1875.1 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
459 
the pump, he asks the cows if they want a little 
fresh water. They had not thought about it, but 
they drink a little jufet to please him. And so it 
goes on all day. No wonder the cows give more 
milk at night. 
You will notice the same thing in the sheep-yards. 
The sheep soon know you and like to have you 
around. And you will not be with them long with¬ 
out seeing something that you can do for their 
comfort. If you doubt it, go into the yard and 
see. Even such a simple thing as bedding the 
sheep, is rarely done judiciously. A sheep will not 
willingly lie down in its own droppings. Shake up 
the straw, and make it smooth and level over the 
whole shed or yard. About the racks you will find 
more straw than is needed. Shake this out over 
the yard. The less straw you use, and yet give the 
sheep a clean bed, the better. You will be surprised, 
if you shake up all the old straw and spread it out 
smoot'.. over the surface, how little fresh straw is 
needed to make the shed or yard comfortable. 
Some years ago 1 had an unusual quantity of 
straw, and I used it without stint about the sheep- 
yards. My sheep, though well fed, never did 
worse. No-w that I keep so many pigs, I am short 
of straw for bedding, and have to use the greatest 
pains not to use more than we can possibly help in 
the sheep yards, and my sheep never did so well. 
TVe use more or less of the soiled straw from the 
sheep yards, as bedding for the pigs, and bed the 
sheep with the straw they leave in the racks and 
boxes. The racks are always cleaned out, or 
ought to be, before fresh feed is added. If they 
leave any hay, it is taken out and thrown into a 
heap on the barn floor, and is pushed down to the 
cows in the cellar underneath. 
If I should ever be able to build such a barn as I 
want, I would keep as many sheep as I do now, 
and more cows. All the fodder should be cut into 
chaff. The sheep should be in the second story, 
and the cows underneath—pigs also, though in an 
entirely separate apartment. I would then steam 
or scald all the hay, straw, stalks, etc., that the 
6 heep left, and feed it warm to the cows. The 
sheep do not want to cat up straw or fodder, or 
even hay, entirely clean. They like to pick out 
the best—and I am willing they should, provided 
the cows eat up what is left. 
My sheep would highly approve of Prof. Atwa¬ 
ter's deduction from the German experiments 
he has been giving us an account of in the American 
Agriculturist; though I think they would very much 
dislike to be the subjects of the experiments them¬ 
selves. They would not like to be confined [see 
Sept. American Agriculturist , page 334] to 2 lbs. of 
hay per day. They would eat it, and with it more 
or less of their own previously stored up flesh and 
fat. And I should think a couple of pounds of 
potatoes would be digested in preference to the 
albuminous matter in the dry, hard stalks of the 
clover hay. And so also when sheep were fed 21 
pounds of vetch hay, per day, they digested 
enough to keep them alive, with or without help 
from their own stored up fat. At a later period 
they were allowed li lbs. of beets, in addition to 
the hay, and still later 31 lbs., and still later 44 lbs. 
each, per day, and still later were fed uothing but 
their 21 lbs. of vetch hay. And “ the result was,” 
as Prof. Atwater remarks, “ that whenever beets 
were used, less of the coarse food was digested.” 
The sheep found the beets much easier to digest 
than the dry, coarse stalks of the hay. As I have 
said, my sheep would not like such experiments ; 
but they would highly approve of the Professor’s 
prescription, to wit: “ Use potatoes, beets, or 
other roots, with hay, straw, or other coarse fod¬ 
der ; but at the same time feed oil-cake, bran, bean- 
meal, or malt-sprouts.” And I think Professor A. 
will allow me to add, if you have none of these, 
give your sheep a pint of com each, per day, with 
or without the potatoes or roots. It is not as 
nitrogenous as the bran, but during this cold win¬ 
ter weather the sheep will be very grateful for it. 
At the same time let them have all the straw, or 
stalks, or corn-fodder they can be induced to eat, 
but do not compel them to eat up every dry stalk. 
There is some nutriment in saw-dust, but we want 
our sheep to be better employed than in trying to 
extract it. It is a great waste of digestive force. 
As I have frequently endeavored to show, if a 
farmer who keeps improved animals, could grow a 
ton of grass or hay which contains as much nutri¬ 
ment as two tons, the one ton would be wortn much 
more as food, than the two tons. What we want is 
to get a food of which the animal can eat as much 
as he can digest, and digest as much as he can as¬ 
similate. I hope Prof. Atwater will take up this 
branch of the subject. lie has given us much 
valuable information in regard to the most econom¬ 
ical way of feeding animals, when the object is 
merely to keep them alive and healthy. This is an 
important matter ; but much as I like good animals, 
I do not want to keep them merely to look at. I 
want them to be doing something. And so I would 
respectfully ask Prof. Atwater to give us in the 
American Agriculturist for 1876, the results of the 
German experiments in feeding cattle, and sheep, 
and pigs, where the object is to make the animals 
grow and fatten. I can promise him thousands of 
attentive and interested readers, who will gladly 
receive and act upon his suggestions. 
Hay and Grain Ventilators, 
BT L. D. SNOOK, TATES CO., N. T. 
During the hurry and bustle of haying and 
harvest many loads of fodder are placed in barns, 
sheds and stacks in a damp or not sufficiently cured 
condition, causing must, mildew, and consequent 
loss. I do not advocate the hauling of grain or hay 
in a damp condition, but offer a few suggestions to 
those who desire to save their produce at the least 
expense when it is unavoidably hauled to the barn in 
an improperly cured condition. When hay or grain 
is hauled and put away in an uncured or damp 
state, it will ferment and heat, and if there is not 
a way of escape for the vapor and the heated gases, 
more or less injury may ensue. This may be pre¬ 
vented by using ventilators in the stack, or barn, 
that will admit a supply of fresh air by which the 
heat may be carried away as fast as it is produced. 
The fermentation then will do no injury. 
In fig. 1 is shown the manner of constructing a 
“ sectional ventilator ” for barns. A hole is cut in 
the center of the floor upon which the hay is to 
rest. Over this is placed in an upright position a 
long slatted box (shown at A), which, for conveni¬ 
ence, should be about eight feet long, ten inches 
wide, and eighteen inches broad, with slats of any 
convenient width placed one inch apart. As the 
hay or grain is filled in to near the top of the first 
section, another ( B) is connected with it, and so on 
until the roof be reached, if need be. This arrange¬ 
ment in sections is designed specially for barns in 
which the floor is used for other purposes during 
part of the season, hence I 
which two forms are here illustrated. Fig. 2 is 
a board ventilator, and should be made of eight or 
ten inch stuff, being nailed so as to break joints, 
connecting the floor with the roof, two feet of one 
side being left off at the top for the more ready 
escape of heated air. The sides are bored with II- 
incli holes a few inches apart, as at 1\ or sections 
one inch wide and afoot long are made in the side, 
as at P In tig. 3 is given a more expensive, yet 
neat and convenient ventilator. It is made some- 
Fig. 4.— TUBULAR VENTILATOR. 
what like a ladder, and should be the full higlit of 
the hay; the inside diameter should be at least four¬ 
teen inches, but two feet would be better. Most 
farmers have lying about their premises worn out 
chain or force-pump tubing, that can be put to 
good use by boring along each side inch holes, as 
shown in fig. 4. These may be used by placing 
them either upright or crosswise in the hay or 
Fig. 5.— VENTILATOR FOR STACKS. 
stack, always placing the outer end the lowest, for 
conveying cool air to the center. A method of 
ventilating stacks is shown in fig. 5. For this kind 
of ventilator, the tubing just described will be 
found very useful ; or a substitute is easily made 
by nailing four-inch strips together in the form of 
a box, always placing the foundation pipe, S, near 
the ground, and its inner end at least a foot above 
the outside one, and connected with one upright 
Fig. 6 .—VENTILATOR FOR GRAIN-BINS. 
section, S. Should the stack be found quite damp, 
side ventilators, AT, M, should be placed at the angle 
shown. By using this precaution, corn-stalks can 
be stacked with perfect safety. In fig. 0 is shown 
a plan of ventilating grain-bins. Along the bottom 
and projecting outward is placed a few feet of 
wooden tubing, B, connected by short upright, 
tubes, E, E, all of which are pierced with small 
holes ; and old tin water conductors, or even lead- 
pipe, can be used to good advantage for this pur¬ 
pose, always remembering that if the cool outside 
air can reach the center of the hay stack or of the 
contents of the bin, no fear need be entertained 
from heating in the vicinity of the current, 
-—- ————— 
Lincoln Sheep.— The fine flock of Lincoln sheep 
formerly owned by Mr. Richard Gibson, of Canada, 
has been purchased by Col. W. S. King, of Minne¬ 
apolis, Minn. Col. King’s flock of Lincolns is now 
the largest and finest in America. If his Lincolns 
thrive as well as his Short-horns and Ayrshires, 
they will soon acquire the high reputation in this 
country, which this fine breed of sheep deserves. 
