The Stock-Feeder's Manual Part 14

Alb.u.minous matter 1034 Fatty matters 251 Starch, gum, &c. 4546 Woody fibre 3269 Mineral matter 900 ------ 10000

_Melons_ and _Marrows_ have been used, but to a very limited extent, as food for stock. Mr. Blundell advocates their use in seasons of drought.

He states that he has obtained more than forty tons per acre of both melons and marrows. They are relished by horses, oxen, sheep, and pigs.

Mr. Blundell's advocacy has not been attended with much success, but it would be desirable to give these vegetables a further trial.

Dr. Voelcker's a.n.a.lysis of the cattle melon shows that it contains:--

Water 9298 Alb.u.minous matters 153 Oil 73 Sugar, gum, &c. 251 Fibre 165 Ash 60 ------ 10000

_The Cabbage._--The composition of the Drumhead Cabbage has been studied by Dr. Anderson. He found a larger proportion of nutriment in the outer leaves than in the "heart," and ascertained that the young plants were richer in nutriment than those more advanced in age. His results show the desirability of cultivating the open-leaved, rather than the compact varieties of this plant.

a.n.a.lYSIS OF THE CABBAGE.--BY DR. ANDERSON.

Outer leaves. Heart leaves.

Water 9108 9448 Compounds containing nitrogen 163 094 Compounds dest.i.tute of nitrogen, such as gum, sugar, fibre, &c. 506 408 Ash (mineral matter) 223 050 ------ ------ 10000 10000

According to Fromberg, the composition of the whole plant is as follows:--

Water 9340 Nitrogenous, or flesh-forming compounds 175 Non-nitrogenous substances such as gum, sugar, &c. 405 Mineral matter 080 ------ 10000

Dr. Voelcker, who has more recently a.n.a.lysed the cattle cabbage, furnishes us with the following details of its composition:--

COMPOSITION OF CABBAGE LEAVES (OUTSIDE GREEN LEAVES).

Water 8372 Dry matter 1628 ------ 10000

The fresh and the dry matter consisted of:--

Fresh Dry matter.

Matter. Per cent.

[*] Protein compounds 165 1019 Non-nitrogenous matter 1338 8210 Mineral matter 125 771 ----- ------ 1628 10000 [* Containing nitrogen 26 163]

In the following table the results of a more elaborate a.n.a.lysis of the _heart_ and inner leaves are shown:--

COMPOSITION OF HEART AND INNER LEAVES.

In natural state. Dry.

Water 8942 Oil 08 75 [*] Soluble protein compounds 119 1124 Sugar, digestible fibres, &c. 701 6625 Soluble mineral matter 73 689 [+] Insoluble protein compounds 31 293 Woody fibre 114 1077 Insoluble mineral matter 12 117 ------ ------ 10000 10000 [* Containing nitrogen 19 179]

[+ Containing nitrogen 05 47]

If I were asked what plant I considered the most valuable for forage, I certainly should p.r.o.nounce an opinion in favor of cabbage. This crop yields a much greater return than that afforded by the Swedish turnip, and it is richer in nutritive matter. Cabbages are greedily eaten by sheep and cattle, and the b.u.t.ter of cows fed upon them is quite free from the disagreeable flavor which it so often possesses when the food of the animal is chiefly composed of turnips. If the cabbage admitted of storing, no more valuable crop could be cultivated as food for stock.

Mr. John M'Laren, of Inchture, Scotland, gives in the "Transactions of the Highland Agricultural Society of Scotland for 1857," a report on the feeding value of cabbage, which is highly favorable to that plant:--

On the 1st December, 1855 (says the reporter), two lots of Leicester wethers, bred on the farm, and previously fed alike, each lot containing ten sheep, were selected for the trial by competent judges, and weighed. Both lots were put into a field of well-sheltered old lea, having a division between them. All the food was cut and given them in troughs, three times a day.

They had also a constant supply of hay in racks.

At the end of the trial, on the 1st of March, 1856, the sheep were all re-weighed, sent to the Edinburgh market, and sold same day, but in their separate lots. As I had no opportunity of getting the dead weights, I requested Mr. Swan, the salesman, to give his opinion on their respective qualities. This was to the effect that no difference existed in their market value, but that the sheep fed on turnips would turn out the best quality of mutton, with most profit for the butcher. Both lots were sold at the same price, viz., 52s. 6d. During the three months of trial, we found that each lot consumed about the same weight of food--viz., 8 tons 13 cwt. 47 lb. of cabbage, being at the rate of 21-1/3 lbs. per day for each sheep, and 8 tons 10 cwt. 7 lb. Swedes, being at the rate of 20-9/10 lb. per day.

It will be seen, by referring to the table (see next page), that in this trial the Swede has proved of higher value for feeding purposes than the cabbage, making 11 st. 4 lb. of gain in weight, whilst the cabbage made 10 st. 9 lb. At the same time, 3 cwt. 40 lb. less food were consumed; and taking the mutton gained at 6d. per lb., the Swedes consumed become worth 9s. 3-1/4d. per ton, while the gain on the cabbage, at the same rate, makes them worth 8s. 7d. per ton.

But from the great additional weight of the one crop grown over the other, the balance, at the prices, c., mentioned, is in favor of the cabbage by 1 15s. 11-3/4d. per acre.

These results certainly speak strongly in favor of the cabbage; but the weight of the acreable crop of cabbages stated in the table appears to be unusually great. So heavy a crop is rarely obtained.

_Furze_ (_Gorse, or Whins_).--Notwithstanding the natural historical knowledge of Goldsmith, his poetical description of the furze is far from accurate. This plant, instead of being "unprofitably gay," deserves to rank amongst the most valuable vegetables cultivated for the use of the domestic animals. It grows and flourishes under conditions which most injuriously affect almost every other kind of fodder and green crop. Prolonged drought in spring and early summer not unfrequently renders the hay crop a scanty one; while autumn and winter frosts change the nutriment of the mangels and turnips into decaying and unwholesome matter. Under such circ.u.mstances as these, the maintenance of cattle in good condition is very expensive, unless in places where a supply of furze is available. This plant is rather improved than otherwise by exposure to a temperature which would speedily destroy a mangel or a turnip; and, although it thrives best when abundantly supplied with rain, it can survive an exceedingly prolonged drought without sustaining much injury.

TABLE

SHOWING THE DIFFERENCE OF WEIGHT GROWN ON AN ACRE OF CABBAGE AND AN ACRE OF SWEDES, AND THE VALUE OF EACH FOR FEEDING.

+-----+-------+---------+---------+--------+--------+--------------+--------+ No. Weight Weight Value of Total Weight Of of of Gain of Food Value Sheep Kinds Ten Ten taking consumed of Food In of Sheep, Sheep, Gain. Mutton in consumed Each Food. 1st Dec., 1st Mar., at 6d. Three Months per Lot. 1855. 1856. per lb. by each lot. Ton. +-----+-------+---------+---------+--------+--------+--------------+--------+ st. lb. st. lb. st. lb. s. d. tons. cwt. lb. s. d. 10 Cabbage 90 10 101 5 10 9 3 14 6 8 13 47 8 7 10 Swedes 89 3 100 7 11 4 3 19 0 8 10 7 9 3-1/4 +-----+-------+---------+---------+--------+--------+--------------+--------+

+-----+-------+----------+------------+----------+-------------+------------+ No. Total Of Weight Value Extra Free Balance Sheep Kinds per of each Cost on Value in favor In of Acre Crop each Crop of each of Each Food. of each per Acre. per Acre. Crop Cabbage Lot. Crop. per Acre. per Acre. +-----+-------+----------+------------+----------+-------------+------------+ tons. cwt. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. 10 Cabbage 42 14 18 6 6 4 10 11 13 15 7 1 15 11-3/4 10 Swedes 26 12 12 6 7-1/4 0 7 0 11 19 7-1/4 +-----+-------+----------+------------+----------+-------------+------------+

The furze is a member of the family _Leguminosae_, which includes so many useful plants, such as, for example, the pea, the bean, and the clovers.

There are three varieties of it met with in this country--namely, the common furze, _Ulex europaeus_, the dwarf furze, _Ulex na.n.u.s_, and the Irish, or upright furze, _Ulex strictus_.

The common furze is a hardy shrub, and grows luxuriantly at an elevation far higher than the limits of cereal cultivation. It flourishes on any kind of soil which is moderately dry, and heavy crops may easily be raised on uplands almost incapable of producing gra.s.s. The dwarf furze is never cultivated, but as it grows at a still greater elevation, and on a poorer soil than the larger varieties, it might be profitably cultivated on very high uplands. The Irish furze yields a softer and less p.r.i.c.kly food than the other kinds, but as it does not usually bear seed, and must therefore be propagated by cuttings, its cultivation has. .h.i.therto been limited to but a few localities.

The produce of an acre of furze appears to be at least equal to that of an acre of good meadow. The Rev. Mr. Townsend of Aghada, county of Cork--the most zealous and successful advocate for the cultivation of this plant--informed me that he had obtained so much as 14 tons per acre; a fact which proves that the furze is a plant which is well deserving of the attention of the farmer.

Furze is an excellent food for every kind of stock. Cattle, although they may at first appear not to relish its p.r.i.c.kly shoots, soon acquire a fondness for it. I have known several instances of herds being fed almost if not entirely on the bruised plant, and to keep in good condition. The late Professor Murphy, of Cork, stated that on the farm of Mr. Boulger, near Mallow, thirty-five cows were fed on crushed furze, which they "devoured voraciously." Each animal received daily from four to six stones of the crushed plant, to which were added a little turnip pulp and a small quant.i.ty of oats. The milk and b.u.t.ter yielded by these cows were considered excellent. In a letter addressed to me by a very intelligent feeder, Mr. John Walsh,[28] of Stedalt, county of Dublin, the following remarks in relation to this subject are made:--

I had lately an opportunity of seeing a herd of cattle of about sixty head, of which twenty had been fed with furze prepared with my machine for about six weeks before being put out to gra.s.s. The condition of these was so superior that I pointed out every one of them, one after the other, out of the herd. The owner of the cattle had made the same observation; it was new to him but not to me.

Furze is seldom given to sheep or pigs, but I believe that it might with advantage enter into the dietary of those animals. Some of my friends who have lately tried it with pigs report favorably as to its effects.

Horses partly fed upon this plant keep in good condition; it is usually given to them cut merely into lengths of half an inch or an inch, but it would be better to give it to them finely bruised. A horse during the night will eat a much larger quant.i.ty of coa.r.s.ely cut furze than of the well bruised article, because he is obliged to expend a great deal of muscular power in bruising the furze, and must, consequently, use an additional quant.i.ty of the food to make up for the corresponding waste of tissue.

Until quite recently, the chemistry of the furze was very little studied. The a.n.a.lysis of this plant made many years ago by Sprengel gave results which, in the present advanced condition of agricultural chemistry, are quite valueless. The late Professor Johnston merely determined its amount of water, organic matter, and ash. I believe I was the first to make a complete investigation into the composition of this plant according to the methods of modern chemical a.n.a.lysis. I made two examinations. The first was of shoots cut on the 25th April, 1860, on the lands of Mr. Walsh of Stedalt, near Balbriggan, in the county of Dublin. The shoots were, in great part, composed of that year's growth, with a small proportion of the shoots of the previous year. They were very moist, and their spines, or thorns, were rather soft. Their centesimal composition was as follows:--

Water 7805 Nitrogenous, or flesh-forming principles 218 Fat-forming principles (oil, starch, sugar, gum, &c.) 820 Woody fibre 1017 Mineral matter (ash) 140 ------ 10000

The second a.n.a.lysis was made of furze cut on the 15th August, 1862.

The following were the results obtained:--

Water 7200 Nitrogenous, or flesh-forming principles 321 Oil 118 Other fat-forming principles (starch, gum, &c.) 820 Woody fibre 1333 Mineral matter 208 ------ 10000

The specimen was allowed to lie for a few days in a dry room, so that it lost a little water whilst in my possession, before it was subjected to a.n.a.lysis.

The sample cut in August contained a larger amount of nutriment than the specimen a.n.a.lysed in the spring; but its const.i.tuents appeared to be much less soluble in water, and therefore, less digestible.

Professor Blyth, of the Queen's College, Cork, has more recently made a very elaborate a.n.a.lysis of furze, grown in the county of Cork, which gave results still more favorable to the plant than those arrived at by me--probably because the specimens furnished to him were drier than mine.