THE GENESEE FARMER. 



8& 



week, leaving out the other ingi-edients. The cattle 

 being visited with the foot distemper, this experiment 

 \va.s not continued further. 



Tlie next eight cattle on which experiment was 

 tried were bought in September, their live weight being 

 about 7i| cwt. each on the average, and were in fair 

 store condition. When tied up they were supplied 

 with mown grass, together with 4 lbs. of rape-cake 

 and 2 lbs. of bean-meal each per day. During the 

 month of October the grass was by degrees changed 

 for chopped straw, a little hay, and Swedish turnips, 

 of which they ate about 60 lbs. each ^ler day. This 

 food, with the same allowance of 4 fts. of rape-cake 

 and 2 tt)s. of bean meal, was continued till the 20th 

 of December, from which time till the close of Janu- 

 ary 3 fcs. each per day of rape-cake was given in ad- 

 dition, making 7 lbs. of rape-cake and 2 lbs. of bean 

 meal per day for each. The weighings were made 

 once every four weeks; in one they made but little 

 progress, the change of food being attended with a 

 state of relaxation. With this exception, their gain 

 was steady. At the close of the exi)eriment, 19 

 weeks, they averaged 9| cwt., being 266 lbs. for each, 

 allowing three weeks for habituating them to change 

 of abode and diet; they gained during the remaining 

 16 weeks, on the average, 14 lbs. per week each. I 

 give in a tabular form the amount and description 

 of food supplied to the eight heifers during 21 days 

 in January: 



Water. Organic. Ash. 



fts. 



Eape-cake, 1,176 



Bean meal, 336 



Shells of oats, 1,260 



Swede turnips, 10,080 



Meadow hay, inferior qual- 

 ity,.... _. 1,176 



Water alone, & with shells 

 of oats, 846 



14,874 10,205^^ 4,325 355}^ 

 Excrement, 9,600 8,152 1,163>^ 284>i 



Deficiency, 5,274 2,053 3,161J^ 5VA 



Kitrogen computed to each description — 



Rape-cake, 61 '^ 



Bean meal, 16% 



Shells of oats, 8 



Turnips, 18 



Hay, 12 



116 

 equal to 130 ammonia. 



Nitrogen. 

 The 9,fiOO ft)S. of excrement are found by analysis to 



contain __ 77>a 



Gain in weight of eight heifers 338 fbs. of beef, fat 

 and offal, which may be estimated to contain 88)^ 



116 



On comparing the result of this with the former 

 experiment there is a difference in the diminution of 

 the dry matei'ial. Vicing in the one two-thirds, in the 

 other one-half. This may be owing to the greater 

 proportion of woody fiber in the bulky food, which 

 in the first experiment was wholly straw, while in the 

 latter a considerable portion consisted of turnijis, 

 which have comparatively little woody fiber, and hay; 

 in the diminution of water there is scarcely any dif- 

 ference in the two experiments. During the six weeks 

 from December 20th to the close of January, when 

 the 3 tbs. per day of rape-cake were given to each in 

 addition, no perceptible difference was found in the 

 gain of weight. From this analysis it will be seen 



that it had a marked effect on the excremement or 

 manure : 



Atialysis of Manure from Food supplied in January, 1853. 



Moisture, 84.92 



Organic matter, with salts of ammonia, 12.12 



Sand, 93 



Phosphate of lime, .72 



Alkalies, sulphates, muriates, and loss, 1.31 



100.00 

 Nitrogen .79, eiinal to ammonia .96 



(Signed) J. Thomas Wat. 



The jield of excrement is aljout 9 J tons from each 

 animal per year. Its value in nitrogen is lis. 3d. per 

 ton, in phosphate of lime say Is. 3d. — total, 12s. 6d., 

 being at the rate of 2s. 3d. per week for each ani- 

 mal, and omitting the other components; reckoning 

 the manure as dry material, without moisture, the 

 value will be £4 5s. per ton — nearly one-half that 

 of guano. 



The next eight cattle for experiment were tied up 

 in Frebruary; their bulky food consisted of chopped 

 straw, shells of oats and steamed bean straw, in about 

 equal proportions, together with 30 lbs. of Swedes 

 per day, and with as much water as they would drink. 

 As extra food they were supplied with 4 lbs. of rape- 

 cake, 1 ft), of beau meal, | lb. of hnseed and J lb. 

 of wheat, ground together. On this food two of the 

 heifers had gained in the month's weighing in March 

 9 lbs. a week each, the other six 16 lbs. to 18 ft)s. 

 each, weighing the average gain somewhat more than 

 14 lbs. per week each. A sample of the excrement 

 was sent on the 26 of March for analysis, the result 

 of which I give: 



Moisture, 83.81 



Organic matter and salts of ammonia, 13.44 



Sand, &c., 93 



Phosphate of lime, .64 



Common salt, .18 



Sulphate of potash and soda, .95 



100.00 

 Nitrogen .51, equal to ammonia .62 per cent. 



(Signed) J. THOMAS Way. 



The yield of excrement is about 9 J tons per year 

 for each; the value in ammonia, 7s. 6d., and in phos- 

 phate of hme, Is., making together 8s. 6d. per ton — 

 about Is. 7d. per week for each animal. Taking the 

 excrement as dry, free from moisture, its value is about 

 53s. per ton. 



My turnips being exhausted with March, an addi- 

 tional quantity of steamed bean straw (a very palata- 

 ble and nutritious food, to which I may at some time 

 more especially draw attention) was substituted for 

 the Swede turnips; with this, the same allowance of 

 4 ftjs. of rape-cake, 1 ftj. of bean meal, J ft), of linseed 

 ground with J lb. of wheat, was continued till near 

 the close of May. On this the cattle throve satisfac- 

 torily, their gain in weight throughout being fully 14 

 lbs. each per week on the average. On the 24th of. 

 May a portion of meadow grass was mixed with their 

 straw ; this was by degrees increased till the whole 

 of their bulky food consisted of grass, with the Hke 

 allowance of extra food — i fts. rape, 1 lb. bean meal, 

 J ft. linseed and J ft), wheat, ground together. At 

 the close of June tlie lot was of prime quality, and 

 sold at 6jd. per ft., the then top price of the mar- 

 ket. Their gain during June was scarcely equal to 

 the average, being something under 14 fts. each per 



