360 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
December 
Straw Valuable for Feeding. 
5.0 
13.3 
63.1 
4.6 
The following statements, condensed from a 
report on the above topic by Dr. Charles C. 
Cameron, to the Royal Agricultural Society of 
Ireland, are valuable as giving light on a sub- 
ject which needs further experimental investi- 
gation. Dr. Cameron concludes that, pound for 
pound, the least nutritious kind of straw equals 
the best varieties of turnips, in its amount 
of flesh-forming principles, and greatly ex- 
ceeds them in its proportion of fat-forming ele- 
ments. He says that straw is more valuable 
when it is cut in the just ripe state, than when 
it is permitted to over-ripen, and that green 
straw contains a far greater amount of nutri- 
ment than is found in it even when just ripe. 
The different kinds of straw are thus ranked 
in the order of their value : 1. Pea haulm ; 2. 
Oat straw ; 3. Bean stalks with the pods ; 4. 
Barley straw ; 5. Wheat straw ; 6. Bean stalks 
without the pods. The following table shows the 
value of Oat straw compared with Meadow hay : 
In 100 parts of Meadow Half. Oat Straw. 
Water 14.61 14.0 
Flesh-forming constituents 8.44 
Respiratory and fatty matters 43.63 
Wooily fibre 27.16 
Mineral matter, (ash,) 6.16 
In comparing good Oat straw with common 
white Turnips, the latter were found to contain 
but little more than 1 per cent, of flesh-forming 
constituents, and less than 5 per cent, of fat- 
formers ; while the straw has about 4 per cent, 
of flesh-formers and 13 per cent, of fat-formers. 
As to the woody fibre of hay and straw, 
experiments made in 1859 by two German 
chemists, Stockhardt and Sussdorf, prove that 
cellulose, or the substance in plants of which 
woody fibre is formed, is capable of being as- 
similated by sheep and other ruminant animals. 
They selected two wethers and fed them — 1st,' 
upon hay alone ; 2nd, upon hay and rye straw ; 
3rd, upon hay and the sawdust of Poplar wood 
which had been exhausted of soluble matters 
with lye, with a little bran and salt added to 
make it palatable; 4th, with hay and Pine- 
wood sawdust, bran, and salt ; 5th, Spruce saw- 
dust, bran, and salt; 6th, hay, pulp of linen 
rags (from the paper-maker,) and bran. The 
experiments were carried on from July to No- 
vember, excepting a short time during which 
the sheep were pastured to recover from the 
injurious effects of the fifth experiment. The 
animals and their food, drink, and excrements, 
were weighed daily. The amount of cellulose 
in the food was determined, and also the pro- 
portion in the excrements. In this way it 
was ascertained that from GO to 70 per cent, of 
the cellulose of hay, 40 to 60 per cent, of that 
substance in straw, 45 to 50 per cent, in Poplar 
wood, 30 to 40 per cent, in Pine wood, and 
80 per cent, in the paper pulp, was digested. 
To render a larger portion of cellulose di- 
gestible, Dr. Cameron recommends cooking 
straw. When consumed in an unprepared state, 
most of its cellulose remains unappropriated. 
He advises to chaff (cut short) the straw, steam it 
and mix it with roots and oil-cake or grain ; or 
mix it with sliced roots, moisten with water, and 
keep it until a slight fermentation sets in. Expe- 
rienced feeders in England have found that 
dairy cows in Winter, if fed on large quantities 
of roots, particularly Mangels and Carrots, will 
eat but little straw and become very lean ; but 
that they will always eat a full portion of 
sweet, well-harvested straw, when they get a 
moderate allowance of roots— say 15 lbs. of 
mangels three times per day. Those who have 
roots can easily experiment in this direction, 
and perhaps arrive at conclusions profitable to 
themselves and to the whole community. We 
should be pleased to record their results in 
the American Agriculturist. 
Northern Sugar — Sorghum and Beets. 
9 
Many farmers may be discouraged by lack 
of success with the Sorghum this year, and so 
give it up as a farm crop. In this they will err. 
Corn has suffered equally by frost and drouth. 
It has been abundantly proved that an excellent 
syrup may be very economically obtained from 
the Chinese sugar cane, and from several of the 
varieties of the Imphee or African cane. It is 
most conveniently and cheaply produced, when 
the operations of expressing, concentrating, and 
clarifying the juice are conducted on a larger 
scale than most farmers would like to manage. 
So it has come to pass, that throughout the 
country, establishments have been erected, 
each capable of making several thousands of 
gallons of syrup. Many of these have this year 
stood comparatively idle, and the fear is that 
farmers will not contract to plant another season. 
The production of beet sugar is now in its 
very infancy in this country — not a pound has 
ever been in the market, and yet we anticipate 
for it a great future. It is already demonstrated 
that the sugar beets will grow upon the prairies 
and in Ohio, standing such drouths as that of 
the past season, and still maturing what would 
be considered good crops in Europe, and very 
rich in sugar. This sugar we surely can extract 
as well as the people of France and Germany. 
It requires a good deal of capital, expensive 
apparatus, in fiict a large establishment. No 
syrup is produced — the micrystallizable sugar is 
inseparably mixed with substances of offensive 
flavor, and is therefore fit only for distillation. 
Up to the present time sugar has not been pro- 
duced from the Sorghum in sufficient quantity 
to appear as such in market, but syrup is, 
and we suspect will be, the only product. These 
two industries, Sorghum culture and Sugar 
Beet culture, do not directly interfere, except so 
far as they both supply sweets. 
The question whether cane sugar exists at all 
in the juice of the Sorghum is answered affirma- 
tively by Mr. Wetherill, chemist to the Depart- 
ment of Agriculture. Still this gentleman after 
a labored discussion of the subject fails to make 
clear distinctions between grape-sugar and fruit- 
sugar. He acknowledges his own inability to 
prepare or procure pure grape-sugar, and fails to 
show the economic value of the syrup, contain- 
ing as he asserts, a mixture of the two ; for while 
the grape-sugar is not more than half so sweet 
as cane-sugar, the fruit-sugar is equally sweet. 
Experiments conducted on a large scale to 
prove several questions in regard to the Sor- 
ghum are now in progress, which we antici- 
pate will at least settle the question whether 
any marketable cane-sugar can be produced. 
For feeding, the beet refuse forms one of the 
most valuable products — in fact the extraction of 
the sugar does not apparently reduce the value 
of the crop for cattle feed at all. 
Talks at the Fruit Growers' Meetings. 
These meetings have been interesting of late. Pears 
and grapes have occupied considerable attention — the 
different varieties, methods of cultivating, and training. 
The grape, particularly, is exciting much Interest just 
now, and the question at a recent meeting was: " What 
Grapes shall we plant by the acre ?" 
Sir. Fuller said lie had little hopes of the new seedlings 
sold at high prices, lie would as yet trust only two, on 
an extensive scale, viz.: the Concord and Delaware He 
« as very severe on parties who had sent out some of the 
late seedlings, which they well knew, or should know 
would prove failures. This had a damaging effect on the 
cause by discouraging parlies from trying sorts which 
would succeed. The Concord may safely be planted 
largely, for if something better is found after a few years 
the Concord vines may be then dug up and thrown 
away, and they will have abundantly paid for themselves. 
Mr. Judd endorsed the Concord, which if pitched into a 
man's lot would be likely to take root and grow, while 
the weak growing newer sorts would soon die with the 
care, or lather the lack of care, they would receive at the 
hands of most farmers.— He would have the Delaware, 
the Allen's Hybrid, the Creveling, and other new promts 
ing sorts pushed forward as experiments, and tu supply 
smaller Quantities of choice grapes, but for the million, 
he would place the Concord as one of the first. 
Mr. W. s. Carpenter took the ground that we must ed- 
ucate the taste of growers and consumers, until the fuxy 
sorts would not be relished by them. He thought the Con- 
cord would soon be discarded for the finer flavored Del- 
aware, lona, Adirondac, etc.— persons that would take 
no care of vines did not deserve to have grapes. 
Mr. Fuller formerly had some faith in the Diana, but 
owing to imperfect ripening, will dig mostof his up ; has 
hopes of Creveling, but wants to see 100 vines in bearing, 
before endorsing it— Concords can be grown for 5c. per lb.' 
R. L. Williams, of Steuben Co., N. Y., had travelled 
pretty extensively over the grape regions of this Stale, 
and especially through the vineyards of Naples and vicin- 
ity, where there are from 50 to 100 acres of bearing vines, 
mostly Isabellas, with some Catawbas. They raise these 
sorts because the vines are cheap, are easily grown, and 
the grapes sell well in market, some of them unripe it is 
true, but they bring paying prices. The Catawba ripens 
better than Isabella in that vicinity, and is really a good 
grape; the Isabella is hard and sour. All grapes do bet- 
ter away from the coast; a limestone formation is best. 
Mr. Fuller did not want to see a grapevine shed its 
leaves early, as his Adirondac did by the first of Septem- 
ber ; leaves are necessary to ripen wood and perfect 
fruit. If the Adirondac will only hold its leaf, it will take 
rank among the good grapes, though it has no very mark- 
ed flavor to please any taste. 
E. Williams saw some rot and mildew among his Con- 
cords, in New-Jersey. Dianas were also affected— the 
only sorts entirely free, wereCIinton and Hartford Prolific. 
Wm. Clark, of Northampton, Mass., showed fine Con- 
cords grown under glass, where they had hung a month 
after ripening. They matured several weeks earlier than 
the same sort out of doors. 
Dr. Ward thinks the Concord improves each year. A 
strong vigorous grower, it resists deleterious influences 
around it, to which the Isabella gradually yields. 
The Pear claimed a large share of attention at some 
of the meetings. Dr. Ward showed Beurre Superfine, 
which he esteems as a pear of high flavor. The tree is a 
thrifty, vigorous glower, and bears well. It should form 
one of six varieties for market. He shall cultivate it ex- 
tensively—fruit hangs on well, even after the foliage has 
gone. In response to the inquiry what manure was best 
for the pear, Dr. Ward says he uses all kinds, and nothing 
comes amiss, but prefers barn-yard manure, unfermented, 
applied to the surface in November— would give a tree 
two or three wheel-barrow loads. 
Mr. Carpenter spoke of the Sheldon, as one of the 
very best sorts either for the amateur or for market. If 
he had but one sort, it should be the Sheldon, grown on 
the pear stock. Beurre d'Anjou was a very fine pear, 
worthy of more extensive culture, is a strong grower, 
good and early bearer. He is planting a new pear or- 
chard, one fourth Beurre d'Anjou, one third Sheldon. 
Mr. Field endorses Beurre d'Anjou and Sheldon, but 
were he to plant a pear orchard, he wouid set it wholly to 
dwarf Vicars, and then bud or graft in the branches, to 
secure strong uniform growth. If a variety of sorts be set 
out, the orchard soon presents a very uneven appearance. 
Dr. Ward replied to the inquiry, how to plant pear 
trees, that he trenclied, or subsoiled his ground, and then 
dug large holes two^eet deep, filled up one foot with in- 
verted grass sods, trampled solid, covered with loam and 
set the tree in this, filling in and sifting the fine earth 
carefully among the fibres, and spread a mixture of muck, 
lime, charcoal, and decayed manure over the whole. 
Dr. Trimble likes the Beurre Clairgeau for its thriftiness. 
It seems to rejuvenate weak sorts when grafted on Ihem. 
Dr. War I endoises its growing qualities, the grafts al- 
ways bear the year they are set, when pul in old trees. ' 
Mr. Carpenter says it is too great a bearer, and the fruit 
should be thinned— does not do well on quince, spoke of 
the premature ripening of pears and other fruit, owing 
to the drouth in Summer and Autumn— finds fruit does 
not keep as well on young as old trees. 
Dr. Ward had observed the same thing. He had al- 
ready (Oct. 26,) picked his Winter pears, including Law- 
rence, which he usually left on the trees much later. 
