524 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[December. 
The Ration for Maintenance of Animals. 
BT DR. G. C. CALDWELL. 
As a basis of operations in stock feeding, it is 
useful to know what is the ration required for 
mere maintenance of the animal. It is not profit¬ 
able to allow a beast to waste away on insuf¬ 
ficient food, if this loss of flesh must be made up 
again in the following season. The farmer should 
not try to carry more stock over winter than he can 
feed well, so that there will be something to show 
in the shape of animal produce, milk or meat, as 
well as good manure in the yard. It is better still 
not to so overload himself with stock as to be 
obliged to partially starve it to carry it over. It is 
an easy and apparently cheap operation to keep 
animals for a time on their own flesh and blood, 
but it costs more than it comes to, as will be learn¬ 
ed when it comes to building the animal up again. 
Wolff says that the daily ration for mere main¬ 
tenance of an animal in average condition, should 
contain for 1,000 lbs. live weight 14 to 15 lbs. of dry 
substance, in which there should be .75 lb. of di¬ 
gestible albuminoids, and 8.25lbs of digestible non- 
nitrogenous or non-albuminous matters ; and, fur¬ 
ther that there should be 
the equivalent in fatty 
and starchy matters of 
not more than 11 to 12 
parts of non-nitrogenous 
substance, or respiratory 
matters, to one of albu¬ 
minoids, or flesh-form¬ 
ing matters. The experi¬ 
mental basis for these 
estimates for beef cattle 
is not a very broad one. 
It comprises, (1) two 
experiments extending 
over four weeks each at 
Weende, Germany, with 
one ox, and three ex¬ 
periments with another 
ox ; (2) a winter’s feed¬ 
ing of the working oxen 
of a farm in Weende, 
in which the animals, 
weighing about 1,400 
lbs. each, gained 70 to 80 
lbs.; (3) a winter’s feed¬ 
ing of the oxen on an¬ 
other farm; (4) another 
pair of experiments with 
two oxen,extendingover 
a period of about nine 
months, during which the rations were changed 
every two or three weeks, but still kept low in 
quality ; (5) another experiment with one ox ex¬ 
tending over about four months. On the results of 
these few feeding trials in which the ration was 
carefully analyzed the estimates above given are 
based. Other experiments have not since been made 
in Germany, to test the correctness of the estimate. 
It is well known that Professor Sauborn, in his 
numerous feeding experiments at the New Hamp¬ 
shire Agricultural College, kept animals for many 
weeks, not only without loss of weight on a ration 
very much poorer than this maintenance ration, 
containing a smaller proportion of the important 
albuminoids, but the animals even gained in 
weight. On a ration about equal to the maintenance 
ration they gained 1.37 lb. a day per 1,000 lbs. live 
weight. Even on a ration with so low a proportion 
of albuminoids that there was but one part of these 
to 21 of noil-albuminous digestible matter, there 
was a gain in one case of almost .9 lb. a day. 
At Cornell University three steers, fed six weeks 
on a ration containing for 1,000 lbs. live weight, .8 
lb. of digestible albuminoids and 8 lbs. of non-albu- 
minous matters, gained 2.25 lbs. per day for 1,000 
lbs. live weight; the average aggregate weights of 
the three animals were for the successive weeks as 
follows: 2,535,2,571, 2,590, 2,633,2,685 and 2,773 lbs. 
Here was unmistakable and not unimportant gain, 
more than would be expected, even though the ra¬ 
tion is somewhat richer than Wolff’s maintenance 
ration. Its nutritive ratio was 1 to 10, instead of 1 
to 11 or 1 to 12, as Wolff requires. This ration was 
per 1,000 lbs. live weight and per day, 14.2 lbs. of 
corn-stalks, 3.8 lbs. of clover hay, 1.9 lb. of corn 
meal, and .84 lb. of malt sprouts. The composition 
was calculated not from the usual tables of the 
composition of fodder, but from analyses made 
of each article of fodder in the chemical laboratory. 
Several years ago a large number of feeding ex¬ 
periments were reported by Messrs. Lawes and Gil¬ 
bert in the “Journal of the Royal Agricultural Soci¬ 
ety,” (Eng.) In four of these, where the gain per 
1,000 lbs. live weight was about a pound a day, I 
have calculated the composition of the ration, from 
the usual tables of composition and digestibility of 
foddering materials ; these four rations were as fol¬ 
lows : (1) 5.26 lbs. oil cake, 8.6 lbs. of clover and 30 
lbs. of swedes ; (2) 6.9 lbs. of rye grass hay and 123 
lbs. of swedes ; (3) 3.75 lbs. of bean meal, 5.6 lbs. of 
straw, and 80 lbs. of swedes; (4) 1.4 lb. of oil cake, 
1.18 lb. of bean meal and 94 lbs. of swedes. 
The nutritive ratios, expressing the relative pro¬ 
portions of albuminous and of non-albuminous 
matters were in the several cases 1 to 3.3, 1 to 5.4, 
1 to 4.5 and 1 to 4. The gain was smallest on the 
first ration, or a pound a day, and largest on the 
ing the land, the next point is, to secure the nuts. 
These should be kept during the winter where they 
will not become dry. A few may be placed in a 
box, or barrel, with sand. Larger quantities may 
be placed in heaps of a few bushels each, and cov¬ 
ered with sods, or as pits of roots are covered, 
with a layer of straw, over which is thrown a few 
inches of earth. Young farmers, there is money 
in raising Black Walnut trees, provided you have 
land that is fit for nothing else, and will have pa¬ 
tience to wait for its slow but sure returns. 
Fig. 1. —THE PRIZE SHORTHORN COW “ CZARINA MANORAVON 
last ration, or 18.5 oz. 
weight. 
”—Engraved for the American Agriculturist. 
day for 1,000 lbs. live 
A Good Investment. 
A young man in Northampton Co., Pa., writes 
us that he is now twenty-one years old, that in 
some of the mountainous parts of his State he 
can buy land at 25 cts. an acre, and he proposes to 
purchase a large tract, and plant it to Black Wal¬ 
nut trees. He asks our opinion of this as an in¬ 
vestment. On general principles, we judge that 
it would prove highly profitable. But a number of 
points are to be considered. Has the native tim¬ 
ber been cut off, or is the land so situated that the 
timber will pay for the clearing? Of course, one 
can not grow Walnut trees on land already occu¬ 
pied. Black Walnut is now in great demand, not 
only in this country, but abroad. The wood-work¬ 
ers of England have already noticed the great su¬ 
periority of the timber grown on the sterile lands 
of the Eastern States over that more rapidly grown 
on the richer Western lands. While the demand 
for Black Walnut timber is rapidly increasing, the 
supply is annually decreasing. There are thous¬ 
ands of acres, utterly useless for tillage, that 
might, at a small outlay, be planted with some trees 
if not in black walnut, and in twenty years yield 
splendid returns. This is something for young 
men to think of; let them follow the example of 
our frieud in Pennsylvania, and begin now. Hav¬ 
Bee Motes for December. 
Our Conventions. 
A leading cause for the recent rapid progress in 
Apiculture, is to be found in our numerous Con¬ 
ventions. These County, District, State, Inter¬ 
state, and National meetings, to consider, and dis¬ 
cuss important questions, are now numbered by 
hundreds, and are lending a powerful influence to 
develop practical apiculture. The most influential 
of all these societies is the North American Asso¬ 
ciation. This gathers the “meat” from all the 
lesser associations and 
freely distributes it to 
the w'hole country. Re¬ 
ports were made at the 
recent Cincinnati Meet¬ 
ing from nearly all the 
States of the honey yield 
for the past season. The 
records for the South 
and West were encour¬ 
aging. The South espe¬ 
cially has had a wonder¬ 
ful yield of the best 
honey. In the East, and 
north from Ohio, the 
yield has been unpre¬ 
cedentedly light. In 
Southern Ohio, and por¬ 
tions of New York and 
Canada, the report is of 
an entire failure. In 
California and the East, 
the crop is poor. From 
these reports we gather 
three important facts: 
first, cold, no less than 
excessive drouth or wet, 
will dry up the nectar 
glands,and blast the bee¬ 
keeper’s hopes. Second¬ 
ly, the Gulf States, especially Texas, bid fair to rival 
California as honey producing regions. The win¬ 
ters are as safe, the honey season as long, and the 
seasons more sure. Thirdly, the South can fur¬ 
nish as fine honey as any section of the United 
States. Honey exhibited from Florida, Mississippi,, 
and Texas, was greatly admired. From these re¬ 
ports, we also learn an important lesson : that to 
secure a certain harvest, bee-keepers must grow 
special honey plants. Then, if the White Clover,, 
or the Basswood fail, we still have hope. 
Supply cannot equal the Demand. 
If rightly managed, it is impossible to olog the 
market even with extracted honey.. Pure honey in 
every sales-room, and factory, put up in the best 
style, will sell in almost unlimited, quantity. 
Overstocking the market need no longer be feared.. 
The President, iu his address, referred to the im¬ 
portance of improving our bees. In some places 
black bees have been fed through the season, 
while Italians, and especially Syrian bees, gathered . 
considerable surplus. In speaking of the good 
work done by our improved Exhibitions at fairs,. 
he said, “Let allapiculturists work for larger premi¬ 
ums at our fairs, for separate buildings, for honey 
and bee exhibits, and for the right to make sales,- 
on the grounds, providing the exhibition is in no 
wise injured thereby, and most important of all see 
to it that the exhibitions are excellent.” Refer¬ 
ence was made to the bee tent, of thin gauze or 
mpsquito netting. This covers the person and the 
