316 
THOMAS WALLEY. 
farmer for feeding purposes. The whole operation from first wetting till ready 
for use will occupy from ten to twelve days. 
‘ ‘ As regards the floor for growing the barley upon, a concrete one is the best, 
but either brick or wood will do; only, in the latter case, more moisture will have 
to be added whilst the barley is upon it. A wooden floor may also be cheaply 
covered with galvanized iron sheets, and is then even better than a concrete floor. 
“ It follows that the quantity steeped or wetted every forty-eight hours should 
be calculated according to what is required for two days’ consumption; and any 
farmer who may wish for further information respecting the process can, no doubt, 
obtain it from his nearest neighboring malster. 
“Mr. W. J. Harris, of High Hampton, Devon, has lately contributed a long 
article to the newspapers (of which a copy appeared in the Mark Lane Express 
of August 22), giving calculations showing that the deficiency in this year’s crops 
of oats, hay, turnips, and straw amounts to 14,600,000 tons, and this estimate is 
also concurred in by other authorities. Mr. Harris further calculates that this 
deficiency can be made up by using 12,000,000 qrs. of feeding barley, and it is 
certainly fortunate for us that this article is at present cheaper than all other 
feeding corn, and that it can be bought at as low a price as hay and undecorti¬ 
cated cotton-seed cakes. 
“ In case a good fall of rain should now cause a sharp growth of succulent 
grass, it will be found advantageous to give dry barley to stock to prevent 
scour.” 
In recommending the above materials I do not wish it to be 
assumed that I underrate the value of other feeding stuffs. Far 
from it; all are good in their proper place and in proper quanti¬ 
ties. Maize, for instance, is rich in heat-producing; beans, peas 
and wheat, in flesh-forming matters ; and the three latter contain 
a tolerable quantity of potash also; and I cannot comprehend 
why sheep farmers do not cultivate, more than they now do, such 
crops as 'thousand-headed and other cabbage which could be 
readily conveyed to the poorer lands, or in the case of the thous¬ 
and-headed cabbage eaten off in rotation. I must, however, dep¬ 
recate the injudicious allowance of such materials to sheep, and, 
above all things, I abhor undecorticated cotton cake. I will here 
give one instance, out of many which have come under my ob¬ 
servation, of the astounding ignorance which prevails in reference 
to the admixture and allowance of feeding stuffs. In the spring 
of this year I was consulted, by letter, about the death of a large 
number of sheep in Lincolnshire. After describing the symp¬ 
toms presented by the animals, my correspondent went on to say, 
“ The food of the sheep is as follows:—Waterloo cake, cotton 
cake, oats, maize, swedes (cut up). They run on grass land, 
