190 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER 
August  22,  1901. 
Tl(e  Value  of  Straw. 
It  is  now  several  years  since  the  grain  fields  of  this  country 
developed  a  bulk  of  straw  above  the  average,  and  during  the  last 
two  or  three  the  shortage  has  been  so  marked  that  the  stocks  at 
midsummer  have  been  reduced  to  the  smallest  possible  compass, 
practically  nothing  being  carried  over  for  autumn  use.  Many  farmers 
are  in  the  habit  of  saving  a  good  lump  of  old  Oat  straw  to  cut  for 
the  horses  during  the  autumn  ploughing  and  sowing  ;  it  makes  good 
sound  food  for  them,  and  also  prevents  premature  threshing  of  half- 
sweated  stacks.  Stacks  of  Oat  straw  are  very  rare  at  the  present  time, 
and  far  too  many  people  will  have  to  thresh  Wheat  before  they  can 
thatch  their  harvest  and  make  it  safe.  It  is  but  eighteen  months 
since  we  were  offered  Wheat  straw  at  £1  per  ton,  and  we  called 
attention  to  it  as  an  excellent  medium  for  investment. 
The  great  shrinkage  in  the  crops  of  hay,  resulting  in  a  considerable 
rise  of  the  price,  has  much  enhanced  the  importance  of  the  Eupply  of 
straw,  and  that  it  is  most  desirable  that  straw  should  be  used  in  the 
most  economical  manner  cannot  be  doubted.  We  are  of  opinion 
that  there  is  great  room  fjr  improvement  in  this  respect,  especially 
on  large  arable  farms  in  the  peculiarly  Corn-growing  counties.  As 
long  as  there  is  plenty  of  bedding  and  fodder  for  his  usual  head  of 
stock  and  manure  for  his  Turnips  the  farmer  is  satisfied  ';  but  with 
improved  methods  more  cattle  might  be  wintered  on  the  S3me  straw 
supply,  and  both  the  grazier  and  the  conntry  at  large  would  benefit. 
If  the  British  farmer  is  to  be  |  rotected  from  the  incursion  of  disease 
by  restrictions  on  importation,  he  on  his  side  must  show  more  energy 
in  the  production  of  meat-bearing  animals,  and  this  can  only  be  done 
by  stricter  economy.  Looking  back  thirty  years,  few  farmers  cut 
straw  for  their  cattle,  and  that  for  use  by  the  horses  was  cut  by  hand. 
Now,  travelling  cut-boxes  may  be  seen  on  every  hand,  and  it  is 
almost  the  rule  for  Oat  or  Bailey  straw  to  be  cut  up  as  it  is  threshed. 
The  efforts  of  the  most  enterprising  farmers  are  largely  directed  to 
making  use  of  their  straw  as  food,  and  by  the  aid  of  c  wared  yards  and 
peat  moss  litter  some  are  able  to  do  so  almost  entirely.  To  put  straw 
through  the  animals’  stomachs  with  good  results,  nevertheless,  depends 
much  on  the  nature  and  quality  of  it.  Coarse  Wheat  straw  contains 
such  a  proportion  of  strong  knots  that  its  passage  through  delicate 
stomachs  is  attended  by  considerable  difficulty  and  danger.  The  same 
thing  applies  to  Oat  and  Barley  straw  if  it  has  been  much  weathered, 
especially  if  it  was  over-ripe  before  being  cut.  That  the  cutting  of 
grain  crops  befoie  they  are  too  ripe  has  a  very  great  effect  on  the 
value  of  the  straw  is  well  known,  but  few  are  aware  of  the  great 
differences  which  are  shown  by  a  stu'v  of  the  following  table,  the 
result  of  investigations  by  the  late  Dr.  Voelcker.  The  figures  refer  to 
Oat  straw. 
Cut  rather  green. 
Fairly  ripe. 
Over-ripe. 
Water . 
1600 
16-00 
16-00 
Albuminoids . 
8-49 
4-08 
3-65 
Oil  . 
1-57 
1-05 
1-25 
Sugar,  mucilage,  &c. 
16-04 
10-57 
3T9 
Woody  fibre  digestible 
26-34 
30-17 
27-75 
„  „  indigestible  ... 
24-86 
31-78 
41-82 
Mineral  matter  . 
670 
6-35 
6-34 
100-00 
100-00 
100-00 
It  is  remarkable  that  the  water  and  mineral  matter  are  almost 
identical  in  all  three  samples,  but  the  over-ripe  straw  contains  17  per 
cent,  more  indigestible  matter  than  that  cut  rather  green,  1  per  cent, 
more  woody  digestible  fibre,  but  18  per  cent,  less  albuminoids,  oil  and 
sugar,  which  are  the  only  valuable  properties  of  the  straw.  Practically 
speaking,  the  green  straw  is  worth  three  times  as  much  as  the  other 
for  feeding  purposes,  besides  being  a  much  safer  food  for  young  stock. 
When  deciding  on  the  most  suitable  time  for  cutting  a  field  of  Oats 
we  have  often  put  into  practice  an  old  rule,  to  wait  until  we  saw  a  few 
grams  on  the  ground,  and  then  cut  at  once.  The  figures  of 
Dr.  Yoelcker’s  analysis  go  a  long  way  to  show  that  we  might 
advantageously  have  cut  sooner,  that  we  might  have  saved  those 
few  grains,  whilst  what  the  more  backward  portions  of  the  ears 
lacked  in  maturity  would  have  been  amply  compensated  for  by 
increased  feeding  value  in  the  straw.  As  an  object  lesson  in  such 
practice,  we  have  bad  near  us  for  many  years  a  farmer  who  haB  always 
been  noted  for  cutting  his  Corn  green.  He  has  always  maintained  a 
tremendous  head  of  stock  upon  his  farm,  and,  as  far  as  we  know,  his 
grain  did  not  suffer  either  in  yield  or  quality.  He  certainly  has  been 
often  fortunate  in  getting  all  in  just  before  a  weather  break.  But  how 
to  make  the  best  use  ol  the  straw  when  saved  ?  Well,  though  all 
farmers  do  not  believe  in  it,  we  have  immense  faith  in  the  economy  of 
the  chaff-cutter.  All  straw  and  hay  for  meat  production  should  be 
cut  up,  and  Wheat  straw  for  bedding,  covered  yards,  sheds,  or  boxes 
will  go  much  further  if  made  into  long  chaff.  Of  course,  there  is  the 
labour  and  expense  of  cutting,  but  it  is  really  very  small,  if  there  is  a 
sufficiency  of  barn  accommodation,  so  thrt  the  chaff  may  be  blown 
there  direct  from  the  cutter.  In  this  case  there  is  economy  of  labour, 
for  the  chaff  will  only  require  spreading  and  treading  by  one  man, 
whereas  the  straw  stack  will  take  two.  The  difference  between  the 
hire  of  a  straw-elevator  and  a  chaff-cutter  may  be  put  down  at  7s.  So, 
if  we  deduct  from  this  3s.  for  one  man,  we  find  4s.  plus  a  very  small 
item  in  coals  to  be  the  extra  cost  of  cutting. 
There  are  many  good  ways  of  mixing  and  using  the  chaffed  straw, 
and  if  the  straw  be  good  the  farmer  can  hardly  go  wrong  ;  but  there 
is  a  great  deal  in  making  weathered  and  almost  rotten  but  dry  stuff 
into  a  palatable  and  nutritious  food.  Steaming  is  no  doubt  one  of  the 
‘most  effective  ways  of  bringing  this  about;  if  the  chaff  be  mixed  with 
a  small  amount  of  pulped  root,  malt  culm,  or  dried  grains,  and  then 
steamed,  it  will  be  relished  by  stock,  and  they  will  do  well  on  it. 
The  late  Mr.  S.  Jonas  bad  a  system  of  cutting  up  his  straw  when 
threshing,  and  mixing  a  small  quantity  of  green  chop  (1  cwt.  to  the 
ton)  with  it.  This  green  stuff  was  sufficient  to  cause  fermentation, 
whic  i  very  greatly  improved  the  feeding  va’u3  of  the  mixture.  In  a 
sense  it  was  a  process  of  cooking.  When  green  food  for  mixing  was 
not  available,  pulped  roots  were  used  instead,  and  Mr.  Jonas’  son  has 
since  used  pulpei  Mangold,  as  being  more  readily  available  even  in 
summer.  Boiled  linseed  is  very  largely  used  for  mixing  with  chaff, 
1  lb.  of  linseed  per  head  per  day  is  quite  sufficient.  After  being  made 
into  soup,  so  much  is  thrown  over  each  layer  <  f  chaff,  the  whole  is 
turned  over  and  well  mixed  ;  the  meal  allowance  is  then  mixed  with 
the  heap,  which  is  turned  again  and  left  until  required. 
Where  roots  are  plentiful,  and  large  quantities  are  pulped  and  given 
mixed  with  chaff,  the  cattle  always  like  the  mixture  better  for  being 
twenty-four  hours  old.  One  man  we  had,  and  he  was  a  successful 
feeder,  would  have  kept  his  mixture  for  three  days  if  space  would  have 
allowed  him.  No  doubt  he  was  right,  and  the  process  of  natural 
heating  as  good  as  a  steaming,  if  it  could  have  been  properly  con¬ 
trolled  ;  but  when  using  roots  largely,  the  amount  of  moisture  would 
cause  the  ferment  to  be  too  rapid,  and  if  not  watched  to  go  beyond 
the  most  wholesome  stage  before  the  food  could  be  used.  A  small 
quantity  of  salt  should  be  mixed  amongst  all  food  of  this  description 
Where  roots  are  scarce  or  njt  available,  a  mixture  of  spices  added 
to  the  cut  straw  will  do  much  to  make  it  palatable.  Most  country 
chemists  sell  suitable  mixtures  for  the  purpose.  Cattle  spice  is  often 
mixed  with  badly  damaged  hay  when  stacking,  a  quantity  being 
scattered  over  the  stack  after  each  cartload,  and  it  gives  an  attractive 
smell  to  the  hay  which  would  otherwise  be  lacking. 
Thousands  of  farm  horses  are  wintered  without  any  hay  whatever, 
being  fed  on  cut  Barley  or  Oat  straw,  with  the  addition  of  14  lbs. 
per  day  of  ground  Maize,  split  Beans,  and  bran  in  equal  proportions, 
and  they  work  and  do  well  on  it.  It  is  well  to  allow  linseed  cake 
water  to  horses  when  living  on  this  food.  Straw  may  enter  largely 
into  the  food  of  milch  cows,  but  it  must  be  Oat  straw.  Barley  straw 
is  of  too  drying  a  nature,  and  Wheat  straw  should  not  be  used  except 
in  small  quantities  with  other  food  . 
Work  on  tlie  Home  Farm. 
Progress  with  harvest  work  has  been  much  interfered  with  by 
thunderstorms,  and  though  there  is  little  Corn  left  standing,  not  many 
new  stacks  are  to  be  seen.  Machines  have  worked  without  a  hitch. 
Of  course  the  crops  were  ideal  ones  to  cut,  nevertheless  it  is  wonderful 
to  see  the  improvement  in  self-binders.  Some  of  it,  however,  may  be 
due  to  a  better  understanding  of  their  proper  management.  The  rain 
will  have  done  the  Barley  good,  but  there  has  been  plenty  for  the 
purpose  of  mellowing  it,  and  the  last  storm  wetted  the  stooks  nearly 
through,  so  we  will  hope  now  for  finer  weather  and  a  quick  gathering  in. 
This  is  the  time  we  begin  to  hear  of  lamb  troubles.  We  have  been 
listening  for  signs  of  the  storm,  but  all  is  quiet  as  yet.  Much  depends 
on  the  weather,  for  weaned  lambs  are  very  liable  to  take  cold,  and  they 
always  do  best  in  a  hot,  dry  time.  A  veterinary,  who  has  been  very 
successful  in  treating  lambs,  is  of  opinion  that  congestion  of  the  lungs 
is  their  chief  enemy,  and  that  the  presence  of  worms  is  often  blamed 
for  illness  which  is  simply  due  to  a  violent  chill.  He  maintains  that 
few  lambs  are  without  parasites  at  this  time  of  year,  and  advises  the 
provision  of  better  shelter  from  wet  as  well  as  more  dry  food. 
The  large  Potato  growers  are  too  busy  to  market  their  stuff  just 
now,  and  as  a  consequence  markets  are  none  too  well  supplied.  The 
man  who  has  a  few  second  earlies  left  in  the  ground  will  be  well 
advised  to  get  them  off  at  once.  The  cost  of  digging  and  picking  may 
seem  heavy  at  harvest  wages,  but  he  is  sure  of  a  fair  market. 
Eggs  have  kept  at  a  low  figure,  still  being  fifteen  for  the  shilling ; 
but,  on  the  contrary,  butter  is  very  scarce,  and  no  wonder,  when  the 
cows  only  give  half  their  usual  supply  of  milk.  The  consumer  has  dear 
I  butter,  and  the  farmer  little  to  sell. 
