FEEDING TWICE A DAY. 263 



Mr. Hubbard. Have you practised feeding cotton-seed 

 me^al or oil-meal? 



Mr. Stone. I have fed considerable cotton-seed meal, 

 first and last. I have thought that if the manure from cotton- 

 seed meal was worth so much more than other manure as it 

 is said to be, it would pay to feed it. If we exercise proper 

 judgment in the matter, there is no more dfficiulty from cattle 

 eating cotton-seed meal than there is from our eating hearty 

 food. 



Mr. Hubbard. How many times a day do you feed? 



Mr. Stone. Twice a day. Last winter, about eight 

 o'clock in the morning and four in the afternoon. I steam 

 enough in this box for all day. I detach the coupling, draw 

 the box in front of my cattle, take off the cover, and feed 

 them. This winter I have begun at six o'clock in the morn- 

 ing, and I give them a trifle of dry hay at noon, and water 

 them. They all feed alike. I give them a small forkful in 

 the morning; they are then carded, and then they lie down. 



It was suggested this morning, that we cannot cook food 

 without a high pressure of steam. My experience is, that a 

 high pressure is not required after tlit water boils. I use 

 some eighteen or twenty pails of water, which settles to the 

 bottom of the box, and when we feed the last time in the 

 morning, there is a quantity of hay-tea in the box, which I 

 draw out. If I have any milch cows that I want to feed a 

 little extra, I mix a couple of quarts of shorts with that hay- 

 tea, and let them have it extra. Calves like it and cows like 

 it. It is a nice way to feed meal. 



The question has been asked by several gentlemen this 

 morning, if nice, sweet, early-cut hay*can be improved. I 

 can say this : I do not know, if I had no coarse fodder, that I 

 should put in a boiler to steam hay of that character ; but I 

 should like a boiler to boil water in which to mix my shorts 

 and meal, and let the cows have it in a liquid form. I think 

 that hay can be mixed with the coarse fodder that is raised 

 on a farm and steamed to advantage. It sweetens the whole 

 mass. 



Mr. Hubbard. Do you think it adds anything to the 

 nutritive qualities of the hay to cut it? 



]\Ir. Stone. I cannot see why it should. It makes it 

 more convenient for mixing and steaming. 



