1860. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



415 



For the New England Farmer. 

 THOUGHTS SUGGESTED BY THE N. E. 

 FAKMER, JULY, 1860. 



Page 301. — Do animals consume food in pro- 

 portion to their size'? — The afRrmative answer to 

 this question, that which ninety-nine out of every 

 hundred of farmers would give to it, seems so 

 perfectly in accordance with the dictates of com- 

 mon sense, and with general experience, as to 

 make it next to impossible for us to believe that 

 a man, who uses his head to so much good pur- 

 pose as Mr. Johnston is well known to do, could 

 possibly intend, in the paragraph here quoted 

 from an article of his in the Country Oentleman, 

 to contradict flatly this affirmative reply, or give 

 a directly negative one. Though his words may 

 seem to imply such a negative, yet we believe he 

 does not really intend to say that the common 

 opinion in reference to the amount of food re- 

 quii-ed to sustain animals in their present condi- 

 tion, or in statu quo, is incorrect. He was not 

 writing in that article about common feeding of 

 stock, or such feeding as would just carry them 

 through the winter in statu quo, but about buying 

 and fattening cattle and sheep. Hearing of Mr. 

 Johnston's superior good judgment and success 

 in this department of the farmer's manifold oper- 

 ations, a "young farmer" had asked ■Mr. J. to give 

 him some information about buying and fattening 

 stock. In reply, Mr. J. informs "young farmer" 

 that it is better economy to buy sheep and cattle 

 of rather large size or live weight, as the large- 

 sized will lay on flesh and fat upon the same 

 amount of extra feeding, quite as fast as those of 

 smaller size, or even faster. He does not say any 

 thing, as we understand him, about the whole 

 amount of what they will consume, including grass 

 or hay, but speaks only about their extra feeding, 

 or of the meal of cake or grain, which must be 

 given them in order to make them fat, or in con- 

 dition for the shambles. He does not say that an 

 ox of 1400 pounds, will not eat more grass or 

 hay than one of 900 or 1,000 pounds, but only 

 upon an equal amount of meal, along with what 

 grass or hay each may choose to eat, the heavy ox 

 will fatten quite as much or as fast as the lighter 

 or smaller one, or even more so. This, surely, is 

 not hard to believe ; and this, surely, must be 

 Tyhat is meant. It is not hard to believe, for we 

 see every day, both among men and among do- 

 mestic animals of all kinds, that some make moi-e 

 flesh and fat out of equal amounts of food than 

 others do. This is especially noticeable in the 

 case of swine, some breeds, and some individuals 

 in every kind of breed, laying on flesh and fat 

 much faster than others with exactly the same 

 imount and kind of feeding. Then as to Mr. 

 fOHNSTON's meaning, one reason why we think 

 ■.hat it must be Avhat we have stated above, is this, 

 ;hat he says nothing about the amount of hay 

 which is consumed, but states only the quantity 

 of meal, three or four quarts a day — which he 

 gives to each ox, while we learn from this and 

 other articles from Mr. J.'s pen, that he does not 

 confine his fattening cattle to the stable all the 

 time, but allows them out in the yard the most of 

 the time, where he feeds them hay in boxes, which 

 they go to at their pleasure. Now, as Mr. J.'s 

 hay is of the best quality, and as his fattening 

 stock eat of this as much as they please, the rea- 



son why the largest fat the fastest, may be that 

 they consume more hay, though no more meal ; 

 or it may be that an animal, which at the same 

 age, weighs much heavier than another, possesses 

 a power of manufacturing more flesh and fat from 

 its food, than the smaller animal of the same kind ; 

 or it may be partly both of these. 



With such an interpretation of the language of 

 Mr. Johnston, and such an understanding of his 

 meaning, farmers will not be under the necessity 

 of supposing that Mr. J. has made a great mistake, 

 or that they have the testimony of a man of so 

 much sagacity and experience against them, when 

 they believe that animals consume about two to 

 three per cent, of their weight of hay, or its equiv- 

 alent, per day ; while those engaged in buying and 

 fattening stock may thus receive from him a val- 

 uable hint, for which they may, when verified by 

 their own experience, feel under much obligation 

 to him who so readily imparted of his light for the 

 guidance and benefit of his brethren. Let them 

 read the whole of the article from which the. quo- 

 tation is made, and we think their knowledge of 

 their business — buying and fattening stock — will 

 be materially increased, their obligation to Mr. J. 

 more sensibly felt. 



Page 304. — The secret of having good milch 

 coios. — The whole of the secret or art is not given 

 in this brief article ; but undoubtedly a large 

 share of it is. Corn fodder, roots, and other food 

 naturally succulent, or made so by cooking, as 

 Mr. BouTWELL tells us at page 310, he prepares 

 the food of his cows, is one of the essential requi- 

 sites to having good milch cows. This article, 

 and that of Mr. Boutwell above referred to, 

 contain information or hints which might be 

 made of more value to many than the cost of the 

 Farmer, either weekly or monthly, for a series of 

 years. 



Mr. Graves' cows average about 2,500 quarts 

 a year, and the poorest of Mr. Boutwell's stock 

 will yield, he says, 200 cans, or about 2,000 

 quarts, while some of the best have given a little 

 under, and others a little over 300 cans, or 3,000 

 quarts. Mr. B. is confident, as well he may be, 

 that few cows will yield 200 cans (2,000 quarts) 

 of milk per year when fed on dry hay in winter. 



Page^\5 — A good heifer. — The yield of milk ia 

 this case, 4,946 quarts in a year, is so much larger 

 that that of the best of Mr. B.'s cows, that we 

 would really like to know more of her winter 

 keeping and other particulars. More Anon. 



Fine Wool at the South. — In reply to a 

 correspondent, who asks whether a warm climate 

 is unfavorable to the growth of fine wool, the ed- 

 tor of the Georgia Southern Cultivator remarks : 



"Our observation during the last six years on 

 the produce of Merino sheep, brought from the 

 very best flocks of Vermont and New York to 

 Georgia, is, that while there is no loss in the 

 weight, there has been a decided gain in the fine- 

 ness of the fleece. If a 'South Carolinian' will 

 just prepare good pastures, and then get good 

 Merino sheep, he will find that he can raise fine 

 wool at a greatly less expense than is possible at 

 the North. We are not speaking hastily when we 

 express the conviction that wool growing, proper- 

 ly conducted, is, by far, the most profitable branch 

 of agricultural labor at the South." 



