The Stock-Feeder's Manual Part 15

a.n.a.lYSIS OF FRESH FURZE, BY DR. BLYTH.

100 parts contain:--

_Matters readily soluble in water and easily digested._

[*] Alb.u.minous, or flesh-forming compounds 168 Fat and heat-producing, or respiratory elements, viz., sugar, gum, &c. &c. 783 Ash 083 ----- Total matters soluble in water 1034 [* Containing nitrogen 0265]

_Matters insoluble in water._

Oil 214 [+] Alb.u.minous, or flesh-producing compounds 283 Fat and heat-producing, or respiratory elements 100 Woody fibre 2880 Ash 323 ----- Total matters insoluble in water 3800 Water, expelled at 212 5150 ----- 9948 Total nitrogen in plant 071 Total alb.u.minous, or flesh-producing compounds 451 Total respiratory, or heat and fat-producing compounds 883 Total ash 406 The ash contains in 100 parts:-- Potash 2000 Phosphoric acid 872 [+ Containing nitrogen 0445]

If the large per-centage of water be deducted, the dry, nutritive matters can then be more readily compared with the amount of the same substances in other feeding articles:--

_Composition of 100 parts of furze dried at 212. Matters soluble in water in the dry furze._

[*] Alb.u.minous compounds 347 Respiratory elements 1615 Ash 171 ------ Total matters soluble in water 2133 [* Containing nitrogen 0546]

_Matters insoluble in water in the dry furze._

Oil 441 [+] Alb.u.minous compounds 584 Respiratory elements 206 Woody fibre 5938 Ash 666 ------ Total matters insoluble in water 7835 ----- 9968

Total nitrogen in dry furze 146 Total alb.u.minous compounds 913 Total respiratory elements 1820 Total ash 836 [+ Containing nitrogen 0917]

_Composition of ash per cent._

Potash 2000 Phosphoric Acid. 872

The results of these a.n.a.lyses show that dry furze contains an amount of nutriment equal to that found in dry gra.s.s. The nature of its composition resembles, as might be expected, that of its allied plants, vetches, &c., and therefore it exceeds the gra.s.ses in its amount of ready formed fatty matter.

SECTION IV.

STRAW AND HAY.

_Straw._--At the present time, when the attention of the farmer is becoming more and more devoted to the production of meat, it is very desirable that his knowledge of the exact nutritive value of the various feeding substances should be more extensive than it is. No doubt, most feeders are practically acquainted with the relative value of corn and oil-cake--of Swedish turnips and white turnips; but their knowledge of the food equivalents of many other substances is still very defective.

For example, every farmer is not aware that Indian corn is a more economical food than beans for fattening cattle, and less so for beasts of burthen. Locust-beans, oat-dust, malt-combings, and many other articles, occasionally consumed by stock, have not, as yet, determinate places a.s.signed to them in the feeder's scale of food equivalents.

The points involved in the economic feeding of stock are not quite so simple as some farmers, more especially those of the amateur cla.s.s, appear to believe. There are many feeders who sell their half-finished cattle at a profit, and yet they cannot, without loss, convert their stock into those obese monsters which are so much admired at agricultural shows. The complete fattening of cattle is a losing business with some feeders, and a profitable one with others.

Stall-feeding is a branch of rural economy which, perhaps more than any other, requires the combination of "science with practice;" yet how few feeders are there who have the slightest knowledge of the composition of food substances, or who are agreed as to the feeding value, absolute or relative, of even such well-known materials as oil-cake, straw, or oats!

"It is thus seen how inexact are the equivalents which are understood to be established for the different foods used for the maintenance of the animals. It is equally plain, when we reflect on the different methods pursued for the preservation of the animals, that we are still far from having attained that perfection towards which our efforts tend.

Visit one hundred farms, taken by chance in different parts of the country, and you will find in each, methods directly opposite--a totally peculiar manner of managing the stalls; you will see, in short, that the conditions of food, of treatment, and of hygiene, remain not understood in seven-eighths of rural farms."[29]

The straws of the cereal and leguminous plants are a striking ill.u.s.tration of the erroneous opinions and practices which prevail amongst agriculturists with respect to particular branches of their calling. The German farmers regard straw as the most valuable const.i.tuent of home-made fertilisers, and their leases in general prohibit their selling off the straw produced on their farms. Yet chemical a.n.a.lysis has clearly proved that the manurial value of straw is perfectly insignificant, and that, as a const.i.tuent of stable manure, it is chiefly useful as an absorbent of the liquid egesta of the animals littered upon it. As food for stock, straw was at one time regarded by our farmers as almost perfectly innutritious; some even went so far as to declare that it possessed no nutriment whatever, and even those who used it, did so more with the view of correcting the too watery nature of turnips, than with the expectation of its being a.s.similated to the animal body. Within the last few years, however, straw has been largely employed by several of the most intelligent and successful feeders in England, who report so favorably upon it as an economical feeding stuff, that it has risen considerably in the estimation of a large section of the agricultural public. Now, even without adopting the very high opinion which Mechi and Horsfall entertain relative to the nutritive power of straw, I am altogether disposed to disagree with those who affirm that its application should be restricted to manurial purposes.

Unless under circ.u.mstances where there is an urgent demand for straw as litter, that article should be used as food for stock, for which purpose it will be found, if of good quality, and given in a proper state, a most economical kind of dry fodder--equal, if not superior to hay, when the prices of both articles are considered.

The composition of straw is very different from that of grain.

The former contains no starch, but it includes an exceedingly high proportion of woody fibre; the latter is in great part composed of starch, and contains but an insignificant amount of woody fibre. Dr.

Voelcker, the consulting chemist to the Royal Agricultural Society of England, and Dr. Anderson, chemist to the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, have made a large number of a.n.a.lyses of the straws of the cereal and leguminous plants, the results of which are of the highest interest to the agriculturist. In the following tables the more important results of these investigations are given:--

a.n.a.lYSES OF STRAW, BY DR. VOELCKER.

+--------------------------+----------+--------+--------+--------+--------+ No. 1. No. 2. No. 3. No. 4. No. 5. Wheat, Wheat, Barley, Barley, Oat, just ripe over dead not too cut and well ripe. ripe. ripe. green. harvested. +--------------------------+----------+--------+--------+--------+--------+ Water 1333 917 1520 1750 1600 Alb.u.men, and other protein compounds:-- _a_. Soluble in water 128 006 068 551 }573 _b_. Insoluble in water 165 206 375 / 298 Oil 174 065 136 117 157 Sugar, mucilage, extractive matters, &c. (soluble in water) 426 346 224 1604 Digestible woody fibre and cellulose 1940 597 }7144 2634 Indigestible }8226 / fibre &c. 5413 / 6654 / 2486 Inorganic matter:-- _a._ Soluble 113 129 288 576 }452 _b._ Insoluble 308 105 038 / 094 +----------+--------+--------+--------+--------+ 10000 10000 10000 10000 10000 +--------------------------+----------+--------+--------+--------+--------+

+--------------------------+----------+--------+--------+--------+--------+ No. 6. No. 7. No. 8. No. 9. No. 10. Oat, cut Oat, Bean. Pea. Flax when over Chaff. fairly ripe. ripe. +--------------------------+----------+--------+--------+--------+--------+ Water 1600 1600 1940 1602 1460 Alb.u.men, and other protein compounds:-- _a_. Soluble in water 262 129 151 396 }475 _b_. Insoluble in water 146 236 185 590 / Oil 105 125 102 234 282 Sugar, mucilage, extractive matters, &c. (soluble in water) 1057 319 418 832 872 Digestible woody fibre and cellulose 3017 2775 275 1774 1856 Indigestible fibre &c. 3178 4182 6558 4279 4312 Inorganic matter:-- _a._ Soluble 364 226 231 272 407 _b._ Insoluble 271 408 140 221 336 +----------+--------+--------+--------+--------+ 10000 10000 10000 10000 10000 +--------------------------+----------+--------+--------+--------+--------+

[..] This table contains in a condensed form all the results of Voelcker's a.n.a.lyses of the straws which are given in his paper published in the _Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England_, vol. xxii., part 2. 1862.

Nos. 5, 6, and 7 were a.n.a.lysed shortly after being cut, when they contained a high proportion of water. They have, therefore, been calculated to contain 16 per cent. of moisture so as to arrive at accurate relative results.

a.n.a.lYSES OF STRAW, BY DR. ANDERSON.

+----------------+-----------------+---------+-----------------+--------+ Wheat Barley Wheat from from Barley from from East Lothian. Kent. East Lothian. Kent. +--------+--------+---------+--------+--------+--------+ Water 1062 1093 1115 1144 1115 1110 Flesh-formers-- Soluble 086 037 137 142 039 066 Insoluble 051 112 100 154 112 198 Oil 080 100 150 097 088 105 Respiratory elements-- Soluble 268 668 526 322 611 456 Insoluble 4488 3643 3879 3556 3838 2795 Woody fibre 3288 3478 3501 4134 3662 4753 Ash 620 804 632 421 562 485 +--------+--------+---------+--------+--------+--------+ 9943 9935 10040 9970 10027 9968 +----------------+--------+--------+---------+--------+--------+--------+

+----------------+---------------+--------+----------+---------+--------+ Oat Oat from Oat Sandy Oat from 850 feet Oat from from from Sea above Mellhill, Kent East Lothian. level Sea level, Inchture, (White East East Scotland. one Lothian. Lothian. side.) +-------+-------+--------+----------+---------+--------+ Water 1170 1095 1260 1128 1170 1055 Flesh-formers-- Soluble 040 103 067 092 095 033 Insoluble 093 043 038 039 121 033 Oil 145 077 125 136 160 100 Respiratory elements-- Soluble 1012 690 716 742 1201 623 Insoluble 3352 3477 2428 2955 2335 3095 Woody fibre 3536 3873 4849 4440 4527 4740 Ash 636 628 511 507 395 362 +-------+-------+--------+----------+---------+--------+ 9984 9986 9994 10039 10014 10041 +----------------+-------+-------+--------+----------+---------+--------+

[..] This table is compiled from Dr. Anderson's paper in the Transactions of the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland for March, 1862.

Many very important conclusions are deducible from the facts recorded in these valuable tables. We learn from them that straw is more nutritious when it is cut in the ripe state than when it is permitted to over-ripen, and that _green_ straw contains a far greater amount of nutriment than is found even in the ripe article. It appears also that the least nutritious kind of straw equals the best variety of turnips in its amount of flesh-forming principles, and greatly exceeds them in its proportion of fat-forming elements. We further learn that in general the different kinds of straw will be found to stand in the following order, the most nutritious occupying the highest, and the least nutritious the lowest place:--

1. Pea-haulm.

2. Oat-straw.

3. Bean-straw with the pods.

4. Barley-straw.

5. Wheat-straw.

6. Bean-stalks without the pods.

It is a matter to be regretted that we possess so little accurate knowledge of the chemical composition of the plants cultivated in Ireland. No doubt the a.n.a.lyses of English grown wheat, beans, mangels, and other plants, serve to give us a general idea of the nature of those vegetables when produced in this country. But this kind of information, though very important, must necessarily be defective, as differences in climate modify--often to a considerable extent--the composition of almost every vegetable. Thus, the results of Anderson's a.n.a.lyses prove Scotch oats to be superior, as a feeding stuff, to Scotch barley, whilst, according to Voelcker and the experience of most English feeders, the barley of parts of England is superior to its oats. It follows, then, that whilst the results of the a.n.a.lyses of straw, made by Voelcker and Anderson are of great interest to the Irish farmer, they would be still more important to him had the straw to which they relate been the produce of Irish soil. In order, therefore, to enable the Irish farmer to form a correct estimate of the value of his straw, we should put him in possession of a more perfect knowledge of its composition than that which is derivable from the investigations to which I have referred. The straws of the cereals--which alone are used here to any extent--should be a.n.a.lysed as carefully and as frequently as those of Great Britain have been; and if such were done, I have no doubt but that the results would indicate a decided difference in composition between the produce of the two countries. Some time ago I entered upon what, at the time, I had intended should be a complete investigation into the composition of Irish straws; but which want of time prevented me from making more than a partial one. The results are given in the following tables:--

a.n.a.lYSES OF IRISH OAT-STRAW.

--------------------------------+--------+------------------------------ No. 1. Obtained in the Dublin Market.

From Co.+---------+---------+---------- Wicklow. No. 2. No. 3. No. 4.

--------------------------------+--------+---------+---------+---------- Water 1400 1400 1400 1400 Flesh-forming principles-- _a._ Soluble in water 408 202 204 146 _b._ Insoluble in water 209 316 300 223 Oil 184 140 126 100 Sugar, gum, and other fat-forming matters 1379 1267 1018 1116 Woody fibre 5996 6179 6545 6529 Mineral matter 424 496 407 486 +--------+---------+---------+---------- 10000 10000 10000 10000 --------------------------------+--------+---------+---------+----------

All the specimens of oats, the a.n.a.lyses of which are given in the preceding table, are a.s.sumed to contain 14 per cent. of water, in order the more correctly to compare their nutritive value. No. 1 contained 1823 per cent. of water; No. 2, 1290; No. 3, 1274; and No. 4, 1208.

Oat straw, before its removal from the field, often contains nearly half its weight of water; but after being for some time stacked, the proportion of moisture rarely exceeds 14 per cent.

a.n.a.lYSES OF IRISH WHEAT-STRAW.

-----------------------+--------+-------+-------+----------------------- No. 1. No. 2. No. 3. Green, Obtained in the Dublin changing Markets.

to Over yellow. Ripe. Ripe. +----------------------- County County County Kildare. Dublin. Dublin. No. 4. No. 5. No. 6.

-----------------------+--------+-------+-------+-------+-------+------- Water 1300 1315 1214 1088 1122 1212 Flesh-forming principles-- _a._ Soluble in water 125 098 044 006 042 030 _b._ Insoluble in water 126 140 141 190 100 176 Oil 122 113 114 090 117 108 Sugar, gum, and other fat-forming matters 418 398 388 408 389 430 Woody fibre 7584 7617 7776 7867 7918 7715 Mineral matter (ash) 325 319 323 351 312 329 +--------+-------+-------+-------+-------+------- 10000 10000 10000 10000 10000 10000 -----------------------+--------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------

The results of these a.n.a.lyses are somewhat different from those arrived at by Voelcker and Anderson. They show that properly harvested Irish oat and wheat straws are far more valuable than those of Scotland, and somewhat less nutritive than those produced in England. They also show that wheat-straw is allowed to over-ripen, by which a very large proportion of its nutritive principles is eliminated and altogether lost, and a considerable part of the remainder converted into an insoluble, and therefore less easily digestible state. Nor is there any advantage to the grain gained by allowing it to remain uncut after the upper portion of the stem has changed from a green to a yellowish color; on the contrary, it also loses a portion--often a very considerable one--of its nitrogenous, or flesh-forming const.i.tuents. It has been clearly proved that wheat cut when green, yields a greater amount of grain, and of a better quality too, than when it is allowed to ripen fully; yet, how often do we not see fields of wheat in this country allowed to remain unreaped for many days, and even weeks, after the crop has attained to its full development!

The oat-straw obtained in the Dublin Market proved less valuable than the green straw which I selected myself from a field of oats; but the discrepancy between them was far less than between the nearly ripe wheat-straw and the straw of that plant purchased in Dublin. During visits which I have paid in harvest-time to the North of Ireland, I noticed that the oats were generally cut whilst green, whereas wheat was almost invariably left standing for at least a week after its perfect maturation, probably for the following reasons:--Firstly, because oats are more liable to shed their seed; secondly, because there is a greater breadth of that crop to be reaped, which necessitates an early beginning; and, lastly, because most farmers know that over-ripe oat-straw is worth but little for feeding purposes, as compared with the greenish-yellow article.