AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 357 



tempted by the addition of meal. I tliink the instinct of the ani- 

 mal tells us what is nutritions and what is not. A few years ago 

 the French thought they had made a great discovery by making 

 horse soup with Papin's Digester. But in a little while it was 

 found that it was not a suitable food for man. It did not contain 

 all the requisites. 



Prof. Nash — It is manifest that nature intended that beasts 

 should eat woody fibre, and that it is necessary to a certain extent. 

 Hence straw^ is valuable. So corn cobs may be. But it depends 

 upon the other portions of the feed Avhether it will l)e profitable. 



Wm. Law^ton — I quote some statements of Judge Peters. He 

 was of opinion that fifteen lbs. of cut hay was equal to twenty- 

 five lbs. uncut. It should always be fed systematically in regular 

 quantities. He thought a peck of salt to a ton was enough. The 

 economy of cutting feed is undoubted with me. I cut my hay 

 three inches long. A bushel weighs 5i lbs., if heaped and lightly 

 pressed. To each horse or cow. Judge Peters fed three bushels a 

 day, at three feeds, in troughs or boxes. Over-salting feed dimin- 

 ishes nutrition. 



Prof. Nash — I grew up a farmer, and never shall outgrow it; 

 and I contend that farmers are possessed of better common sense 

 than mere theorists. Judge Peters, in some things, is in error. 

 I contend that well made June hay, uncut, if judiciously fed to 

 cattle, will be consumed and digested, all of it, or as near as in 

 cut hay. Still I approve of chaffing all coarse hay and straw. 

 If all farmers should feed all their cattle food so as to save all 

 the nutrimpnt, it w^ould nearly double the value of their pro- 

 ducts. 



Mr. Bergen, a Long Island farmer, said that he was satisfied 

 that cob meal was not valuable, because no animal will eat cobs 

 in their natural state. It is just so w^th the w^oody fibre of butts 

 of corn stalks. 



Prof. Nash — Because the horse will not eat cobs, does it prove 

 that they are not valuable? Oats are the favorite food of horses. 

 Yet a liorse would not prubably eat the hulls of oats if separated 

 from the meat. 



Mr. Bergen — In this latitude hoi^es prefer oats, and will 

 always leave corn for oats. It is, perhaps, because they are 

 ■jiore used to oats. 



