Tlie Winter of 1885-86. 
429 
any escape. The mixture was well soaked with cold water before the steam 
was turned on. The cooking occupied from three to four hours. Having 
peculiar advantages as to water supply, we had little difficulty in arranging a 
continuous feed to supply the waste going on in the boiler, the only attention 
required was to keep the fire going. The artificial foods used was a mixture 
, of equal jmrts of pea and wheat-meal ; 3 lbs. per head of the mixture for each 
animal per day was the allowance. This was divided into two meals, and 
fed in troughs in the field twice a-day. The steaming completely removed 
the fusty smell from the hay ; it was eaten with avidity by the different 
kinds of stock, who were healthy and made satisfactory progress. The cost 
of the meal was id. per lb., the cost of coal and labour was id. per head per 
day. The forty heifers since May 1st have had 4 lbs. per head of decorticated 
cotton-cake per day on the pastures, which are only second rate. Cotton- 
cake generally is now extremely bad and probably less easily digestible than 
formerly. One heifer had to be killed on the 5th of July owing to persistent 
indigestion, terminating in inflammation. At the present level of prices 
it is questionable from a practical point of view whether linseed-cake is not 
the more economical food. These heifers were bought singly and in pairs 
between the 14th of November and the end of January, at the average price 
of 111. 6s. 8ci. Ten have now been sold, August 27, at an average of 19?. a 
head. Thirteen have proved in calf, most of them above an average. They 
dropped their calves during June and July, when such stock were practically 
unsaleable. The calves have been allowed to run with their dams, if placed 
in the yards, during the winter, and well kept. Both will be fit for the 
butcher by next April. The difference in value between cow- and lieifer-beef 
in our markets is Id. to 2d. per lb. I have long come to the conclusion that 
much larger quantities of roots are used in the feeding of cattle than accords 
with strictly economical principles. 
Mr. R. W. Langdon, in Somer.set, successfully carried 250 
sheep through the winter, without roots, by adopting the 
following regimen : — 
" One pint of flax or linseed to four pints of water (cold), letting it stand 
at least twenty-four hours. I then added two quarts of this mucilage to every 
two pecks of chaff and half peck of corn; this I reckon to cost lid., whereas 
corn and cake costs ^^d." 
Mr. Charles Howard has described to me his ' slopped ' food, 
used last winter. 
" It consisted of boiled barley and ' tail ' wheat thrown amongst the chaff 
and left for a few hours, a little linseed and cotton-cake being then added. 
My sheep during the past winter were fed upon linseed- and cotton-cake, 
beans, barley, malt, and a little wheat. Fattening animals would get from 
1 lb. to li lb., and breeding animals from a lb. to f lb. daily." 
Mr. George M. RIpwell, farm manager to the Duke of 
Bedford, also gave his sheep plenty of mixed chaff, cake, and 
boiled corn ; ewes after lambing have a few turnips in addition. 
^ The cattle had boiled corn, mixed with hay- and straw-chafF. 
At the recent conference of the British Dairy Farmer's 
Association, an excellent paper on Winter Dairying was read by 
Mr. Isaac N. Edwards, of St. Albans, and in this he gave the 
following table of food given during the winter, each day's 
supply being given in equal portions, three times a day : — ■ 
