400 
On the. Feeding of Stock with prepared Food. 
consequence of my apparatus for boiling linseed not being completed as 
soon as I had expected. And I found, that though the turnips were 
sound and good, the animal's bowels began to be affected, their coats 
uvew rough and staring, and the purging in( reased to such an extent, 
that without a change of meat, I have little doubt dysentery and inflam- 
mation of the bowels would have been the result. The same turnips, 
when given in so limited a quantity that they were obliged to eat a 
certain quantity of straw to fill their stomachs, agreed perfectly well ; 
but when they could fill themselves with turnips they refused the 
straw, and became ill in consequence. This might, probably, not have 
occurred had the straw been very good, which it was not; but it is a 
good instance to show the importance of a well-regulated diet. 
As soon as they were fed with tlie prepared linseed, and had but fifty 
pounds of turnips per head per day, they at once recovered their health. 
Other instances also have come under my own observation, where severe 
purging has been brought on by improper diet. I have seen it produced 
by mangold-wurzel, by caiTOts, and by potatoes when given in large 
quantities. 
Another advantage of your system is, the great saving of turnips. To 
keep a farm in a high state of fertility, it is, on almost all descriptions of 
land, necessary to fatten cattle in yards during winter: and as turnips 
and other root crops are indispensable for this purpose, any system 
which economizes their use is equally important to strong and light land 
farms; as, in the latter case, it leaves a greater proportion of the turnip 
crop to be consumed on the land by sheep, and on the former a larger 
number of cattle can be fed on the same breadth of fallow-crop ; which, 
to those who know the difficulty of catching a season for even a few 
acres of such crops on really stiff land, will be felt to be a point of ma- 
terial importance. 
Allow me, in conclusion, briefly to ])oint out the many points of re- 
semblance between your prepared food and that obtained by a grazing 
bullock in a pasture. Tlie grass is in short lengths, and requiring little 
mastication before swallowing ; it contains much water, and nourishing 
ingredients are mixed witli a large proportion of what may be called 
neutral matters to give distension to the stomach. In the artificial food, 
by using chaft' or chopped straw, you also save the labour of long masti- 
cation, and furnish the neutral ingredients which give the required l)ulk. 
The boiled linseed and meal, intimately mixed with the straw, furnish 
the mitritive matter, and give an agreeable flavour to the whole ; a 
sufficient quantity of water is also thus supplied, and the warmth is arti- 
ficially furnished, which, in summer grazing, the temperature of the air 
supplies. The parallel is very complete, and iis success is such as a 
close imitation of nature usually ensures. 
I heg to state, that as I intend (D. V.) to have your system in full 
operat on during the whole winter, any brother farmer who may wish to 
sec it at work will be heartily welcome to do so at my farm, whether he 
wishes to take a hint, or merely to examine and criticise. 
I am. dear Sir, 
Yours truly, 
Moat JIdll. York, II. S. Thompson. 
Sep. VUh, 184(>, 
