303 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[OCTOBEB, 
Shall we Cook Food for Animals? 
Philosophically, the pro and con of this question 
seem about equally balanced; but practically, 
when done upon a large scale with the best 
conveniences, cooking food for fattening stock 
seems to have gained the ascendancy. 
The philosophical arguments against feeding 
cooked food to animals are, in effect, that then- 
digestive functions are naturally adapted to un¬ 
cooked food, and that which is cooked antici¬ 
pates some of the required processes of diges¬ 
tion, (passing into the stomach without sufficient 
msalivation and not inducing a sufficient influx 
of gastric juices, being among the evils) thus un¬ 
balancing the powers and deranging the func¬ 
tions of digestion. On the other hand, it is con¬ 
tended that cooked food requires less saliva and 
gastric juice, and hence saves an important 
draft upon the system. The results of experi¬ 
ments thus far seem to sustain the latter pro¬ 
position. Of course it is not desirable to 
gain $20 worth of meat at the expense of $15 
worth of labor and $5 worth of fuel, but if, in a 
larger field of operations, the proportionate cost 
of labor and fuel required for cooking be de¬ 
creased, while the proportionate gain in value 
of meat remains the same, cooking will pay. 
A correspondent of the London Gardeners’ 
Chronicle, gives his experience and system as fol¬ 
lows: “I have for 15 years fatted 20 to 24 bul¬ 
locks, and 24 pigs, in boxes. My plan of feeding 
lias been to give a morning feed, comprising about 
30 lbs. of turnips sliced as thinly as possible, 
until I got pulping introduced, and then pulped, 
and very thoroughly mixed with chaff* as much 
as the animals would eat up clean. At mid-day 
the allowance of cake, commencing with 2 lbs. 
per head, and gradually increased up to 6 lbs. 
per head, has been made into a soup with water 
by steam, and poured, while boiling, over chaff 
in a slate cistern, layer by layer, until this was 
well mixed and filled; when full, it contains a- 
feed for 24 bullocks. After this has been cov¬ 
ered down an hour, the soup has been absorbed, 
and the chaff has become soft and mellow, and, 
as I believe, saves the animal the exertion of se¬ 
creting an extra quantity of saliva to bring 
about the same result. The morning feed of 
pulped roots and chaff is repeated in the even¬ 
ing. I have adhered to this system because I 
have had every reason to be satisfied with the 
results. I have fattened upwards of 300 bul¬ 
locks, and never lost one from first to last; they 
have enjoyed, I may almost say, invariable 
health, for veterinary attendance and medicine 
occasionally, would not amount to 6rf. per head i 
during the period I have mentioned. As respects i 
quality, I perhaps need only say that the same 
butchers, from a distance, make their appear¬ 
ance at the farm buildings, about the same 
time every Spring, from whom I have never 
heard any complaint of meat shrinking either 
in the pot or on the spit. 
The pigs have been fattened on carrots, 
steamed, with an addition of meal after the first 
month, gradually increased from 2 lbs. to 6 lbs. 
per head. The apparatus we use is Nicholson’s 
(now Ernies & Barford), consisting of a boiler 
in the center, a galvanized iron vessel on the 
left hand side in which the roots are steamed, 
and another on the right hand side in which the 
wtke is converted into soup, and which is con- 
f.guous to the slate tank. Adverting to Mr. 
Frere’s proposition in reference to extra cost of 
attendance and fuel, the case practically stands 
thus in our case: The attendance of one man 
* “ Chaff” in England means cut straw or hay. 
and a boy would be necessary to prepare the 
roots, incorporate them with the chaff, feed, lit¬ 
ter, and clean the stock of pigs and bullocks, 
whether the food was cooked or not. They per¬ 
form the entire work, the chaff only being pre¬ 
pared for them. The cooking amounts to little 
more than lighting the fire in the steaming ap¬ 
paratus. Then as to the cost of fuel, we find the 
expenditure to average 5 lbs. of coal per diem, 
or from $12 to $15 per annum for 46 animals.” 
This writer also says that damaged straw and 
hay are rendered sweet and as valuable as any, 
by the boiling process necessary to the soup, 
and furthermore that the mustard seed so inva¬ 
riably found in rape-cake, rendering it high¬ 
ly objectionable, is deprived of its injurious 
qualities by the same heating process. 
Experiments in Feeding Stock. 
The Highland Agricultural Society of Scot¬ 
land, after trying a series of experiments with 
the view of ascertaining the cheapest cattle 
food, published the results in their Journal, as 
follows: Six bullocks, bred upon the Society’s 
farm, and similar in appearance and aptness to 
fatten, were divided into three lots of two each. 
They were fed for 112 days upon Swedish tur¬ 
nips for the first month, turnips and mangel 
beets the second, and subsequently mangels. 
Each bullock had in addition, 6 lbs. low meadow 
hay, cut into chaff, and 5 lbs. oil cake, or its 
equivalent cost in other materials daily. The 
result showed that lot No. 1, fed on 5 lbs. oil 
cake each day per bullock, together with the 
chaff and roots, gained 637 lbs. during the 112 
days. Lot No. 2, fed on the roots and chaff, 
with wheat and barley meal, costing same as 
the oil cake, gained 669 lbs. Lot No. 3, fed as 
above, substituting bruised linsted for the oil 
cake, gained 718 lbs., showing that the linseed 
was the most valuable, and the oil cake the 
least so. Again, the average increase in weight 
for the 112 days, was 337 lbs., and taking the 
cost of chaff, oil cake, and attendance, into con¬ 
sideration, it was found that the 90 cwt. of roots 
consumed, realized 49s. CdL, or lls.,($2.75) per tun. 
This is quite different from Alderman Meclii’s 
opinion of roots, in his crude book, “ How to 
Farm Profitably,” in which he says that the 
profits of twenty acres of roots all went into 
the manure heaps of the “ungrateful bullocks.” 
Keep to the Left!—Meeting Teams. 
Can any body give a reason for the custom 
prevalent in this country, of requiring carriages 
and other vehiplesto “keep to the right” when 
meeting each other on the highway? We no¬ 
ticed that in England, “keep to the left” is the 
rule, and a very proper custom it is, for this rea¬ 
son : The driver, if he carry and use a whip, 
must necessarily sit upon the right side of the 
vehicle, if any one sit with him. If now when 
passing another team, he keep to the left , he can 
readily see how much he must turn out to avoid 
clashing of wheels. The same is the case with 
the driver whom he meets. If on the contrary, 
they both take the “right” in meeting, they can 
neither of them see the wheels coming nearest 
together. They must therefore both turn out 
further than actually needed, or run the risk of 
clashing. A few inches, more or less, in a nar¬ 
row road, or in a crowded city street, is often 
of much importance. A moment’s thought will 
convince any one that “keeping to the left” is 
much the better way. In some States, there are 
laws requiring teams upon the road to take the 
right. In others custom regulates the matter. 
The reason we have given above is sufficiently 
important to warrant a change in the custom, 
and in the laws where they exist. The Ameri¬ 
can Agriculturist proposes that the change be in¬ 
augurated without delay. It may seem odd, or 
left handed, but that is all a mere fancy, while 
many a clash and crash, and much inconveni¬ 
ence would be avoided by the proposed change. 
Pulling at the Halter. 
To cure this bad habit, some recommend hitch¬ 
ing a rope to the horse’s tail or hind leg, then to 
tie him to a post, in such a way that, when he 
pulls he will be thrown down, or at least be 
made very uncomfortable. A subscriber pre¬ 
fers this: “First, get an extra strong halter, 
and hitch him to an outer limb of an apple tree. 
Now, gently tease him, and provoke him to pull. 
The branch will yield, but still hold him fast. 
Tease him again and again, until he finds that 
he can not break his halter or effect any thing 
but his own discomfort. Repeat weekly until 
the lesson is thoroughly learned, and he will at 
length cease to pull when tied to a post.” 
Breaking Colts. 
There has been great progress in this respect 
within a few years, owing mainly to a better 
understanding of the nature of the horse. It is 
now-generally conceded that he can appreciate 
kindness and consideration, and that harsh and 
brutal treatment render him, (as well as chil¬ 
dren,) retaliatory, and disobedient when not un¬ 
der fear of the whip; and all cplt-breakers 
should ever hear this in mind. The opposite 
extreme of laxness in discipline should also be 
guarded against. A person, to be capable or 
managing either a horse or a child, must be firm 
and persevering, but not harsh and revengeful. 
He must first conquer and control the animal, 
part of his own nature, before he is capable of 
properly breaking a colt. Great patience and 
perseverance are required to quiet his natural 
fears, and satisfy him that you intend him no 
-'harm. All movements about him should be 
moderate and judicious. The hand should first 
be gradually brought in contact with his nose, 
as should every thing else new to him, because 
his nose is his instrument for testing whatever is 
harmless. What wonder that when suddenly 
seized or pounced upon, he exerts himself to , 
get away? How can he know that the hal¬ 
ter is not a contrivance to take his life ? What ’ 
need is there of giving him such a terrible fright, j 
causing, as it often does, a trembling in every . 
limb? Besides the inhumanity of such treat- 
ment, there is great danger that he will injure ,} 
himself, or break away, and thus be encouraged •* 
in future attempts to free himself from restraint. 
Anything that the horse can touch with his 
nose without being harmed, he does not fear. 
Therefore the hand, the halter, girth, blanket, $ 
saddle, harness, umbrella, buffalo robe, or what- i 
ever is to be brought in close proximity to him, 
should first be “introduced” to, and touched 
by that sensitive organ. A knowledge of 
these important facts, as we learned by at¬ 
tending a course of his lectures, is the main se- j 
cret of Rarey’s success in horse-taming. His 
strap method of throwing horses is useful only * 
in cases of aggravated ill-temper, and such * 
cases are usually, the result of mismanagement, k 
Cases are few in which colts may not be If 
speedily and effectually broken by following the 
