120 
On Straic-Chaff. 
1 had for many years been a great advocate for the con- 
sumption of a large portion of straw-chaff for feeding pur- 
poses before we had the advantage of the scientific aid of 
such a man as Professor Voelcker, who, in Vol. XXI. of our 
Journal, furnishes us with an analytical statement of the materials 
contained in the straw of our cereal crops, which is highly 
valuable and satisfactory. 
Some years ago our chaff was cut by hand, and used fresh 
from the knife without the least fermentation, and was conse- 
quently little used by us, or appreciated by our cattle and sheep. 
Since then a plan has gradually been adopted in this locality of 
cutting and storing chaff in a large mass, and using it when from 
six to twelve months old. It is, if well managed, thus rendered 
by fermentation as sweet as well-made hay, and eaten by our 
flocks with great avidity. It has in two seasons, with no turnips, 
enabled me to winter my sheep and fold the land, leaving 
sufficient folding to produce a good crop of barley, not from the 
chaff alone, but from its being the means by which I enabled my 
sheep to consume with it large quantities of bran, malt culms, 
and oilcake, sufficient to keep them in health and good con- 
dition, and to leave the land in a good state for the following 
crop of barley, which I could not have done by any other means. 
The turnips were such a complete failure that, the same two 
winters, all my fat cattle were fed without having a root to eat. 
I had two coppers hung in the mixing house, ground my corn, 
and broke my cake with an American mill. These were mixed 
together with malt culms and boiled, and, after a certain time, 
were emptied boiling hot into a prepared bed of my old straw- 
chaff ; these were stirred over and mixed well together, and used 
for the stock in a warm state. They did well so fed, and became 
good fat bullocks, and paid for the expense of food and attend- 
ance, which they very seldom do. One of my sons has carried 
out this plan by fattening sheep in a yard well littered with 
wheat-straw (which is better than barley-straw for their feet), and 
feeding them entirely with boiled food and straw-chaff, no roots. 
These sheep paid very well for their food. Myself and sons have 
carried out this system of storing old chaff to such an extent, 
that we are using on our occupation (which consists of 4200 
acres of arable land) seven barns which were previously used 
for storing corn. My plan of cutting and storing is as follows : — 
I use a 12 horse-power engine by Hornsby, which enables 
me (when used on home premises) to thresh, dress, and sack 
the corn ready for market, and cut the straw into chaff. I use 
one of Maynard's powerful chaff-cutters, which sifts and puts the 
chaff into bags ready for being carried into the chaff-house. The 
straw, when delivered from the threshing-machine, is carried by 
