122 



• 



If crops having' an excess of albumenolds are fed by them- 

 selves, a part of the albumenoids will be lost, for the want of 

 carbo-hydrates to nnite with, as a part of the lime will be 

 lost in making mortar if there is not the proper amount of 

 sand for the lime to miite with. Also if crops having an excess 

 of carbo-hydrates, are fed by themselves, a part will be lost. 



As it is a loss to the bricklayer to have pebbles in the 

 mortar, that he must pick out from under every brick before 

 it can be laid, so it is a loss to have large amounts of indiges- 

 tible material mixed with cattle food. 



Perhaps good food for cattle may be defined as that in 

 which the albumenoids and carbo-hydrates are in the right 

 proportion, and a large per cent, of the fodder digestible. 



By mixing cotton seed meal with wheat or rye straw, all 

 the digestible carbo-hydrates of the straw can be utilized ; 

 but as about one half of the straw is indigestible, under any 

 conditions, it will not become first-class food, even with the 

 cotton seed mixed with it. 



The scientific question of to-day is not, '-What is any crop 

 worth when fed by itself, as compared with good English 

 hay?" but rather, "How can we grow, harvest and mix other 

 crops so as to make them equal to English hay?" Good pas- 

 ture grass, — that is, grass that is eaten in a week after it is 

 grown, — is the most perfect food for cattle. The elements 

 are in the right proportion, it is easily digested, and a very 

 large per cent, of it is digestible. Very early cut, well-cured 

 English hay, is the best dry food, if but one kind is to be 

 used. 



For making milk, in ripe hay, — except, perhaps, that made 

 from Hungarian grass, — in corn fodder, and in corn meal, 

 there is not enough of the albumenoids to use up all the car- 

 bo-hydrates. It is probable that a part of the nutritive value 

 of much of the corn meal, corn fodder, Englisii hay, — from 

 being too ripe, — salt hay and fresh meadow hay, fed in Essex 

 County to-day, is lost for the want of albumenoids. 



