CHAP. xi. THE MIXING OF FOODS. 183 



grain, bruised oats, beans, &c. But even in this state, while the food 

 may be, and is, taken by the animals, it is easy to see that it is not taken 

 with that readiness which betokens a keen relish. If moistened with 

 water the ingredients are better liked, still more so if salt be added to 

 them. But it is when fermentation is allowed to set in, that the 

 relish we have referred to displays itself. It is not known to whom 

 agriculture owes the introduction of this new method of treating food 

 the fate apparently of all things nearly connected with the art but, 

 judiciously availed of, it promises to create quite a revolution in the 

 practice of feeding with foods in which straw is made to form a 

 principal ingredient. Many indeed can scarcely fail to have noticed 

 with what eagerness pigs devour food which has gone sour, or in which 

 fermentation has proceeded to an advanced stage. x This may have 

 given rise to thoughts connected with the application of food in a like 

 condition for stock ; we ourselves applied it years ago with decided 

 success. 



But the mere fermentation of the mixed foods named above is not 

 that alone which decides the economical use ; it is the kinds of food 

 which are mixed, and the way in which they are treated, which 

 constitute the feature of the best system. And that s} r stem owes its 

 introduction to Mr. Samuel Jonas, of Crishall Grange, Saffron Walden. 

 Briefly described, the system consists in cutting large weights of wheat 

 straw into chaff', placing it in large bins, mixing it with green food cut 

 also by the machine, such as rye or tares, in the proportion of 1 ton of 

 wheat-straw chaff to 1 cwt. of the green food and 1 bushel of salt. 

 When the whole is thoroughly mixed the mass is pressed closely 

 together into the bins, in the early spring months, as soon as the green 

 food is ready to be cut, and allowed to remain till October, when it is 

 begun to be used, its use being continued throughout the winter 

 months. What ma}^ be called the chemical result of this process is 

 described by Dr. Voelcker in a very practical paper in the " Royal 

 Agricultural Society's Journal," vol. vii., second series, thus " The 

 addition of the green stuff causes the straw chaff mixture to heat ; the 

 volatile and other flowery principles produced by the fermentation are 

 retained by the straw chaff', itself undergoing a kind of slow cooking 

 process ; and they impregnate the whole mass with an extremely 

 pleasant flavour, scarcely inferior to that which characterises well-made 

 meadow hay." 



But although the mass, or mess, does possess this flavour, it is 

 not of course equal to hay in nutritive properties. Dr. Voelcker, 

 therefore, recommends some nutritive food, such as ground oil-cake, 

 to be sprinkled among the mass. At the same time it is worthy 

 of remark that there is really not much practical difference between 

 the mass and good hay. The cake used for this purpose should 

 be rich in albuminous compounds. Green German rape-cake or 

 decorticated cotton-cake will bring the mixture up to a relative 

 value as regards those compounds equal to that of good meadow hay. 

 About 2 cwt. of the rich cake ground into meal, added to 1 ton of the 

 mixture, will be found a good proportion. In Dr. Voelcker's paper, 



