672 



NEW ENGLAOT) FARMER. 



Dec. 



COOKING FOOD FOR CATTLE. 



The subject of cooking food for stock was dis- 

 cussed at one of the evening meetings held at 

 Buifalo, during the late State Fair of New 

 York. The statements made by some of the 

 speakers in regard to the increased value of 

 steamed food we regard as bordering on the 

 extravagant. Mr. George Moore, of Erie 

 county, said he had fully satisfied himself that 

 the value of food was tripled by cooking. 

 Mr. G. Geddes, of Syracuse, had thoroughly 

 proved years ago that cooking, independently 

 of grinding, at least doubled the value of food. 

 Others considered two bushels of steamed fod- 

 der better than three uncooked. 



Wm. Birnie, Esq., of Springfield, Mass., 

 whose stock for several years has consisted of 

 about fifty head of thoroughbred Ayrshire cat- 

 tle, and five horses, has practiced steaming 

 feed for his stock since 1858, and, as he says 

 in a letter to the Country Gentleman, "with 

 increasing confidence in its economy." The 

 process and apparatus employed for this pur- 

 pose, is thus described in this letter : — 



My barn is built on a side hill, and is three 

 stories in part, the principal story on which 

 the barn lloor is situated being level with (he 

 ground on the highest side, and used entirely 

 for the storage of hay, grain, &c. The next 

 story below opens on to the barn-yard, and is 

 used for stabling and a root cellar, being under 

 ground at one t-nd. Under a portion of this 

 story is a manure cellar 50 by 28 feet, and 8 

 feet deep, which opens on to a still lower 

 yard. 



On the stable story is located the steam ar- 

 rangement. In one corner of the under 

 ground part is the boiler room, about ten feet 

 square, made as near tire-proof as pos.^ible. 

 The chimuty is built of brick on the outsiile, 

 against the coiner of the barn, and extends 

 about six ieet above the roof at that point 

 The boiler (tubular) is about the capacity of 

 a four horse en;^iiie. The vat or chest in 

 which the steaming is done is built of brick 

 and lined Avith two inch plank, tongued and 

 grooved, is six feet square inside and eight 

 feet dee]), and extends (rora the stable iloor to 

 the ba) n (ioor above, with a lid the Avhole size 

 of the top, openinii on a level with the lloor. 

 There is also a door four feet square on one 

 side, near the Ijottom, for the purpose of tak- 

 ing out the Iced. The vat steam pipe ]iasses 

 directly from the boiler to the vat, and ex- 

 tends around the four sides and across the 

 middle, about six inches aI)ove the bottom. It 

 isperfora'ed with small holes, about six inches 

 apart, lor th(! escape of the steam. Conven- 

 iently located at one side, above the top of 

 the vat, is a cask which holds about two hun- 



dred gallons of water, which is kept full by a 

 pipe connected with an aqueduct. 



The fodder is cut by horse-power on the 

 barn floor, and consists usually of about one- 

 half coi-n-stalks and straw and one-half good 

 hay. It is thrown from the lloor into the vat, 

 and thoroughly Avet and mixed with a small 

 quantity ol' meal or bran, according to circum- 

 stances, continuing the process luitil the vat is 

 full, and taking care to tread down well, using 

 as much water as x>ossihle, to caute the fodder 

 to absorb as much as it will hold. 



1 usually direct my foreman to start the fire 

 in the boiler before he begins to (ill the vat, 

 and by the time it is full the steam begins to 

 pass into it. I never attempt to gel lip much 

 pressure, but let the steam pass into ihe vat 

 as fast as it: is geneiated, and like to keep it 

 on three or four hours — the longer the better. 



1 feed with the steamed mixture morning 

 and evening, and with good dry hay at noon. 

 When feeding time arrives, the door at the 

 lower side of the vat is opened, and a sufficient 

 quantity withdrawn into a box, and the door 

 closed at once ; it is then carried to the cattle 

 in a basket, giving to eaeh about a bushel, less 

 or more, according to size and condition. By 

 the time it reaches the cattle it will be quite 

 warm, but not hot. 



Last Avinter I steamed but twice a week, 

 finding no unfavorable effect from keeping 

 the feed so long. This was done to save labor 

 and fuel. Three times a week is better. 



TACT IN" FEEDING STOCK. 



As an excuse for the wretched looking ob- 

 jects to be seen on some farms, and as a rea- 

 son for not obtaining better animals, it is of- 

 ten said, what would be the use of having any- 

 thing well bred on such land P The best stock 

 in the world would soon be no better. This 

 is partly true, for poor feeding will cause de- 

 generacy in each succeeding generation ; but 

 however bad the soil may be, tact would force 

 some forage crops for sunmier, and loots for 

 wintt-r, to assist the thin herbage for ihe warm 

 season, and to help the dritd-up, old, with- 

 ered hay through the cold weather. 



It ii astonishing to see the good effects pro- 

 duced by judicious management of slock of all 

 varieties, each generation becoming superior 

 to its ancestors, if feel and treated in a belter 

 way, and if a wise discrimination is l)roiightto 

 b'-ar on the proper ma'ing of the ))aients ; as 

 witness the sheep of the present day, com- 

 pared with those of forty jears back, and see 

 lir)w very much finer the descendants of the 

 Arabian horses are in England, in spite of the 

 pernicious practice of over eatly training. 



It is not altogether the liberality in feeding, 

 that tells on the colts, the calves and the tegs; 

 then; is a certain watchfulness and care com- 

 bined with a nice perception of what is re- 

 ([uired, which none but an exj erienced person 

 knows how to exercise to benefit the young ani- 



