than four per cent, of 

 his corn to get it ground ready for use. It is good economy to steep in boiling water, 

 hay, cornstalks, and other dry forage, unless both meat and food are very cheap. After 

 one has provided a full su])ply of the raw material to be transformed into milk and 

 flesh, including fat, and taken due pains for its solution in the gastric juices and other 

 liquids in the alimentary canal, he should carefully study every organ and its function 

 in the animal system, that ho may trace the course of the nutrient atoms to their final 

 destination, a.s they pass from the intestines into the lacteal tubes and thence into every 

 tissue. In healthy animals, the kidneys operate very successfully to purify the blood, 

 and free it of surj)!us salts and urea. rers|flration and resjn'ration are functions of equal 

 importance to the health of animals. Boussingault found 8 oz. 7 drs. of carbon in 

 the urine of a cow voided in 24 hours; and 1 lb. 6 oz. of salts. Plight pounds three 

 ounces of carbon entered the blood vessels in 24 hours fnnn the organs of digestion in 

 lioLssiNOAULT's cxperinients ; of which 1 lb. 3 oz. 3 drs. appeared in milk, and, as 



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