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Straw as Food for Stock. 
Professor Buckman's opinion, and would prefer to sell straw 
and replace its value on the farm by the purchase of artificial 
manures. He says : — 
" Our great difficulty in Lincolnshire is getting the straw made into good 
manure without losing money. I think there are no feeding properties in 
wheat- and barley-straw ; in consequence we are obliged to buy a great quantity 
of artificial food to keep the cattle improving. It would be much more profit- 
able for farmers living near a railway or large town if they were allowed to 
sell a portion of their straw, and buy extra quantities of artificial manures in 
return. If straw were more generally used as food, stocks of cattle might 
be considerably increased ; but with no profit to the farmer, as wheat- and 
barley-straw have no feeding properties. Straw is employed in this district, 
about half-and-half. Wheat-straw for litter, and spring-corn straw for food. 
Store cattle have straw in yards ad libitum. Horses eat oats cut in chop. 
Sheep use very little straw. It is used for cattle ; partly chaffed and partly 
whole ; but when chaffed, it is mixed with one-third or one-fourth hay, and 
all used entirely uncooked." 
Mr. G. Bland, of Coleby Hall, Lincoln, gives very similar 
testimony as to the proportions in which straw is employed as 
food or for litter in Lincolnshire. He says : — 
" Barley- and oat-straw is all used for food, wheat-straw for litter. My cart- 
horses live on chopped oat-straw, with an allowance of corn ; store beasts 
on all straw, with a little linseed- or cotton-cake, and a few roots ; a small 
quantity for feeding beasts, very little for sheep. 
" I use more chopped when it is very scarce, but I think it better whole. 
" It is desirable to give straw chopped and mixed with hay or pulped roots 
for feeding cattle, and chopped small for sheep. A great deal is used about 
this district with a little cake, either linseed, cotton, or rape, frequently 
mixed." 
Another correspondent says : — 
" In Lincolnshire many cattle are wintered upon straw, with an allowance 
of linseed-cake or turnips. Straw cut will provide more litter. The expense 
of cutting would not be economical. Saw-dust is now much used as litter 
for horses and cattle. If straw were more extensively employed as food, 
stocks of sheep and cattle might be increased about 25 per cent. As to the 
system described in the 'Journal' by Mr. Jonas, it has been tried, and in 
some instances found to answer well ; still it is now nearly abandoned." 
Mr. Charles Beaven, Shipton Moyne, Tetbury, not only feeds 
straw largely on his own farm, but provides a number of cattle 
to consume the straw of his neighbours in winter. He says : — 
" I give straw whole, and the cattle consume about three-fourths, leaving 
the butt-ends, they being coarse and gritty, from the character of the soil, 
which is wet sand ; the remainder being used for litter. Generally about 
3 lbs. or 4 lbs. of linseed-cake are consumed with the straw by each animal 
per day. 
" To horses I give chaff, with corn, bran, and pulped roots. To cattle I 
should decidedly give whole straw, unless very clean and good, which then, 
with a portion of hay, may be chaffed and fennented with crushed linseed, 
corn, meal, cotton-cake, treacle, &c, or a condiment mixture, which may be 
very easily put together. 
