310 FEEDING ANIMALS. 



ting the corn into chaff, depositing it in the feeding-car, 

 and moistening it, consists merely in feeding the corn into 

 the straw-cutter the carrier delivers it in the car, and the 

 water-pipe moistens it, without any hand labor. It would 

 require 3,000 to 3,500 Ibs. of shock corn per day, and an 

 active man could, in good weather, bring this in from the 

 field, prepare and feed it. The feeding-car would run on a 

 track on the feeding-floor, and hold a day's feed. The cat- 

 tle would stand on each side of the floor, and, as the car is 

 moved along, the cattle are fed right and left. Where a 

 large number of cattle are kept two feeding-cars are re- 

 quired one to feed from while the other is filling and 

 fermenting. 



IMPROVEMENT OF THE CORN RATION. 



We have just seen how the whole corn crop may be fed 

 together, saving stalks as well as grain, and with much less 

 labor than is usually bestowed. But the stalks and grain, 

 taken together, are too poor in albuminoids to make a com- 

 plete ration alone. It is true that great numbers of West- 

 ern cattle are fattened every year wholly upon corn ; but 

 this ration is so easily improved that, where the crop is 

 handled in the manner described, this deficiency may be 

 supplied with two or three pounds of linseed-cake or 

 cotton-seed cake. This cake (or better in form of meal) 

 may be added to each corn ration when fed, and with this 

 addition cattle would be made to fatten most satisfactorily. 

 As before explained, one of these oil-cakes is better than 

 o ther nitrogenous foods, because of the large percentage of 

 oil, this overcoming the tendency to constipation from dry 

 fodder and the large percentage of starch in corn. Yet 

 four pounds of wheat-bran will answer a very good purpose 

 when cake cannot be had. 



