23 ECONOMY OF FARMING. 



cattle is the principal ohject of liusbaa:lry, straw constitutes a very essential part of 

 tii2 vvinLUi- ib I bi- o," cattle. It slioul.l be cut from I to 2 inches long, which causes 

 tDu'jle th it 13 muit expect. Guericke estimates that one man in 8 hours can cu 

 31 • m3tzii o' Hi3<s3l at 8^ lbs. In Bohemia, it is estimated that in 8 hoars the 

 fo I Isr c i,).)per will prepare 33J lbs. of long straw ready for seething. In Mecklen- 

 ba.-gh, oie herds.im must take care of 24 head of cows, and cut the necessary 

 H:i3<sel Wk tlie^n, which must not be longer than ^ an inch. An industrious man 

 w 10 w )i'"ts by th'3 job there can cut in the shortest days 45, in February and March, 

 69 metzea. But the Hacksel machines driven by water, will give in one hour 315 

 lbs., 4 of ai iich long. 



'• Tiiat le s'.i 3 al 1 w ish an 1 cut up roots and knobs before giving them out to cattle, 

 is evi leit to aiy oie: e|uilly needful also is it to reduce grain to meal and boil 

 it befa/3 it is ted out ; whether it is best to steam Hacksel, and boil roots and 

 knobs, not oily i'or swine but also for cattle, many doubt, partly because it occasions 

 too great expeise of wool and kettles^ as well as labor, partly because it makes the 

 aniiTils too edemiiate aid hable to .sickness. As to the first objection this is well 

 groailed ii re^iois where there are but i'ew laborers, or where the means of fuel 

 are dear ; as for the other, I have found that neither with cows in the mountainous 

 couitries of Soath Gernixny— as also it appears from Schwertz's account of the 

 Netherlands -w lieh are fed Avith steamed fodder, nor with sheep which are fed with 

 sLe ime 1 potatoes, has any injury resulted. 



'•To folder to milch-cows in the winter, Hacksel soaked with warm or even with 

 coll w iter, ail whi^-h had lain in the vat in a warm place 3 days, I have always 

 found pro'itible. More recently it has been found to be a great sparing of fodder to 

 let the Ha iksel lie in a well-closed tub, exposed to the steam of boiling water some 

 hours, whereby the straw is rendered much more digestible for the beasts, and thus 

 a sm iller quantity is- required for the same nutriment." 



Veit observes oi this subject: "The particular labor of preparing fodder, is for 

 the most part limited to the cutting of Hacksel. In a smaller number of cattle than 

 occupies the keeper constantly it is customary to have him prepare the Hacksel but 

 in a nnirter where he is fully busied in taking care of them, it is customar}^ to have 

 the HiVcsel cut by the job. Of the usual sliort-chopped stud' for horses, one man 

 can cut ii a day 7 to 8 cwt., and of a longer kind for cattle, 10 cwt. which allowing 

 23 to 21 kreutzers (or from 13 to 13 cts. ) for a day's work. Avould give the cost of labor 

 in cutting of 1 cwt. ; for horses, at 3 kreutzers (or about 2| cts.), and for cattle from 

 2 to 2 kreu'zers But this work is usually assigned to one man, and in a week for 

 1 horse at 8 lbs. Haeksel lor a day or 56 lbs. for a v/eek, it amounts to from 1| to 

 1 . kreut-^ers per w^ek : for a working-ox at 20 lbs. of Hacksel per day or 110 lbs. per 

 week, it cones to 2| to 3 kreutzers per week." Speaking of the different kinds of 

 straw as miterials of fodder, he also remarks that they should be ranked in the fol- 

 low! 15 Of ler : 



'■ 1. The straw of the usual leiinmiumi.9 frvifff, and especially of lertils, vetches, 

 and neas. is more nutritious, than the straw of seed-clover. The greener the tips 

 are, the less it is lo Ige 1 the better can it be dried and brought in. the more nourish- 

 ing it is. The straw of lentils and seed-clover is the most preferable. The fine stalk 

 vetc'i straw is also very nutritious, behind which stands somewhat the pea-straw, with 

 its thicker stalk. All straw of leguminous fruit is parti :'Ailarly a welcome fo.lder to 

 shceo on wlii:h account therefore it is greatly prized by many sheep-owners, and 

 considered equal to hay. 



" 2. O if and 'm/V^v straw, is the straw for fodder of the cereal fruits. Oa/-straw is 

 most agreeable, and also most nutritious, on account of its peculiar taste for all spe- 

 cies of cattle, because on the tins of the rtanicles are usually found unripe grains, and 

 oats are generally cut before they are fully rine. Baiieii straw has, on account of its 

 moisture, an 1 short perio 1 of veiretation. a high value as fodder, and other things 

 being equ a' is as nutritinns as oat-straw, if it were not, as is the case, fully ripe before 

 reaping. Yet it is more liable to iniure than oat-straw, because after reaping it im- 

 bibes more moisture from the air and soil. 



" 3. Straw of .s"/..;;.>7^r-?r//^a/, annrmer-^npllz. and aymmfr-ryp, for fodder, stands 

 after oat and barley-straw ; but in many firms, where the straw of the usual species 

 of winter-grains suonlies the need of litter, it is emnloyed for csjiecially the moister 

 straw olsuTim'^r-wheat an 1 summer-sneltz. That of summer-rye is less nutriMous. 



"4. The s7 <■/''.• of nuii.zp (Indian corn) contains much sac^'.harine matter, and there- 

 fore is very nii';ri-inns use 1 ^ne. an 1 agreeable to all kinds of cattle. The cob.s. after 

 the corn has been taken oIT, ground u •, are likewise a very nutriduus fodder, and tlie 



