92 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[Mabch, 
or non-nitrogenous substances given in tlie fifth 
column. The nUtli culumu gives the relative pro- 
portions of the AlbuminoiJs to the Carbo-hydrates, 
which in tlie meadow hay is about 1 to 5, (or 8.3 to 
■tl.3). These amounts and proportions should be 
■well understood, for they are important in coui- 
bininij these foddering matenals to set the best re- 
bults in feeding for a particular purpose : 
2'Ae or-: * 
gaiHc S 
Table 3. 
matter 2 
conflna ■= 
s 
ll 
as nit- S 
^ 
KINDS OF FODDER. 
1 
o 
c 
trilife * 
Tnare- z 
dieutu:, ^ 
Si 
< 
6 
100 Pounds Contain, 
S 
5 
1 
1 
S5 fci 5 
-■ia| § 
c 
ns. 
Ib9. 
ft3. 
lbs. lbs. 
{a)-H'ty. 
Meadow Hay, CommoE.... 
H.3 
6.2 
79.5 
8.2 41.3 1 to 
5. 
Afecrrnatii of ^nme 
14.3 
6.5 
79.2 
9.5 45.7 1 to 
4.81 
Red Clover, cuf In bloom.. 
16.7 
6.2 
77.1 
13.4 39.9 1 to 
2.23 
Red Clover, cut ripe 
16.7 
5.6 
77.7 9.4 30.8 I to 
2 16 
White Cl'-iver. cut In bloom 
16.7 8.5 
77.8 14.9 81.3 1 to 
2.30 
Timothy Ilav 
U.3 4.5 
81.3 9.7 18.8 1 to 
5. 
Average of all GrasseB.... 
14.3 5.8 
79.9, 9.5 41.7 1 to 
4.40 
{b)~Straw. 
"Winter Wheat Straw 
14.3 5.5 
S0.3 2.0 30.21 to 15.10 
"Winter Rye Straw 
14.3 3.3 
82.5 1.5 37.0 1 t'. 
18. 
"Winter Barley Straw 
14.3 5.5 
80.3 
2.0 39.8 1 to 11.90 
Snmraer Itarley Straw 
14.3 7.0 
78.7 
3.0 33.7 1 to 10.90 
Oat Straw 
14.3 
5.0 
SU.7 
2.0 38.2 1 to 15.28 
{>:)— Green Fo^Mer. 
Grass before blO' »m 
75.0 
2.1 
32.9 
8.0 12.9 1 to 
4.30 
Grass after bloom 
69.0 
2.0 
39.0 
2.5 15.0 1 to 
6. 
Red Cl'.iver tn full bloom.. 
7S.0 
1.7 
30.3 
3.7' 8.6 I to 
2.SS 
Corn Stalks, end of Aug... 
84.3 
1.1 
14.6 
0.9: 8.7 1 to 
9.C7 
Cabbages 
89.0 
1.2 
9.8 
1.5 6.8 1 to 
4.30 
Beet Leaves 
90.5 
1.8 
7.7 
1.9 4.5 1 to 
2.37 
(<n~Bootsand Tuber f. 
Potatof-a 
75.0 
0.9 
24.0 
2.0 31.0 1 to 
10.50 
SuKar Beetfl 
81.5 
n.8 
17.7 
1.0 15.4 1 to 15.40 
Carrots 
85.0 1.0 
U.n 
1.5 10.8 1 to 
7.13 
Rutabasfae.. 
87.0 1.0 
12.0 1.6; 9.3 1 to 
5.81 
Turnips 
oa.o 
92.5 
0.8 
1.0 
7.2 1.1 5.1 1 to 
6.5 1.3 4.3 1 to 
4.61 
Pumpkins 
3.25 
(e^-0rnin8 and Seeds. 
Wintr Wheat 
14.4 
i.O 
83.1 13.0 67.6 1 to 
.5.20 
■Wheat Flour 
13.6 
0.7 
86.7)1.8 74.3 1 to 
6.33 
Winter Rye 
14.3 2.0 
83.7 11.0 69.3 1 to 
6.29 
"Winter Barlev 
14.S,2.^ 
83.4 9.0 65.9 1 to 
7.32 
Summer Barley 
14.8 3.6 
83.1 9.5 66.6 1 to 
7 
Oata 
U.3| 3.0 
82.7 13.0 60.4 1 fo 
5! 
Indian Corn 
11.412.1 
83.5 10.0 68.0 : to 
6.80 
Buckwheat 
14.0 a.i 
83.6 9.0 59.6 1 lu 
6.62 
Vetches 
14.31 2.3 
83.4 37.5 49.3 1 to 
1.79 
Field Bcaaa 
14.5 .1.5 
8-J.O 25.5 45.0 1 to 
1.76 
Peas 
14.3 2.5 
S:!.3 22.4 51.6 1 to 
3.30 
Flaxseed 
12.3, 5.0 
82.7 20.5 55.0 1 to 
2.68 
Rape Seed 
U.n 3.!> 
S5.1 19.4 55.4 1 to 
2.R3 
Hemp Seed 
12.2 4.2 
83.6 16.3 55.2 1 to 
3.80 
Cotton Seed 
8.7 7.8 
83.5 22. a 41.7 1 to 
1.96 
(f^-Refune. 
Malt Sprouts 
8.01 6.8 
85.3 33.0 44.7 1 to 
1.91 
"Wheat Bran 
13.1 5.1 
81.8 11.0 .50.0 1 to 
3.57 
Rye Bran 
12.5 4.5 
83.0 14.5 53.5 I to 
8.69 
Rape Cake 
15.0 7.4 
76.6 28.3 •~!. 5 1 to 
1.18 
Dnsr^'^fl Cake 
11.5 7.9 
80.6 28.3 11.3 1 to 
1.46 
Cotton-seeU Cake 
11.5, G.3 
83.3 24.6o6.8 1 to 
1.20 
The first and second columns of figures show how 
much water and aeh are contaim'd in each material. 
100 lbs. nf turnips, for esuraplc. would yield about 92 
lbs. of water, and 1.3 ounces of ashes, and only a little 
over 7 lbs. of orp:anic matter. Though the ash has its 
use in the food of animals, find c.=i)ecialiy as manure, it 
will suffice licrc to take account only of the organic 
matter in Ihc Ihird coUimn. and more espocially its in- 
gredients in the f onrrh and fifth columns, and the ratio 
of these iu the sixth column. 
Let the reader fix well in mind tlic fact, that the 
albumiiioiih, those substances which contain nitro- 
gen, supply certain needs of the animal body, for 
Tvhieh the carbo-hydrates, that are without nitro- 
gen, do not suffice ; as, for in.stanee, the formation 
of muscle, and the curd of milli. The organs ot 
digestion and nutrition of an ox or a cow, can not 
make muscle or fat without the jiroper ingredients 
in the food out of which to make them. Experi- 
ence indicates iu a general way what kinds of food 
are best for ditferent purposes. But just here is 
where science is of great aid to practice. The won- 
derfully delicate weighing balances of the chemist 
and his accurate analyses, tell us exactly toliat ele- 
ments every pari ot the animal body is made of, 
and exactly what is found in every variety of mate- 
rial grown and used for animal food. At tiie Ex- 
periment Stations the workers take a lot of animals 
and feed them with the utmost care, watching 
every development, aualyzinii and weighing all the 
food, the excrement, and even the air they breathe 
to learn what escapes iu that. They combine the 
different varieties of food in a great many ways, 
and with careful hands and skillful eyes, note the 
precise effects witli marvellous accuracy. Thev 
have learned, for example, that a working ox, or a 
milk-giving cow, needs not only more food, but al- 
so food containing a larger proportion of albumi- 
Qoids than an oz at rat, or a dry cow. They have 
learned, for example, how much of different food 
materials an ox or a cow will digest, that is to say, 
how much is really nutritious and valuable as food, 
and how much is left to be useful only as manure. 
They have found, aud this is a very impoilant 
point, that when the albuminoids and carbo-hy- 
drates are not mixed in the proper proportions in 
the fodder, a part of the really digestible material 
will not be digested, but wasted. Aud they have 
learned how oilcake, malt-sprouts, and many other 
waste products should be mi.xed in the food, so as 
to secure the most complete digestion ; and evan 
how cattle may be made to obtain a large amount 
of nutriment from straw, chaff, and like materials, 
of which many Amenean farmers make little ac- 
ciiuut as fodder. Thus these carefid experiments 
show how different kinds of foocl may be combined 
to secure tiie greatest profit from feeding. And 
the German farmers who unite these results with 
their own best experience, find a great practical 
saving therein — a saving in couii>arison with which 
the cost of the Expuriment Stations is very slight. 
Science thus adds to the profits, and hence to the 
comfort, of farmers there, and will do so for us in 
proportion as we secure its aid.* 
The element, Xitrnr/cn, whic'n is so important in 
alliurainoids of food, as well as in guano and other 
fertilizers, though so abundant in the air, seems, 
so to speak, to be chary of being caught in plants 
and soils, and it is the most costly element of 
foods, as well as of manures. Further, German 
experiments show that the albuminoids can do the 
work of the carbo-hydrates in the nutrition of the 
animal, to a greater extent than the carbo-hydrates 
can that of the allnmiinoids. Hence, the albumi- 
noids are the most val'uable ingredients of food 
materials. The table above shows that 100 lbs. of 
medium meadow hay, contains about 8 lbs. of 
all)urainoids ; 100 lbs of wlieat straw contains only 
2 lbs., and 100 lbs. ot turnip.5 less than 1 lb., and 
so on. The table shows that in common hay the 
ratio of alljuminoids to carbo-hydrates, is about 
1 to 5. Experience and experiment agree that hay 
is a good fodder, and this in a proper proportion 
for ordinary feeding. But mileh cows do rather 
better on clover, in which the ratio is 1 to 2', o. So 
also a food richer in nitrogen is better adapted to 
oxen at hard work, and to fattening cattle. On 
the contrary, a dry cow or an ox at rest, would 
require only about 1 lb. of albuminoids, to 8 of 
carbo-hydrates. Straw of oats, wheat, or rye, cut 
when it is still tinged with green, and the " kernel 
is in the milk," contains these in the ratio of about 
1 to from 13 to 18. 
Accurate experiments many times repeated, have 
shown that oxen, or cows, or sheep, will digest 
and appropriate nearly as much from a pound 
ot straw, as from a pound of good timothy or 
clover hay. But this digested material from the 
straw contains only very Kttle albuminoids, and 
further, it will not be all digested imless some ni- 
trogenous material is mixed with the straw. With 
a food mixture ot straw and enough nitrogenous 
bean meal, to give a ratio of 1 to 8, oxen at rest 
in the stable are found to digest about one-half 
of the material of the straw, and all the meal. The 
I'hemistry of these tacts, which are of incalculable 
value to fanners, we will explain in succeeding 
articles, and hasten now to give some practical 
directions for applying them. 
The Science of " national Fmkkring " is indeed yet 
in its infancy, but r.ipid progress is making, and we 
want a score ot Experiment Stations in this coun- 
try to push on investigations, so that the present 
generation of farmers may have the full benefit of 
[* If our farmers feed only $300,000,000 worth of grain, 
grass, hay. and other forage in a year, aud science can 
teach them to save but 3 per cent of it by tnarhini; how 
to feed most econnraically. tliere is a savini: of $10,000.- 
000 a year, and th(rf is no doubt that this ran b< (fo/j«'— an 
averaijo savin;? of over a quarter of a million dollars to 
each State. .\s soon as people nnderstand this fact, the 
State Bo.ird of Agriculture of Connecticut, or any other 
State, will not hav<^ to work 6 year or two or more to get 
an appro[Triiitlon of a paltry five or ten thousand dollars 
to set up an Experiment Station to make the needed ex- 
periments to show farmers how to m«ke this eavliig, or 
increase their profit b; eo much.— Eds.] 
the developments. But we have some help already. 
Dr. Wolff, diiector of the Experiment Station at 
Hohenheim, in Germany, who has conducted a 
great many careful feeding experiments, and is, 
perhaps, the lir.st European authority in these 
matters, gives from his own and hundreds of other 
investigations, couiilcd with the best results of 
farm experience, the following proportions of food 
ingredients as appropriate for daily rations for the 
animals and purposes specified. These rations 
are calculated for each 1,000 jmuidx of live vxighf 
of the animals. The crude fiber (in straw and 
hay) are useful in giving proiier bulk or " ballast " 
to the food, and are to some extent digested also. 
Table 3. 
1 
77tii Organic 
matter cojvtisUi of 
SSJ, 
For Daily Feed ob Ra 
t . 
^.l? 
TION FOB EACH 1000 IbS 
Live Weight op the 
li ill Ills 
?ltl 
FOLLOWraO ANI3IAL9. 
i^:^ 
ii-'i^^^fc, 
SSO^ 
ns. 
tt>s. in>s. I lbs. 0)8. 
e; 
1. Oxt-n at rest lii stall 
14 1 
6 .9 1 7.2 0. 
I toe. 
■■>. Oxen at moderate work.. 
31 
9 l.W 10.15 0. 
1 to 5.5 
3. Oxen at severe Work 
25, 
10 2.« ,12.4 0. 
1 to 4.4 
1. Milcli Cows in winter 
31 
9 2.5 if.'.S 0. 
1 to 5. 
35 
10 3. hi. 0. 
1 to 4. 
6. For Fattening Cattle 
23 H 
6 3.3 14.3 1.3 1 to4.5 
~. For Growin!? Sheep 
?4 
10.3 1.96 11.8 0. 
1 to 6. 
8. For Fattenlni,' Sheep 
23. 
5 S.O 14.4 1. 
1 to4. 
It will be seen that an ox at rest needs only 1 lb. 
albuminoids to 8 lbs. of carbo-hydrates ; a working 
ox or milch cow requires a double quantity of albu- 
minoids, for producing muscular work, or milk. 
Now we are prepared to understand something of 
the reasons for the following tables, in which are 
given a few of the scores of combinations of food 
which Gernrin farmers constantly have by them, to 
usein judging how they shall best use, combine, and 
feed, such kinds ot food as they have on hand or 
can be.st buy. We repeat that these tables are the 
results of many hundreds of the most extended 
and careful trials at the Experiment Stations, ^rhere 
every possible aid of chemistn,- and practical test, 
have been brouglit into requisition ; 
Tabic 4,— Giving n Daily Ration or Feed (or 
the Animals iinmed. 
I. — For full drown 0.nen not at Work, 
A or B 1 or C 
IK lbs. Clover Hay ' ;'. lbs. Clover Jtav 5 P*s. Meadow Hay 
13 It>8. Harlev Straw 13 t^8. tVhcat Straw,? Ths. Ont Straw 
35 lbs. Becte ,20 lbs. Turnips '5 r>8. Wlieat Chaff 
?.; lb. Rape Cake .5 lbs. Potatoes 
\l.—For fuU grown Oxen at nwiierate Worl-. 
D or E or F 
13 lbs. Meadow llay 9 lbs. Clovrr Hay ,10 lbs. Clover Hay 
13 lbs. Oat Straw 10 lbs. RvoPtr.iw 11 ns. Oct Straw 
3 as. on Cake 33 lbs. Potatoes 30 Bs. Bcct« 
III.— For /nil grown Oxen at severe Work. 
G or H I or I 
12 lbs. Meadow Hav 11 lbs. Meadow Hay' 15 lbs. Meadow Hay 
12 r5>. TJarlcy Straw 7 lbs. Clover Hay ; 8 lbs. Clover Hay 
4 lbs. Clover Hay 9 lbs. Oat Straw 6 lbs. "Wheal Straw 
4 Be. Bean Meal 3 Bs. Oil Cake I 3 Bs. TVIicat Bran 
IV.— Tor Cows (fitting Milk. 
K or 1, I or M 
12 lbs. Meadow Ilav 10 ibs. Meadow Hav 10 Bs. Clover Hay 
11 Ibs. Barley Straw r2 lbs. Wheat Straw 10 Be. Barlev Straw 
.. _ - T^.._..- 50 P,s. Turnips. ^33 Bs. Potatoes 
3 Bs. Malt Sprouts' 3 Bg. Wheat Brao 
15 lbs. Potatoes 
3 lbs. Oil Cake 
or N or O or P 
6 Bs. TimollivIIav .50 bb. C.rcfn Clover ;10 Bs.<;reen Clover 
80 Bs. Green Clnver (jO Bs. Green Corn 90 lbs. Green Corn 
5 Bs. Wheat Straw Stalks stalks 
' 8 Bs. Barley Straw 7 Bs. Kye Straw 
A Jiicher Fodder for Same. 
Q I or n I or S 
10 Bs. Clover Hay 13 Bs. clover Ilav 10 Bs. Lucerne Hay 
111 Bs Oat Straw 10 Bs. Barlev Straw 9 Bs. Oat S^trpw 
5 Bs. Barlev CiialT ! 5 bs. Wheat Chaff ; 5 Bs. Timothy Hay 
30 Bs. Turnips ;30 Bs. Turnips ,13 Bs. Turnips 
3 Bs. Oil Cake I 2 Bs. Bean Jleal I 5 Bs. Malt Sprouts 
Note that the above tables are not for following 
exactly, but as indicating what pro])ortlon.^ will give 
the best and most profitable results. The three 
tables A, B, c, each give about the same combina- 
tion and amounts of albuminoids, carbo-hydrates, 
and fiber, and so of the other separate tables under 
each class of animals. Most ot the substances 
named are ol .-inable by American farmers. In 
using the above tables, barley, wheat, rye, and 
oat straw can be substituted for each other. 
Either turnips or beets can be used, and either 
rape-cake, linseed-eake. or cotton-seed-cake as 
oil-cake or meal. The Germans cultivate largely 
linseed, vetches, etc., and their tables usually 
include these. We propose to give a much 
larger series of tables hereafter, fifty to a hundred 
of them perhaps, with sneh exphinations as wUl 
mak» them useful to our farmers. But we ought 
to have Experiment Stations actively at work in 
several of our Stales, to produce results rractly 
adapted to American farming. 
