146 
Straw as Food for Stock. 
straw-chaff for all except their forward feeding-sheep, rendering it palatable and 
nutritive by admixture with concentrated food, pollards, or crushed grain. In 
the cattle-yards of Warwickshire many superior two-year-old beasts are success- 
fully wintered on 10 lbs. to 15 lbs. straw-chaff ; an equal weight of cut roots ; 
about 3 lbs. mixed linseed- and cotton-cake, with a supply of barley- or oat- 
straw, placed in the racks twice or thrice daily. 
" The high price of hay has further led to the more extended use of straw 
for the feeding of horses. For hard-worked farm-horses it is well to use about 
one-fourth of hay. Of this mixture horses weighing 15 cwt. will eat daily 
130 lbs., and 20 lbs. of mixed corn, such as oats, pulse, and maize ; and with a 
few roots or bran may be kept, with a very small modicum of hay, and at a 
less cost, in better condition and more free from disease than when allowed an 
unlimited amount of costly hay in the racks." 
Mr. R. H. Masfen, of Pendeford, Staffordshire, says that in 
his district straw is disposed of in the proportions of about one- 
third for food and two-thirds litter for stock. He is in the 
habit of cutting straw into chaff for horses, cattle, and sheep ; 
besides which, both cattle and sheep have some uncut straw 
always placed before them in winter, to pick from at pleasure. 
He is accustomed to steam straw-chaff for horses and cattle, and 
considers that the animals much prefer to have it in that state, 
and also fare better on it than when uncooked. As to saving- 
litter, he states that placing chopped straw in boxes is more 
in accordance with his ideas than compelling cattle to lie on 
sparred floors, as stock are apt to get knee-sore by constantly 
having to lie on so hard a bed. 
The subjoined statement illustrates another method of 
utilising straw as food, considered to be adapted to Hereford- 
shire and the counties bordering on Wales. One of my corre- 
spondents writes : — 
" Straw is much used in the grass-portion of our part of England, and with 
good effect. If the horned cattle are well bred, they do exceedingly well out 
in the old-fashioned fields in the cold wet autumn and early winter, with 
nothing but the short, wet, frosted grass, and a waggon-load of clean wheat- 
straw in the field, for them to eat, not to lie upon. But straw as the only food, 
or nearly so, should never be given to cattle tied up, or it may cause stoppage ; 
but only to those who have plenty of room to move about in, and plenty of 
water always at hand. The above applies to well-bred Shorthorn cattle 
chiefly. The Irish and low-bred cattle do not appear to thrive on this 
method (though it is very common in our neighbourhood), but they generally 
lose some of the little flesh they have. I have myself kept many well-bred 
Hereford in-calving heifers and others, on barley-straw well threshed out, 
and nothing else, except plenty of running water, every winter and spring for 
years, and they gained flesh on it. 
Mr. Thomas Oldaker, agent to the Rev. Archer Clive, the 
well-known breeder of Hereford cattle, states that in the dis- 
trict around Whitfield, Herefordshire, about half the straw is 
used for food and half for litter. Mr. Oldaker himself uses 
sawdust as litter. He further says : — 
