214 



NEW ENGLAIND FARMER. 



Jan. 25, 1828. 



JVE^» i:.iVi,LA]VD FARMER. 

 BOSTON, FRIDAY, JAN. 2.5, 18^8. 



ON FEEDING AND FATTENING 



CATTLE, 

 [f'oiicliuied from page 206.] 



It lias been ascertained, by repeated exppri- 

 meiits, thai looit iur swine, fermented till it be- 

 coiDi-s a little aciil, will go farther and fatten the 

 annuals taster than unferinented food of the same 

 quality. But, perh;.ps, it is not generally known, 

 that and food is valuable for neat cattle. Bord- 

 ley's Husbandry asserts, that "oxen made ball fat, 

 or in j;ood plioht, on jcrass or turnips, are then 

 tery highly, miu soon finished, in France, upon a 

 sour food thus prepared; rye meal, [buck u he^t 

 or Incian corn meal may be tried,) with water is 

 made into a paste, whicli in a few days ferments 

 and bei.oiiies sour ; this is then diluted with wa 

 ter, and thiikcned with hay, cut into chaff, which 

 the oxeu sometimes refuse the first day, but when 

 dry they dniijt and prefer it. All the husbandmen 

 ere decidedly of opinion, that they fatten much 

 better beciiiise of the acidity. They give it thrice 

 a day, and a large ox thus eats twenty-two pounds 

 a day Mai/.e [Indian] meal, or maize steeped till 

 sour, .should be tried. This sour mess is given 

 during the last three weeks of their fattening, and 

 they eat about seven and a half bushels of meal, 

 value four dollars." 



In attempting this mode of preparing fond for 

 cattle, care should be taken that the process of 

 feniicnlation be not carried too far. The paste 

 should not be permitted to become mouldy, nor 

 the liquiu food to be in the slightest degree pu- 

 trid. It is best used in that state called the sac- 

 charine fermentation, or at farthest should not be j 

 suffered to pass the vinous fermentation. 



There is, doubtle.ss, good management in wait- ' 

 ing lill the animals become "half fat," or in "good ] 

 plight," before they are fed with acid food. Acids i 

 or alcohol create appetite by stimulating the eto- \ 

 niach, but if lont; continued tliey weaken the di- 

 gestive powers, and in time injure, if not destroy, 

 the tone of the stomach. The animal will, then be 

 afflicted with a disease similar to what in a human 

 subject is denominated dyspepsia, and it will be 

 hardly, if at all possible, to fatten him. The con- 

 stitution of an ox as well as that of a human sub- 

 ject, may be destroyed by inactivity and rich food, 

 and it is only near the last sla^^e of his prepara- 

 tion for the butcher, that a fatting animal should 

 be treated like an < picure, and indulged with as 

 much as he can eai, of rich and high seasoned 

 food. Store keep should neither be too rich nor 

 too abundant ; and il is said, that if an ox is once 

 made fat, and then loses his flesh, it is nearly or 

 quite impossible to fatten him a second time. If 

 young cattle are kept in rich pastures in summer, 

 and are poorly fed in winter, they not only lose 

 flesh, but their disposition to acquire it. To such 

 cattle, Mr. Lawrence alludes, when he says, "it is 

 e.\troraely imprudent, indolently to continue at 

 high kccpinir animals which do not thrive. The 

 first loss is always the least." 



"Seme cultivators will keep and summer-fat a 

 considerable quantity of stock, but either neglect 

 or seem ignorant how to pro'*ide wiiiter provisions 

 of suflficient quantity and (iiialify for their support; 

 the evil consequence of tin i error, is, that they ore 

 usually obliged to part witli a considerable quan- 

 tity of stock half fat, at great disadvantage, on 



the approach of winter; and of that which they 

 retain, some are fed at an expense too great, 

 whilst the bu;k are left to encounter hunger, wet, 

 cold, and to lose as much per head during the 

 winter months as they are likely to gain in those 

 ot tlie follovMug summer. But iliis plan of sub 

 jectiug cattle to loss, or even to remain stationa- 

 ry, during the winter, is a great public ann private 

 disadvantage, partaking nothing at all of misfor- 

 tune, but wholly of error and neglect. The busi- 

 ness ol fattening may, and ought to proceed equal- 

 ly in winter as in summer ; and in store-feeding 

 ot cattle, tlie practice of keeping them hard, as we 

 phrase it, (that is) exposing them, half fed, or half 

 tarnished, to all the rage and inclemency of the 

 elements, is absurd in the extreme. These scape 

 goats pay nothing; but cattle comfortably winter- 

 ed, and kept in good store condition would pay 

 souielhiiig; particularly, by requiring afterwards, 

 much less time to fallen ; and is it not our object 

 to make the most and the speediest profit from 

 them.'"* 



"Slock cattle," eays Mr. Bordley, '^aic kept ;" 

 others are fattened. The feeding is different. — 

 Cattle kept, need no kind of grain, nor even hay, 

 unless to cows about calving-time. Straw with 

 any juicy food, such as roots, or " drank," f abun- 

 dantly suffices tor keeping cattle in heart through 

 winter, provided they are sheltered from cold 

 rains. Mr. Bakewell kept his fine cattle on straw 

 and turnips in winter. A drank for keeping may 

 be thus made ; roots, chaff, or cut straw and salt, 

 boiled together in a good quantity of water, the 

 roots cut or mashed. The cattle drink the water 

 and eat the rest. Drank for fattening cattle, thus; 

 roots, meal, flax-seed, chaff or cut straw, and salt, 

 well boiled together in plenty of water. If given 

 warm, not hot, i. is better." The same author 

 says, "hay, meal, and linseed jelly, with drmk, 

 must be excellent food in stall fattening. Linseed 

 jelly is thus made ; s; ven | arts of water to one of 

 flax seed, steeped in a part ol the water 4^ hours, 

 then add the remaining water, cold, ami boil gent 

 ly, two hours, stirring constantly, to prevent burn- 

 ing. It is cooled in tubs, and given mixed with 

 any meal, bran, or cut chaff. Each bullock (large) 

 has two quarts of jdly a day ; equal to a little 

 more than one quart of seed in four days." 



The following has been used by Col. Jaques, of 

 Charlestown, (Mass.) with the best succe.<is for 

 feeding cattle: 



Take of roots, either carrots, mangel wurt/el, 

 potatoes, or ruta baga, (cut fine), two bushels — 

 wheat bran, one bushel — powdered oil-cake, half 

 a bushel — English hay salt hay, and straw, eillier 

 barley, oat, or ry straw, cut, of each, seven 

 bushels — water, ten gallons ; let them be perfect- 

 ly mixed. 



The above quantity, has been found suflScient 

 for twenty one head of horned rattle, (part of 

 which were full aged, and so down to yearlings) 

 twenty -six sheep, and one Jack ass ; besides four 

 horses having each half a bushel in the morning. 

 The four horses had long hay at night; and if 

 they labored hard, they had some grain in addi- 

 tion. This feed was given at sun rise, and again 

 [the same quantity at sun down, and no other food 

 1 given. After each feed, the manger being licked 

 up very clean, a small quantity of salt was strew 

 ed in the manger, to all except the horses ; they 



* New Farmer's Calendar. ' ~ 



1 t Prani is a word used by Count Rumford for distinguishing 

 (this composition from simple* water. 



were salted three times a week. After ibis, all 

 the animals were curried, or carded and brushed, 

 and then watered. By this mode of feeding, the 

 mangers are left ver^ clean, and the cattle's ap- 

 petites appear as good when they have finished 

 eatinsj what is given them, as when tiiey begin 

 their meal ; and they were all in good health and 

 high condition in flesh. When the roots Were 

 cnrrnts or mangel w urtzel, the cows gave nearly 

 or quite as much good rich milk as when at com- 

 mon ijrass feed. 



The cattle looked so fine, and the mangers were 

 so clean, that the herdsman was frequently ques- 

 tioned to know if he did not feed between tliosc 

 meals, as it was thought not possible lor the cat- 

 tle to be kept in such high condiiiuii without more 

 food. 



Col. Jaqups moreover informs us, that in conse- 

 quence of his nut being supplied for a number of 

 days with salt hi'y, he supjilied its place in the 

 mixture with good English hay ; but there was, 

 in consequence ot this alteration, a visible tailing 

 off in the condition of the animals ; they however 

 recovered their thriving coiulitiMn again, on re- 

 storinj; the salt hay to the lui.Mure. lie thinks 

 that the salt hay is useful in the compound, by ex- 

 citin? some degree of fermeutatiiM) in the sto- 

 machs of the animals, by uhicn saccharine and 

 nutritious matter is develupi'U. 



A great advantage in feeding cattle, may in 

 many cases be gained by boiling or steaming their 

 food. Whether the advantage will more than bal- 

 ance the expense and trouble ol the fuel, and pre- 

 paration, depends on the price ol fuel, labor, &.C.; 

 and it is a question on whit h every cultivator 

 must decide for himself. We believe that few 

 persons are sensible of the nature and extent of 

 the gain which accrues from cooAiHg some sorts 

 of too for feeding domestic animals. It is a fact, 

 which, perhaps, is not siilBciciilly ki own or real- 

 ized, that water, in boiling farinaceous substances, 

 not only prepares them for easier digestion, but 

 by combining with them, becomes, by a chemical 

 process, a valuable nutrilious matter. Thus a 

 pound of Indian meal, or of rice, -when boiled 

 gives more nourishment to man or beast, than se- 

 veral pounds in a rau state. Count Kumford, 

 says, "from the result of actual experiment, it ap- 

 pears that for ench poztnd of In.iaii me;. I employ- 

 ed in making ha=ty puddini;. we may reckon three 

 pounds nine ounces of the pudiiing "* And again, 

 "three pt unds of Indian meal, three quarters of a 

 pound of Molasses, an<l one ounce of salt, having 

 been mixed with five pints of boiling water, and 

 boiled six hours produced a pudding which weigh- 

 ed fen pounds and one o«nfe."t The gain in 

 weight in boiling rice is still greater. There can 

 be no doubt that these mixtures must contain 

 much mor noiirishnient as well as more substance 

 uben boiled, than when raw : and as the addition- 

 al weight must have been derived from water, in- 

 corporated with the constituent partN of the raw 

 pudding, during the process of boiling, it would 

 seem that a part, at least of the additional nutri- 

 ment must have been acquired from the same 

 source. It has also been ascertained, by experi- 

 ments repeatedly made, that Indian corn and po- 

 tatops boiled or steamed, are more valuable for 

 feeding swine than the same articles given raw 

 But whether Indian meal or other articles of sim 



- Ruinford's Essays 

 t Ibid, Page 301. 



vol. i. page 258— Boston Edition. 



