CHAP. xii. QUANTITY OF FOOD FOR CATTLE PER DAY. 215 



and Co. judged too dear for them. According to their' quality the 

 cattle are supposed to pay from five to twenty shillings per week. 



Messrs. Smith and Harrington, of Brentford, fattened 810 oxen on 

 the refuse of 25,750 quarters of barley, with a certain quantity of hay. 

 They were in tolerable condition when taken in, and averaged about 

 110 stones. In twenty weeks they acquired flesh to the amount of 

 about 35 stones each. 



In the preceding facts and statements we have referred chiefly to the 

 feeding and fattening of middle-aged and old cattle ; young stock, how- 

 ever, require particular attention lest their growth should be impeded, 

 and therefore they should be fed on the best and most nutritive food 

 which the farm can supply. A beast that has been starved when j r oung 

 can never be made profitable for any purpose. 



During the winter they should have hay, turnips, and other roots, 

 and oil-cake or bean-meal: or, if straw is substituted for hay, the 

 proportion of other food should be increased, and given with con- 

 siderable care. In summer, their food varies so little from that already 

 described, as to require no particular details under this head. 



Oxen, as already stated, are now rarely used in this country for 

 draught, with the exception of a few districts in which the system is 

 still persisted in ; but in cases where they are used they ought to 

 be well fed while they are kept in constant employment, particularly at 

 the commencement of spring and in autumn, when their labour is most 

 wanted. During those seasons, they should be supplied with plemty of 

 cut hay and straw, or a good allowance of steamed potatoes, turnips, 

 cabbages, or carrots, proportionate to the work, and to the quality of 

 the fodder as well as of the roots. If the labour is unusually severe, 

 a moderate quantity of oats, with bran, or some bean or pea meal, 

 should be allowed. In summer, the beasts may be soiled with green 

 food, and in the winter stall-fed. 



A most important object in the feeding or fattening of cattle is that 

 such arrangements should be made, and such a supply of food provided 

 for winter consumption, that the grazier may be enabled to keep them 

 throughout that trying season, and sell them when meat brings the 

 highest prices, viz., from the beginning of February to the close of 

 May. Thus he will not only obtain more for them than the autumnal 

 markets would produce, but his stock will go off freely, and every 

 market be in his favour. He will also obtain a considerable quantity 

 of manure, and consequently be enabled to conduct his business to the 

 greatest profit. 



The relative proportion of food consumed by fattening cattle neces- 

 sarily varies according to the size of the animals, and the nutriment 

 afforded by the respective fodders. p[t has, however, been found, that 

 an ox will eat nearly one-sixth per diem of his own weight of cabbages. 

 Fattening beasts require from half a hundredweight to 75 Ib. of turnips 

 daily, besides an adequate allowance of dry meat to counteract the 

 superabundant moisture of these roots. For middle-sized animals a 

 bushel or a bushel and a half of distillers' or brewers' grains will be 

 sufficient, if combined with an ample portion of cut hay, chaff, or bean 



