STEAMING OR COOKIXG. 65 



sary to enter into a dollar-and-cent argument which would be 

 beyond the scope of the present writing. 



What nature does in the field, science must accomplish in the Preparation of 

 stable, which is to furnish to the animal being fed a ration that ' >ee * s 

 is not only suited to the daily requirement, but that will be 

 eaten with relish. 



Many farmers make the mistake of attempting to feed whole 

 beets to cattle. Under such circumstances the results obtained 

 are not what they should be. Beets should be properly sliced 

 and combined with other fodders. The size of the slice has an 

 important influence; if too large, there is danger to the animals 

 from choking, and several instances of this are on record. 

 This difficulty is never to be feared when using residuary- 

 diffusion cossettes from factory. The importance of a thorough 

 crushing, grinding, or slicing, as the case may be, is made evi- 

 dent when we consider that the digestibility of fodder depends 

 upon its combination with the gastric juice of the stomach; and 

 when the assimilation is not what was expected, it may be 

 largely due to the improperly-prepared food that was used. 



In certain cases there are important advantages to be derived Steaming or 

 from warming or cooking fodders; the practice, however, as to C0ol( i n 9-t 

 beets is by no means general. Cows are willing to eat more 

 warm food than cold, which fact realizes the desired end, that 

 of increasing their weight. Furthermore, steaming 10 to 15 

 minutes, at a pressure of three atmospheres, has the effect of 

 reducing to a homogeneous mass the straw and general waste 



paratively high. In very large beets grown upon highly manured soils, not 

 more than of their percentage of albuminoids is nitrogen. This fact fre- 

 quently leads to error, as the ultimate results obtained are not compatible 

 with the theoretical feeding value of the roots used. Sheep fed upon beet 

 roots digested 98 per cent, of the carbohydrates contained in the ration. 



t This cooking is an additional expense: calculations as regards cost would 

 have but little value, for this would vary for each case considered. It is for 

 each farmer to determine whether the operation is profitable or not. The 

 early theories respecting steam driving out alcohol, and other volatile sub- 

 stances that would be irritants, are most amusing. Certain farmers went so 

 far as to assert that during certain epidemics of pneumonia, cattle fed upon 

 fermented beets not steamed, died, whilst others receiving regular rations of 

 sliced and cooked beets lived through the plague. 



5 



