FODDERS. 



8^ nearly of fibrin. The practical 

 values are ascertained by weighing 

 the feed and animal, and. giving 

 enongii of all fodders to maintain 

 liim in good condition. They are less 

 true than the theoretical or chemical 

 values, because not so well perform- 

 ed ; but the theoretical values have 

 neen fully sustained by subsequent 

 examination. One hundred pounds of 

 ordinary hay are made the standard, 

 other fodders being compared with 

 this in theirpower of sustaining life in 

 animals. The fodders are, however, 

 of different values, ior fattening, wool- 

 growing, &LC., and are treated of as 

 such under these heads. The dif- 

 ference exhibited in the above valu- 

 ations, by different authors, is, in a 

 great measure, due to variations in 

 the nutritiousness of the provender; 

 thus, straw, pea haulm, &c.. are 

 many times more nutritious when cut 

 greenish than when dead ripe. In 

 the same way, some wheat contains 

 10 and some 30 per cent, of gluten ; 

 and here is a difference of 1 to 3. 



The following articles, used as hu- 

 man food, are equivalent to one 

 hundred of good flour. The term 

 meal is meant to indicate that the 

 substances were perfectly dried and 

 pulverized : the equivalents are con- 

 structed upon the relative amounts 

 of nitrogen in fair samples of each : 



Wheat flour (good quality) .... 100 



Wheat .'.... 11)7 



Barley meal 119 



Barley 130 



Kye m 



Buckwheat ]()8 



Indian Corn 138 



Yellow peas 67 



Horse-beans 44 



White French beans 56 



Rice 171 



Lentils 57 



White-heart cabbage 810 



Cabbage meal 83 



Potatoes 613 



Putatoe meal 126 



Carrots 757 



Carrot meal 95 



Turnips 1335 



Mealy bananas 700 



Mam hot (casava plant) 700 



Yam (dioscorea) 300 



In the economy of food, not only 



ought a proper selection to be made 



to suit the object of the farmer as 



oily provender for fattening, fodder 



302 



rich in gluten for draught animals, 

 but the greatest attention should be 

 paid to wjirmth, exposure, and the 

 losses of free pasturage. See Soiling 

 and Food. 



FODDERS, THE TI.ME OF CUT- 

 TING. The old careless practice of 

 allowing corn, wheat, beans, &c., to 

 stand until dead ripe is giving place 

 to the more rational method of cut- 

 ting when the herbage is turning yel- 

 low, and the stem is dried an inch or 

 two above the ground. Not only is 

 the grain, whether wheat, oats, or 

 corn, much heavier, but whiter, and 

 preferred, but the straw, haulm, or 

 fodder is increased in value from four 

 to ten times ; thus, while the dry, 

 brown stems of pease are of no val- 

 ue in husbandry, it is the opinion of 

 the best Scotch farmers that the same 

 stems, taken when just yellowed, are 

 twice as valuable as hay ; and chem- 

 ical examination shows this to be a 

 true estimate. Hay cut in flower is 

 worth twenty per cent, more than 

 that cut in seed, and twice as much 

 as that with dry stems : the same is 

 true for clovers, lucern, and all coarse 

 fodders. Straw is obtained nearly as 

 good as hay when cut in the light 

 greenish yellow state ; but when seed 

 grain is wanted, the straw must be 

 allowed to drv perfectly. 



FODDERS, THE PRESERVA- 

 TION OF. The preparation of hay 

 will be explained under that head. 

 In putting it up for winter use, there 

 are two plans, either to house it in a 

 barn or stack it. Against the latter 

 considerable prejudice exists, chiefly 

 because of the loss occurring from 

 the exposure of the outer stems. But 

 stacking is a perfect means of pres- 

 ervation, and in all senses equal to 

 storage in a barn, if properly man- 

 aged ; it is only when little stacks, 

 imperfectly covered, and placed on 

 the ground, are used, that the sys- 

 tem is objectionable. The hay, &c., 

 when stored, should be withered, but 

 not crisp, and thoroughly dry : in 

 putting up, a peck of salt lo the load 

 is of great service in hindering mil- 

 dew and flavouring the hay. Large 

 mows must be provided, with means 



