In order to obtain the value of a manure containing several of these substances, it is necessary to ascertain the average commercial price of each individually. This is easily done when they are met with in commerce separately, or at least mixed only with worthless substances, but some of them are only found in complex mixtures, and in these cases it is necessary to arrive at a result by an indirect process, according to methods which will be immediately explained. The question to be solved is the price actually paid for a ton of each substance in a pure state, and we shall proceed to consider them in succession.

Insoluble Phosphates.—These are purchased alone, chiefly in the form of coprolites and bone-ash, or the spent animal charcoal of the sugar refiners. Ground coprolites, containing about 58 per cent of phosphates, sell at L2: 12s. per ton, which is at the rate of L4: 8s. for pure phosphates. Bone-ash varies considerably in price, but of late samples containing 70 per cent of phosphates have sold as low as L4: 10s. per ton, and consequently pure phosphates in this form are worth L6: 8s. per ton. Although these are the only forms in which phosphates are purchased alone, it is possible to determine the price at which they are sold in bones and phosphatic guanos, by first deducting the value of the ammonia they contain, and assuming the remainder to represent the price paid for the phosphates. In this way we find the following values for insoluble phosphates:—

In Coprolites L4 10 0 Bone-ash 6 8 0 Bones 7 5 0 Phosphatic guanos 10 0 0

It is to be observed that these are actual prices, and they are liable to fluctuate with the state of the market, although they are pretty fair averages. It is important to notice how much they vary in the different forms; the farmer who buys a phosphatic guano paying for phosphates a much higher price than he could have obtained those for in other substances—a difference which must be attributed to the high state of division in which they exist in the guano. We do not here enter upon the question how far this difference in price is justified; we are content with the fact that it exists, and we are compelled to estimate the value of phosphates in a phosphatic guano at the price given above, although in Peruvian guano they are sold at a lower rate. For all other manures, of which bones and bone-ash form the basis, L7 may be taken as a fair price, and it is that usually adopted, though L8 and L10 have sometimes been assumed as the average.

Ammonia is met with in commerce as muriate and sulphate of ammonia. The former, owing to its high price, is practically excluded from use as a manure; the latter sells at present at from L15 to L15: 10s. per ton, and, making allowance for the usual amount of impurity (5 or 6 per cent), the actual ammonia is worth about L63 per ton. Calculating from other substances it appears that ammonia is worth, per ton, in—

Sulphate of ammonia L63 0 0 Bones 61 0 0 Peruvian guano 57 0 0

the average being L60, which is the price usually adopted.

Sulphate of Lime and Alkaline Salts (consisting chiefly of soda) are generally estimated at Ll per ton; and potash in those cases, in which it is necessary to take it into account, is usually valued at from L20 to L30 per ton, the former being its value in kelp, the form in which it can be most cheaply purchased.

Nitrate of Soda is usually sold at from L15 to L15: 10s. per ton, and, making allowance for impurities, L16 may be taken as the value of the pure salt.

Biphosphate of Lime, Soluble Phosphates.—Considerable difficulty is experienced in estimating the value of these substances, because they are not met with in commerce alone, or in any form except that of superphosphate, and the prices at which they are sold in different samples of that manure differ excessively. The only course by which any result can be obtained, is to determine the average price of a good superphosphate, and putting the values already ascertained on all the other constituents to reckon the difference between that sum and the market price as the value of soluble phosphates. Throwing out, as inferior, all samples containing less than 10 per cent of soluble phosphates, and taking the good only, I find that the average composition of the phosphates in the market during the present year has been—

Water 10.71 Organic matter 9.33 Biphosphate of lime equivalent to 19.43 "soluble phosphates" 12.45 Insoluble phosphates 14.78 Sulphate of lime 45.24 Alkaline salts 2.11 Sand 5.38 ——— 100.00 Ammonia 1.71

It is more difficult to fix the average price of superphosphate, as in many cases no information could be obtained on this point; but among those analyzed were samples at all prices, from L7 up to L10: 10s. per ton, so that on the whole, L8 may be assumed as an average, and in that case soluble phosphates are worth L27: 19s. per ton. Had the inferior samples been included, the price would have been higher, and in fact the rate at which soluble phosphates have been commonly estimated is L30 per ton, or L46: 16s. for biphosphate of lime, although sometimes the former have been reckoned as low as L25, with a corresponding rate for the latter. It is important that biphosphate of lime and soluble phosphates should not be confounded with one another in valuing a manure, the latter having one and a half times the value of the former.

As manures are liable to considerable fluctuations in price, the value attached to each of their constituents ought to be varied with the state of the market; but it is obviously impossible for the farmer to watch the changes in price with such minuteness as to enable him to do this, and it is much more convenient, as well as safer, to adopt a fixed average, which can be used with reasonable accuracy at all times. The fact is, that this system of valuation is only an approximation to the truth; and if absolute accuracy were aimed at, it would be necessary to vary the estimates, not only at different times, but at different localities at the same time, and to some extent also according to the kind of manure. The price of soluble phosphates more especially, fluctuates to a great extent, being practically fixed by each manufacturer according to the facilities which his position or command of raw material offer for producing them at a low rate. We thus find that when made from bones alone, the cost of that substance is not unfrequently as high as L40 per ton, and when bone-ash alone is used it is sometimes as low as L20. Such extreme differences, of course, cannot be taken into account in the system of valuation adopted, where all that can be done is to take average values, which, when applied to average samples, ought to bring out their value.

The data which have already been given regarding the price of the individual constituents of manures can be applied to the determination of the value of any mixture in two different ways by means of the subjoined table:—

- - Price per Ton. Per cent per Ton. - - Ammonia L60 0 0 L0 12 0 Insoluble phosphates 7 0 0 0 1 5 Do. in phosphatic guanos 10 0 0 0 2 0 Soluble phosphates 30 0 0 0 6 0 Biphosphate of lime 46 16 0 0 9 4-1/2 Alkaline salts 1 0 0 0 0 2-4/10 Sulphate of lime 1 0 0 0 0 2-4/10 Potash 20 0 0 0 4 0 Nitrate of soda 16 0 0 0 3 2-1/2 Organic matter 0 10 0 0 0 1-1/4 - -

Supposing it be desired to calculate the value of a manure by the first column, it is obvious that if we suppose 100 tons to be purchased, the per centages of the different constituents shewn in the analysis will give the number of tons of each contained in 100 tons of the mixture, and, selecting the analysis of the superphosphate given in a previous page, we proceed in the calculation as follows:—

14.11 tons of organic matter at 10s. L7 0 0 14.86 " soluble phosphates at L30 446 0 0 15.13 " insoluble phosphates at L7 105 0 0 39.43 " sulphate of lime at L1 39 0 0 3.82 " alkaline salts at L1 4 0 0 2.10 " ammonia at L60 126 0 0 ————— Value of 100 tons L727 0 0 or L7 : 5s. per ton.

According to the second column, the numbers give the sum by which the per centages of each ingredient must be multiplied, to give its value in a ton of manure, and it is used for the same manure in the following manner:—

14.11 organic matter, multiplied by 1-1/4d. L0 1 5 14.88 soluble phosphates " 6s. 4 9 2 15.13 insoluble phosphates " 1s. 5d. 1 1 4 39.43 sulphate of lime " 2-4/10d. O 8 10 3.82 alkaline salts " 2-4/10d. O O 9 2.10 ammonia " 12s. 1 5 3 ———— Value per ton L7 6 9

The difference is due to the less minute calculation of fractional quantities in the latter case.

The calculation of the value of any other manure is effected in exactly the same manner, taking care, however, to use the higher value for phosphates in the case of a phosphatic guano. It will be obvious to every one who tries the two methods that the first greatly exceeds the second in convenience and simplicity in the calculations, and it is that most commonly in use, although some persons prefer the second.

Although the data just given must always form the basis of the valuation of any manure, there are a variety of other circumstances which must be taken into account, and which give great scope for the judgment and experience of the valuator. Of these the most important is the proper admixture of the ingredients, and the condition of the manure as regards dryness, complete reduction to the pulverulent state, and the like. A certain allowance ought always to be made for careful manufacture; and, on the other hand, where the manure is damp or ill reduced, a small deduction (the amount of which must be decided by the experience of the valuator) ought to be made on account of the risk which the farmer runs of loss from unequal distribution, and the extra cost of carriage of an unnecessary quantity of water.

It is also necessary to take into account the particular element required by the soil. Thus, a farmer who finds his soil wants phosphates, will look to the manure containing the largest quantity of that substance, and possibly not requiring ammonia, will not care to estimate at its full value any quantity of that substance which he may be compelled to take along with the former, but will look only to the source from which he can obtain it most cheaply. It may be well, therefore, to point out that ammonia is most cheaply purchased in Peruvian guano; insoluble phosphates in coprolites; and soluble phosphates in superphosphates, made from bone-ash alone. In general, however, it will be found most advantageous to select manures in which the constituents are properly adjusted to one another, so that neither ammonia, soluble nor insoluble phosphates, preponderate; but, of course, it must frequently happen that it will prove more economical to buy the substances separately and to make the mixture, than to take the manure in which they are ready mixed.

In judging of the value of any manure, it is also important to make sure that the analysis which forms the basis of the calculation is that of a fair sample, which correctly represents the bulk actually delivered to the purchaser, and not one which has been made to do duty for an unlimited quantity of manure, which is supposed to be all of equal quality, as often happens in the hands of careless manufacturers, and too great attention cannot be devoted to the selection of the sample, which is very often done in an exceedingly slovenly manner.



CHAPTER XIII.

THE ROTATION OF CROPS.

Reference has already been more than once made to the fact that a crop growing in any soil must necessarily exhaust it to a greater or less extent by withdrawing from it a certain quantity of the elements to which its fertility is due. That this is the case has been long admitted in practice, and it has also been established that the exhausting effects of different species of plants are very different; that while some rapidly impoverish the soil, others may be cultivated for a number of years without material injury, and some even apparently improve it. Thus, it is a notorious fact that white crops exhaust, while grass improves the soil; but the improvement in the latter case is really dependent on the fact, that when the land is laid down in pasture, nothing is removed from it, the cattle which feed on its produce restoring all but a minute fraction of the mineral matters contained in their food; and as the plants derive a part, and in some instances a very large part, of their organic constituents from the air, the fertility of the soil must manifestly be increased, or at all events maintained in its previous state. When, however, the plant, or any portion of it, is removed from the soil, there must be a reduction of fertility dependent on the quantity of valuable matters withdrawn by it; and thus it happens that when a plant has grown on any soil, and has removed from it a large quantity of nutritive matters, it becomes incapable of producing an equally large crop of the same species; and if the attempt be made to grow it in successive years, the land becomes incapable of producing it at all, and is then said to be thoroughly exhausted. But if the exhausted land be allowed to lie for some time without a crop, it regains its fertility more or less rapidly according to circumstances, and again produces the same plant in remunerative quantity. The observation of this fact led to the introduction of naked fallows, which, up to a comparatively recent period, were an essential feature in agriculture. But after a time it was observed that the land which had been exhausted by successive crops of one species was not absolutely barren, but was still capable of producing a luxuriant growth of other plants. Thus peas, beans, clover, or potatoes, could be cultivated with success on land which would no longer sustain a crop of grain, and these plants came into use in place of the naked fallow under the name of fallow crops. On this was founded the rotation of crops; for it was clear that a judicious interchange of the plants grown might enable the soil to regain its fertility for one crop at the time when it was producing another; and when exhausted for the second, it might be again ready to bear crops of the first.

The necessity for a rotation of crops has been explained in several ways. The oldest view is that of Decandolle, who founded his theory on the fact that the plants excrete certain substances from their roots. He found that when plants are grown in water, a peculiar matter is thrown off by the roots; and he believed that this extrementitious substance is eliminated because it is injurious to the plant, and that, remaining in the soil, it acts as a poison to those of the same species, and so prevents the growth of another crop. But this excretion, though poisonous to the plants from which it is excreted, he believed to be nutritive to those of another species which is thus enabled to grow luxuriantly where the others failed. Nothing can be more simple than this explanation, and it was readily embraced at the time it was propounded and considered fully satisfactory. But when more minutely examined, it becomes apparent that the facts on which it is founded are of a very uncertain character. Decandolle's observations regarding the radical excretions of plants have not been confirmed by subsequent observers. On the contrary, it has been shewn that though some plants, when growing in water, do excrete a particular substance in small quantity, nothing of the sort appears when they are grown in a siliceous sand. And hence the inference is, that the peculiar excretion of plants growing in water is to be viewed as the result of the abnormal method of their growth rather than as a natural product of vegetation. But even admitting the existence of these matters, it would be impossible to accept the explanation founded upon them, because it is a familiar fact that, on some soils, the repeated growth of particular crops is perfectly possible, as, for instance, on the virgin soils of America, from which many successive crops of wheat have been taken; and in these cases the alleged excretion must have taken place without producing any deleterious effect on the crop. Besides, it is in the last degree improbable that these excretions, consisting of soluble organic matters, should remain in the soil without undergoing decomposition, as all similar substances do; and even if they did, we cannot, with our present knowledge of the food of plants, admit the possibility of the direct absorption of any organic substance whatever. Indeed, the idea of radical excretions, as an explanation of the rotation of crops, must be considered as being entirely abandoned.

The necessity for a rotation of crops is now generally attributed to the different quantities of valuable matters which different plants remove from the soil, and more especially to their mineral constituents. It has been already observed that great differences exist in the composition of the ash of different plants in the section on that subject; and it was stated that a distinction has been made between lime, potash, and silica plants, according as one or other of these elements preponderate in their ashes. The remarkable difference in the proportion of these elements has been supposed to afford an explanation of rotation. It is supposed that if a plant requiring a large quantity of any one element, potash, for example, be grown during a succession of years on the same soil, it will sooner or later exhaust all, or nearly all, the potash that soil contains in an available form, and it will consequently cease to produce a luxuriant crop. But if this plant be replaced by another which requires only a small quantity of potash and a large quantity of lime, it will flourish, because it finds what is necessary to its growth. In the meantime, the changes which are proceeding in the soil, are liberating new quantities of the inorganic matters from those forms of combination in which they are not immediately available, and when after a time the plant which requires potash is again sown on the soil, it finds a sufficient quantity to serve its purpose. We have already, in treating of the ashes of plants, pointed out the extent of the differences which exist; but these will be made more obvious by the annexed table, giving the quantity of the different mineral matters contained in the produce of an imperial acre of the different crops.

TABLE shewing the quantities of Mineral Matters and Nitrogen in average Crops of the principal varieties of Farm Produce.

- - - - - Produce per Total Total Imperial Weight Mineral Potash. Soda. Lime. Acre. in lbs. Matters. - - - - - Wheat Grain 28 bushels 1,680 34.12 10.11 1.20 1.04 at 60 lbs. Straw 1 ton 3 cwt. 2,576 114.48 20.70 2.84 8.53 Total ... ... 148.60 30.81 4.04 9.57 Barley Grain 33 bushels 1,749 44.24 9.40 0.30 0.76 at 53 lbs. Straw 18 cwt. 2,106 99.14 11.24 1.14 5.81 Total ... ... 143.38 20.64 1.44 6.57 Oats Grain 34 bushels 1,360 48.89 11.00 ... 5.31 at 40 lbs. Straw 1 ton. 2,240 143.53 30.71 6.10 10.29 Total ... ... 192.42 41.71 6.10 15.60 Beans, Peas 25 bushels 1,650 55.97 30.00 0.31 3.01 Grain at 60 lbs. Straw 1 ton. 2,240 108.51 48.61 13.14 29.37 Total ... ... 164.48 78.61 13.45 32.38 Turnips Bulbs 13-1/2 tons. 30,240 213.75 57.35 44.71 28.60 Potatoes 3 tons. 6,720 55.58 28.92 2.85 1.20 Hay 2-1/2 tons. 5,600 391.31 129.79 4.80 35.46 - - - - -

- - - - - Magnesia. Chlor. Sulphuric Phosphor Silica. Nitro -ine Acid. -ic Acid. -gen. - - - - - Wheat Grain 4.80 ... 0.32 16.22 0.43 29.20 Straw 2.23 ... 3.55 3.16 73.47 16.13 Total 7.03 ... 3.87 19.38 73.90 45.33 Barley Grain 3.10 1.12 0.85 15.52 13.19 34.98 Straw 2.75 1.30 1.10 7.22 68.58 6.03 Total 5.85 2.42 1.95 22.74 81.77 41.01 Oats Grain 4.04 0.20 ... 26.07 2.27 27.54 Straw 5.50 5.55 5.18 7.35 72.85 14.10 Total 9.54 5.75 5.18 33.42 75.12 41.64 Beans, Peas 4.00 ... 1.76 16.65 0.24 46.10 Grain Straw 3.74 7.00 2.07 0.74 3.84 26.88 Total 7.74 7.00 3.83 17.39 4.08 72.98 Turnips Bulbs 4.65 10.35 39.02 22.57 6.50 60.48 Potatoes 2.11 3.21 10.24 5.76 1.29 26.00 Hay 9.62 39.61 16.57 21.79 133.67 56.22 - - - - -

The minor constituents, such as oxide of iron, manganese, etc., have been omitted as being of little importance; and the quantity of nitrogen, which is of great moment in estimating the exhaustive effects of various crops, has been added.

In examining this table, it becomes apparent that while in regard to some of the elements, the quantities removed by different crops do not differ to any marked extent, in others the variation is very great. The cereals and grasses are especially distinguished by the larger quantity of silica they contain, and the exhaustive effect consequent upon the removal of both grain and straw from soils which contain but a limited supply of that substance in an available condition is obvious. It is clear that under such circumstances the frequent repetition of a cereal crop may so far diminish the amount of available silica as to render its cultivation impossible, although the other substances may be present in sufficient quantity to produce a plentiful crop of any plant which does not require that element. Beans and peas, turnips and hay, on the other hand, require a very large quantity of alkalies, and especially of potash.

Looking more minutely, however, into this matter, certain points attract attention which appear to be at variance with commonly received opinions. With the exception of silica, for example, the cereals do not withdraw from the soil so large a quantity of mineral matters as some of the so-called fallow crops, and if their straw be returned to the soil they are by far the least exhaustive of all cultivated plants; and we thus recognise the justice of that practical rule, which lays it down as an essential point of good husbandry that the straw ought, as far as possible, to be consumed on the farm on which it is produced. As regards the general constituents of the ash, it is also to be remarked that though differences in their proportions exist, they are by no means so marked as might be expected; thus there are no plants for which a large quantity of potash, nitrogen, and phosphoric acid is not required; and it is not very easy to see how the substitution of the one for the other should be of much importance in this respect. Indeed, the more minutely the subject is examined, the more do we become convinced of the insufficiency of that view which attributes the necessity for a rotation of crops to differences in chemical composition alone. There can be no doubt that the nature of the plant and the particular mode in which it gathers its nutriment, have a most important influence. Certain plants are almost entirely dependent on the soil for their organic constituents, while others derive a large proportion of them from the air, and a plant of the latter class will flourish in a soil in which one of the former is incapable of growing. In other cases, the structure and distribution of the roots is the cause of the difference. Some plants have roots distributed near the surface and exhaust the superficial layer of the soil, others penetrate into the deeper layers, and not only derive an abundant supply of food from them, but actually promote the fertility of the surface soil by the refuse portions of them which are left upon it. Experience has in this respect arrived at results which tally with theory, and it is for this reason that the broad-leafed turnip, which obtains a considerable quantity of its nutriment from the air, alternates with grain crops which are chiefly dependent on the soil. It is undoubtedly to some such cause that several remarkable instances of what may be called natural rotations are to be attributed. It is well known in Sweden that when a pine forest is felled, a growth, not of pine but of birch, immediately springs up. Now the difference in composition of the ash of these trees is not sufficient to explain this fact, and it must clearly be due to some difference in the distribution of their roots, or the mode in which they obtain their food.

Whatever weight may be given to these different explanations of rotation, there is no doubt about the importance of attending to it, and there are various practical deductions of much importance to be drawn from the facts with which we are acquainted. Thus it is to be observed that the quantities of mineral matters withdrawn by plants of the same class are generally similar, and hence it may be inferred that crops of the most opposite class ought as much as possible to alternate with one another, and each plant should be repeated as seldom as possible, so that, even when it is necessary to return to the same class, a different member of it should be employed. Thus, for instance, in place of immediately repeating wheat, when another grain crop is necessary, it would theoretically be preferable to employ oats or barley, and to replace the turnip by mangold-wurzel or some other root. It is obvious, however, that this system cannot be carried out in practice to its full extent; for the superior value of individual crops causes the more frequent repetition of those which make the largest return. But experience has so far concurred with theory that it has taught the farmer the advantage of long rotations; and we have seen the successive introduction of the three, four, five, and six-course shift, and even, in some instances, of longer periods.

Such is the theory of rotation, and while it will always be most advantageous to adhere to it, it is by no means necessary that this should be done in an absolutely rigid manner. In the practice of agriculture, plants are placed in artificial circumstances, and instead of allowing them to depend entirely on the soil, they are supplied with a quantity of manure containing all the elements they require, and if it be used in sufficiently large quantity, the same crop may be grown year after year. And accordingly the order of rotation, which is theoretically the best, may be, and every day is, violated in practice, although this must necessarily be done at the expense of a certain quantity of the valuable matters of the manure added, and is so far a practice which ought theoretically to be avoided. In actual practice, however, the matter is to be decided on other grounds. The object then is, not to produce the largest crops, but those which make the largest money return, and thus it may be practically economical to grow a crop of high commercial value more frequently than is theoretically advantageous. In such cases the farmer must seek to do away as far as possible with the disadvantages which such a course entails, and this he will endeavour to accomplish by careful management and a liberal treatment of the soil.

But while this system may be adopted to some extent, it must also be borne in mind that the frequent repetition of some crops cannot be practised with impunity, for plants are liable to certain diseases which manifest themselves to the greatest extent when they have been too often cultivated in the same soil. Clover sickness, which affects the plant when frequently repeated on light soils, and the potatoe disease and finger and toe have been attributed to the same cause. Whether this is the sole origin of these diseases is questionable, but there is no doubt that they are aggravated by frequent repetition, and hence a strong argument in favour of rotation. It has been asserted by great authorities in high farming, that with our present command of manures, rotations may be done away with; but this is an opinion to which science gives no countenance, and he would be a rash man who attempted to carry it out in practice.



CHAPTER XIV.

THE FEEDING OF FARM STOCK.

The feeding of cattle, once a subordinate part of the operations of the farm, has now become one of its most important departments, and a large number of minute and elaborate experiments have been made by chemists and physiologists with the view of determining the principles on which its successful and economical practice depends. These investigations, while they have thrown much light on the matter, have by no means exhausted it, and it will be readily understood that the complete elucidation of a subject of such complexity, touching on so many of the most abstruse and difficult problems of chemistry and physiology, and in which the experiments are liable to be affected by disturbing causes, dependent on peculiarities of constitution of different animals, cannot be otherwise than a slow process.

In considering the principles of feeding, it is necessary to point out, in the first instance, that the plant and animal are composed of the same chemical elements, hence the food supplied to the latter invariably contains all the substances it requires for the maintenance of its functions. And not only is this the case, but these elements are to a great extent combined together in a similar manner,—the fibrine, caseine, albumen, and fatty matters contained in animals corresponding in all respects with the compounds extracted from plants under the same name; and though the starchy and saccharine substances do not form any part of the animal body, they are represented in the milk, the food which nature has provided for the young animal. It has been frequently assumed that the nitrogenous and fatty matters are simply absorbed into the animal system, and deposited unchanged in its tissues; but it is probable that the course of events is not quite so simple, although, doubtless, the decomposition which occurs is comparatively trifling. The starchy matters, on the other hand, are completely changed, and devoted to purposes which will be immediately explained.

It is a matter of familiar experience, that if the food be properly proportioned to the requirements of the animal, its weight remains unchanged; and the inference to be drawn from this fact obviously is, that the food does not remain permanently in the system, but must be again got rid of. It escapes partly through the lungs, and partly by the excretions, which do not consist merely of the part which has not been digested, but also of that portion which has been absorbed, and after performing its allotted functions within the system, has become effete and useless. When the weights of the excretions, the carbon contained in the carbonic acid expired by the lungs and the small quantity of matter which escapes in the form of perspiration, are added together, they are found in such a case to be exactly equal to the food. If the animal be deprived of nutriment, it immediately begins to lose weight, because its functions must continue—carbon must still be converted into carbonic acid to maintain respiration—and the excretions be eliminated, although diminished in quantity, because they no longer contain the undigested portion of the daily food, and the substances already stored up in the body are consumed to maintain the functions of life. Universal experience has shewn that, under such circumstances, the fat which has accumulated in various parts of the body disappears, and the animal becomes lean; but it is less generally recognised that the muscular flesh, that is the lean part of the body, also diminishes, although it is sufficiently indicated by the fact that nitrogen still continues to be found in the urine, and that the animal becomes feeble and incapable of muscular exertion. Respiration and secretion, in fact, proceed quite irrespective of the food, which is only required to repair the loss they occasion. When the course of events within the animal body is traced, it is found to be somewhat as follows: The food consumed is digested and absorbed into the blood, where it undergoes a series of complicated changes, as a consequence of which part of it is converted into carbonic acid, and eliminated by the lungs, and part is deposited in the tissues as fat and flesh. After the lapse of a certain period, longer or shorter according to circumstances, a new set of actions comes into play, by which the complex constituents of the tissues are resolved into simpler substances, and excreted chiefly by the lungs and kidneys. The changes thus produced are, to a great extent, identical with those which would take place if the fat and flesh were consumed in a fire; and the animal frame may, in a certain sense, be compared to a furnace, in which, by the daily consumption of a certain quantity of fuel and air inhaled in the process of respiration, its temperature is maintained above that of the surrounding atmosphere. If the daily supply of fuel, that is of food, be properly adjusted to the loss by combustion, the weight of the animal remains constant; if it be reduced below this quantity, it diminishes; but if it be increased, the stomach either refuses to digest and assimilate the excess, or it is absorbed and stored up in the body, increasing both the fat and flesh.

When an animal is fed in such a manner that its weight remains constant, a balance is produced between the supply of nutriment contained in the food and the waste of the tissues, the gain from the former exactly counterpoising the loss occasioned by the latter. If in this state of matters an additional supply of food be given, this balance is deranged, and the nutriment being in excess of the loss, the animal gains weight, and it continues to do this for some time, until it reaches a point at which a new balance is established, and its weight again becomes constant; and this is due to the fact that the animal becomes subject to an additional waste, consequent on the increased weight of matter accumulated in its tissues. If, after the animal has attained its new constant weight, the food be a second time increased, a further gain is obtained, and so on, with every addition to the supply of nutriment, until at length a certain point is reached, beyond which its weight cannot be forced. In fact, each successive increase of weight is obtained at a greater expenditure of food. If, for example, a lean animal is taken, and its food increased by a given quantity, it will rapidly attain a certain additional weight, but if another extra supply of food be given, the increase due to it will be much more slowly attained, and so on until at length an additional increase can only be secured by the long-continued consumption of a very large quantity of food. The great object of the feeder is to obtain the greatest possible increase with the smallest expenditure of food, and to know the point beyond which it is no longer economical to attempt to force the process of fattening. To do this it is necessary first to consider the composition of the animal itself, then that of its food, and lastly, the mode in which it may be most economically used.

It has been already observed that the animal tissues are composed of albuminous or nitrogenous compounds, fat, mineral matters, and water; but the proportions of these substances have, until lately, been very imperfectly known. Water is well known to be by far the largest constituent, and amounts in general to about two-thirds of the entire weight, and it has been generally supposed that the nitrogenous matters stood next in point of abundance, but a most important and elaborate series of experiments by Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert have shewn that they are greatly exceeded by the fatty matters. The following table contains a summary of the composition of ten different animals in different stages of fattening. The first division gives the composition of the carcass, that is, the portion of the animal usually consumed as human food; the second that of the offal, consisting of the parts not usually employed as food; and the third that of the entire animals, including the contents of the stomach and intestines:—

[Transcriber's note: Column titles are printed vertical, which is not possible to do here. Therefore they are replaced with a 2-3 character code, explained here]

Column titles: MM = Mineral Matter NC = Nitrogenous Compounds TDS = Total Dry Substance CSI = Contents of Stomachs and Intestine in moist state. Wat = Water

- Per cent in Offal, excluding Per cent in Carcass contents of Stomachs and Intestines. - MM NC Fat TDS WAT MM NC Fat TDS WAT - - - - - - Fat Calf 4.48 16.6 16.6 37.7 62.3 3.41 17.1 14.6 35.1 64.9 Half-fat Ox 5.56 17.8 22.6 46.0 54.0 4.05 20.6 15.7 40.4 59.6 Fat Ox 4.56 15.0 34.8 54.4 45.6 3.40 17.5 26.3 47.2 52.8 Fat Lamb 3.63 10.9 36.9 51.4 48.6 2.45 18.9 20.1 41.5 58.5 Store Sheep 4.36 14.5 23.8 42.7 57.3 2.19 18.0 16.1 36.3 63.7 Half-fat old Sheep 4.13 14.9 31.3 50.3 49.7 2.72 17.7 18.5 38.9 61.1 Fat Sheep 3.45 11.5 45.4 60.3 39.7 2.32 16.1 26.4 44.8 55.2 Extra fat Sheep 2.77 9.1 55.1 67.0 33.0 3.64 16.8 34.5 54.9 45.1 Store Pig 2.57 14.0 28.1 44.7 55.3 3.07 14.0 15.0 32.1 67.9 Fat Pig 1.40 10.5 49.5 61.4 38.6 2.97 14.8 22.8 40.6 59.4 - - - - - - Mean of all 3.69 13.5 34.4 51.6 48.4 3.02 17.2 21.0 41.2 58.8 - - - - - - Mean of 8, viz, the half-fat, fat, and 3.75 13.3 36.5 53.6 46.4 3.12 17.4 22.4 42.9 57.1 very fat animals - - - - - - Mean of 6, viz., of the fat and 3.38 12.3 39.7 55.4 44.6 3.03 16.9 24.1 44.0 56.0 very fat animals - - - - - -

Per cent in Entire Animal. MM NC Fat TDS CSI WAT - - Fat Calf 3.80 15.2 14.8 33.8 3.17 63.0 Half-fat Ox 4.66 16.6 19.1 40.3 8.19 51.5 Fat Ox 3.92 14.5 30.1 48.5 5.98 45.5 Fat Lamb 2.94 12.3 28.5 43.7 8.54 47.8 Store Sheep 3.16 14.8 18.7 36.7 6.00 57.3 Half-fat old Sheep 3.17 14.0 23.5 40.7 9.05 50.2 Fat Sheep 2.81 12.2 35.6 50.6 6.02 43.4 Extra fat Sheep 2.90 10.9 45.8 59.6 5.18 35.2 Store Pig 2.67 13.7 23.3 39.7 5.22 55.1 Fat Pig 1.65 10.9 42.2 54.7 3.97 41.3 - - Mean of all 3.17 13.9 28.2 44.9 6.13 49.0 - - Mean of 8, viz, the half-fat, fat, and 3.23 13.3 29.9 46.4 6.26 47.3 very fat animals - - Mean of 6, viz., of the fat and 3.00 12.7 32.8 48.5 5.48 46.0 very fat animals - -

From this table it appears that, in the carcass, the proportion of fat is, in general, even in lean animals, much greater than that of nitrogenous compounds. In one case only, that of the fat calf, are they equal. But in the lean sheep there is more than one and a half times as much fat as nitrogenous matters, in the half fat sheep twice, in the fat sheep four times, and in the very fat sheep about six times as much. As a general result of the analyses it may be stated, that in the carcass of an ox in good condition, the quantity of fat will be from two to nearly three times as great as that of the so called albuminous compounds; in a sheep three or four times, and in the pig four or five times as great. In the offal, including the hide, intestines, and other parts not usually consumed as food, the proportion is very different,—the quantity of fat being much smaller, and that of nitrogenous compounds considerably larger.

Taking a general average of the whole, the following may be assumed as representing approximately the general composition of a lean and a fat animal:—

Lean. Fat.

Mineral matters 5 3 Nitrogenous compounds 15 12.5 Fat 24 33 Water 56 48.5 —- ——- 100 100.0

The data given in the preceding table, coupled with a knowledge of the relative weights of the lean and fat animals, enable us to ascertain the composition of the increase during the fattening process. It is obvious, from the material diminution of the per centage of water, that the matters deposited in the tissues must contain a much larger proportion of dry matters than the whole body; and the reduced per centage of nitrogenous matters shews that the fat must also greatly preponderate. This is still more distinctly illustrated by the following table, giving the per centage composition of the increase in fattening oxen, sheep, and pigs:—

Mineral Nitrogenous Fat. Water. Matters. Compounds. Oxen 1.47 7.69 66.2 24.6 Sheep 2.34 7.13 70.4 20.1 Pigs 0.06 6.44 71.5 22.0

Hence it may be stated in round numbers, that for every pound of nitrogenous matters added to the weight of a fattening animal, it will gain ten pounds of fat, and three of water. These are the proportions over the whole period of fattening, but it is probable that during the last few weeks of the process the ratio of fat to nitrogenous matters is still higher.

In considering the composition of the food of animals, it will be readily admitted that the milk, the nutriment supplied by nature for the maintenance of the young animal, must afford special instruction as to its requirements during the early stages of existence, and indicate, at least, some of the points to be attended to under the altered conditions of mature life. The following table gives the average composition of the milk of the most important farm animals:—

Cow. Ewe. Goat. Caseine 3.4 4.50 4.02 Butter 3.6 4.20 3.32 Sugar of milk 6.0 5.00 5.28 Ash 0.2 0.68 0.58 Water 86.8 85.62 86.80 ——— ——— ——— 100.00 100.00 100.00

In examining these, and all other analyses of food, it is necessary to draw a distinction between the flesh-forming and the respiratory elements; the former including the nitrogenous compounds which are used in the production of flesh, the latter, the non-nitrogenous substances which produce fat and support the process of respiration. The former, however much they may differ in name, are nearly or altogether identical in chemical composition, the latter embracing two great classes—the fats which exist in the body and the saccharine compounds, including the different kinds of sugar and starch which are not found in the animal tissues. It was at one time supposed that these substances were entirely consumed in the respiratory process, and eliminated by the lungs in the form of carbonic acid and water, but it has been clearly shewn that they may be and often are converted into fat, and accumulated in the system. Careful experiments on bees have demonstrated that when fed on sugar they continue to produce wax, which is a species of fat, and animals retain their health and become fat, even when their food contains scarcely any oil. There is, however, an important difference between these two classes of substances as regards their fat-producing effect. A pound of fat contained in the food is capable of producing the same quantity within the animal; but the case is different with starch and sugar, the most trustworthy experiments shewing that two and a half pounds of these substances are necessary for that purpose. Hence we talk of the fat equivalent of sugar, by which is meant the amount of fat it is capable of producing, and which is obtained by dividing its quantity by 2.5. Applying this principle to the analyses of the milk, it appears that the relative proportions of the two great classes of nutritive substances stand thus:—

Flesh Respiratory, expressed in forming their fat equivalent

Cow 3.4 6.0 Ewe 4.5 6.2 Goat 4.0 5.4

Taking the general average, it may be stated, that for every pound of flesh-forming elements contained in the food of the sucking animal, it consumes respiratory compounds capable of producing one and a half pounds of fat, and this does not differ materially from the ratio subsisting between these substances in the lean animal. When the young animal is weaned, it obtains a food in which the ratio of nitrogenous to respiratory elements is maintained nearly unchanged; but the latter, in place of containing a large amount of fatty matters, is in many cases nearly devoid of these substances, and consists almost exclusively of starch and sugar, mixed most commonly with a considerable quantity of woody fibre.

A very large number of analyses of different kinds of cattle food have been made by chemists, but our information regarding them is still in some respects imperfect. The quantity of nitrogenous compounds and of oil has been accurately ascertained in almost all, but the amount of starch, sugar, and woody fibre is still imperfectly determined in many substances. This is due partly to the fact that the nitrogenous and fatty matters were formerly believed to be of the highest importance, and might be used as the measure of the nutritive value of food to the exclusion of its other constituents, and partly also to the imperfect nature of the processes in use for obtaining the amounts of woody fibre, starch, and sugar. These difficulties have now, to a certain extent, been overcome, and the quantity of fibre and of respiratory elements has been ascertained, and is introduced, so far as is known, in the subjoined table:—

TABLE giving the Composition of the Principal Varieties of Cattle Food.

Note.—Where a blank occurs in the oil column, the quantity of that substance is so small as to be unimportant. When the respiratory elements and fibre have not been separated, the sum of the two is given.

- - Nitro- Oil. Respir- Fibre. Ash. Water. genous tory Com- Com- pounds. pounds. - - Decorticated earth-nut cake 44.00 8.86 19.34 5.13 14.05 8.62 Decorticated cotton cake 41.25 16.05 16.45 8.92 8.05 9.28 Poppy cake 34.03 11.04 23.25 11.33 13.79 6.56 Teel or sesamum cake 31.93 12.86 21.92 9.06 13.85 10.38 Rape cake 29.75 8.63 38.72 7.30 8.65 6.95 Dotter cake 29.00 7.99 27.04 16.12 12.59 7.26 Tares, home-grown 28.57 1.30 58.64 2.50 8.99 Linseed cake 28.53 12.47 35.78 6.32 6.11 10.79 Ruebsen cake 26.87 11.00 31.47 16.95 8.00 5.71 Tares, foreign 26.73 1.59 53.04 2.84 15.80 Earth-nut cake (entire seed) 26.71 12.75 45.69 3.29 11.56 Niger cake 25.74 6.58 42.18 11.15 8.12 6.23 Beans (65 lbs. per bushel) 24.70 1.59 54.51 3.36 15.84 Lentils 24.57 1.51 58.82 2.79 12.31 Linseed 24.44 34.00 30.73 3.33 7.50 Grey peas 24.25 3.30 57.99 2.52 11.94 Foreign beans 23.49 1.51 59.67 3.14 12.21 Cotton cake (with husk) 22.94 6.07 36.52 16.99 6.02 11.46 Pea-nut cake 22.25 7.62 30.25 26.97 3.71 9.20 Sunflower cake 21.68 8.94 19.05 33.00 9.33 8.00 Hempseed cake 21.47 7.90 22.48 25.16 15.79 7.21 Kidney beans 20.06 1.22 62.16 3.56 13.00 Maple peas 19.43 1.72 63.18 2.04 13.63 Madia sativa (seed) 18.41 36.55 34.59 4.13 6.32 Clover hay (mean of different species of clover) 15.81 3.18 34.42 22.47 7.59 16.53 Rye 14.20 ... 81.51 2.47 1.82 14.66 Bran 13.80 5.56 61.67 6.11 12.85 Oats 11.85 5.89 57.45 9.00 2.72 13.09 Fine barley dust 11.49 2.92 71.41 2.67 11.51 Wheat 11.48 ... 73.52 0.68 0.82 13.50 Bere 10.25 ... 62.85 10.08 2.60 14.22 Hay (mean of different grasses) 9.40 2.56 38.54 29.14 5.84 14.30 Barley 8.69 ... 64.52 9.67 2.82 14.30 Coarse barley dust 8.46 3.47 69.73 7.31 11.03 Rice dust 8.08 2.95 69.22 8.12 11.63 Oat dust 6.92 3.21 72.86 7.70 9.31 Winter bean straw 5.71 ... 67.50 6.39 20.40 Carob bean 3.11 0.41 62.51 18.60 2.80 12.57 Potato 2.81 ... 17.30 1.07 1.13 77.69 Carrot 1.87 ... 7.91 3.07 1.11 86.04 Wheat straw 1.79 ... 31.06 45.45 7.47 14.23 Barley straw 1.68 ... 39.98 39.80 4.24 14.30 Oat straw 1.63 ... 37.86 43.60 4.95 12.06 Mangold-wurzel 1.54 ... 8.60 1.12 0.96 87.78 Cabbage 1.31 ... 4.53 1.05 93.11 Turnips 1.27 0.20 4.07 1.08 1.71 91.47 - -

It is at once obvious that in many of these descriptions of food the ratio of the flesh to the fat-forming constituents differ very widely from that existing in the milk, and this becomes still more apparent when the latter are represented in their fat equivalent, as is done for a few of them in the following table:—

Flesh Respiratory, expressed forming, in their fat equivalent,

Decorticated earth-nut cake 44.0 16.6 Linseed cake 28.5 26.7 Tares 26.73 18.8 Clover hay 15.81 16.8 Oats 11.85 28.8 Hay (mean of grasses) 9.40 17.9 Potato 2.81 6.9 Wheat straw 1.79 12.4 Turnip 1.27 1.8

It is especially note-worthy that those varieties of food, which common experience has shewn to promote the fattening of stock to the greatest extent, contain in many instances the smallest quantity of respiratory or fat-forming elements relatively to their nitrogenous compounds. This is especially the case with the different kinds of oil cake, the leguminous seeds, clover, hay, and turnips. On the other hand, in the grains the ratio is nearly that of one to three, or similar to that found in fat cattle; while in the straw, the excess of the respiratory elements is extremely great.

These facts appear at first sight to be completely at variance with the composition of the increase of fattening animals, as ascertained by Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert already referred to, and which have shewn that for every pound of nitrogenous compounds, nearly ten pounds of fat are stored within the animal; and it might be supposed that those kinds of food which contain the largest relative amount of respiratory elements ought to fatten most rapidly, and should be selected by the farmer in preference to oil-cakes and similar substances. But there are other matters to be considered, dependent on the complex nature of the changes attending the absorption and assimilation of the food. It must be particularly borne in mind that only a small proportion of the food consumed is stored up within the body, and goes to increase the weight of the animal. Even in the case of the milk, in which economy in the supply of nutritive matters has been most clearly attended to by nature, a considerable proportion escapes assimilation, and in the adult animal a large amount of the food passes off with the excretions. The justice of this position is apparent when it is remembered that an ox will go on day after day consuming from a hundred weight to a hundred weight and a half of turnips, three or four pounds of bean-meal or oil-cake, and a considerable quantity of straw, although its daily increase in live weight may not exceed a couple of pounds. And in this direction a very fertile field of inquiry lies open to the agricultural experimenter; for it would be most important to determine whether there are not some substances from which the nutritive matters may not be more easily assimilated than from others, and what proportion of each is absorbable under ordinary circumstances. On this point no information has yet been obtained applicable to individual feeding substances, but the experiments of Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert have shewn the quantity of the total food, and of each of its constituents, stored up in the fattening animal, and a summary of their results is contained in the following Table:—

TABLE shewing the Amount of each Class of Constituents, stored in the increase, for 100 consumed in the Food.

- - Mineral Nitrogenous Total Dry Matters Compounds. Fat. Substance. - - Sheep 3.27 4.41 9.4 8.06 Pigs 0.58 7.34 21.2 17.3 - -

Hence it appears that the pig makes a better use of its food than the sheep, retaining twice as much of its solid constituents within the body, from which may be deduced the important practical conclusion, that the former must be fattened at a much smaller cost than the latter. Looking at the individual constituents, it appears that, in the sheep, less than one-twentieth of the nitrogenous compounds, and one-tenth of the non-nitrogenous substances contained in the food, remain in the body; and a knowledge of these facts tends to modify the conclusions which might be drawn from the composition of the increase in the fattening animal. Its influence may be best illustrated by a particular example. If, for instance, the increase in a sheep contained its nitrogenous and respiratory elements in the ratio of 1 to 10, it would be totally incorrect to supply these substances in the food in the same proportions. On the contrary, it would be necessary at the very least to double the proportion of the former, because one-tenth of the fat-forming elements are absorbed, and only one-twentieth of the nitrogenous.

On further consideration, also, it seems unquestionable that the quantity of the nutritive elements stored up must depend to a large extent on the nature of the food and the particular state in which they exist in it. It is probable, or at least possible, that some kinds of food may contain their nitrogenous constituents in an easily assimilable state, and their respiratory elements in a nearly indigestible condition, or vice versa, and under these circumstances their nutritive value would be below that indicated by analysis; but these points can only be determined by elaborate and long continued feeding experiments. It is well known, however, that the mechanical state of the food has a most important influence on its nutritive value. Thus, for example, the presence of a large quantity of woody fibre protects the nutritive substances from assimilation, and seeds with hard husks pass unchanged through the animal, although, so far as their composition alone is concerned, they may be highly nutritive; and the loss of a certain quantity of many varieties of food in this way is familiar to every one.

The proper adjustment of the relative quantities of the great groups of nutritive elements in the food is a matter the importance of which cannot be over-rated, for it is in fact the foundation of successful and economical feeding; and this will be readily understood if we consider what would be the result of giving to an animal a supply of food containing a large quantity of nitrogenous and a deficiency of fat-forming compounds. In such circumstances, the animal must either languish for want of the latter, or it is forced to supply the defect by an increased consumption of food, in doing which it must take into the system a larger quantity of nitrogenous compounds than would otherwise have been requisite, and in this way the other elements, which are present in abundance, are wasted, and the theoretical and practical value of a food so constituted may be very different, and it is only when the proportions of the different groups are properly attended to that the most economical result can be obtained. It can scarcely be said that the experiments yet made by feeders enable us to fix the most suitable proportion in which those substances can be employed, although experience has led them to the use of mixtures which are in most cases theoretically correct; thus they combine oil-cakes or turnips with straw, which is poor nitrogenous, and rich in fat-forming elements; and in general it will be found that where different kinds of food are mixed, the deficiencies of the one are counterbalanced by the other, and though this has hitherto been done empirically, it cannot be doubted that as our knowledge advances it will more and more be determined by reference to the composition of the food.

Although the presence of a sufficient quantity of nutritive compounds in the food is necessarily the fundamental matter for consideration, its bulk is scarcely less important. The function of digestion requires that the food shall properly fill the stomach, and however large the supply of nutritive matters may be, their effect is imperfectly brought out if the food is too small in bulk, and it actually may become more valuable if diluted with woody fibre, or some other inert substance. At first sight this may appear at variance with the observations already made as to the effects of woody fibre in protecting the nutritive matters from absorption; but practically there are two opposite evils to be contended against, a food having too small a bulk, or one containing so large a proportion of inert substances as to become disadvantageously voluminous. The most favourable condition lies between the two extremes, and the natural food of all herbivorous animals is diluted with a certain amount of woody fibre. When these are replaced by substances containing a large quantity of nutritive matters in a small bulk, the result is that the natural instinct of the animal causes it to continue feeding until the stomach is properly distended, and it consequently consumes a much larger quantity of food than it is capable of digesting, and a more or less considerable quantity passes unchanged through the intestines, and is lost. On the other hand, if the food be too bulky, the sense of repletion causes the animal to cease eating long before it has obtained a sufficient supply of nutritive matter. It is most necessary, therefore, to study the mixture of different kinds of food, so as to obtain a proper relation between the bulk and the nutritive matters contained in the mixture; and on examining the nature of the mixed foods most in vogue among feeders, it will be found that a very bulky food is usually conjoined with another of opposite qualities. Hence it is that turnips, the most voluminous of all foods, are used along with oil-cake and bean-meal, and if from any circumstances it becomes necessary to replace a large amount of the former by either of the latter substances, the deficient bulk must be replaced by hay or straw.

It has been already remarked that there are three great purposes to which the food consumed is appropriated; the increase of weight of the animal—the object the feeder has in view and desires to promote—the supplying the waste of the tissues, and the process of respiration, both of which are sources of loss of food, and which it must necessarily be his aim to diminish as much as possible. The circumstances which must be attended to in order to do this are sufficiently well understood. It has been clearly established that the natural heat of the animal is sustained by the consumption of a certain quantity of its food in the respiratory process, during which it undergoes exactly the same changes as those which occur during combustion. It has further been observed, that the temperature of the body remains unchanged, whatever be that of the surrounding air; and it is obvious that if it is to continue the same in winter as in summer, a larger quantity of fuel (i. e. food) must be consumed for this purpose, just as a room requires more fire to keep it warm in winter than in summer, and hence it naturally follows, that if the animal be kept in a warm locality the food is economized. It may also be inferred that, if it were possible, consistently with the health of the animal, to keep it in a room artificially heated to the temperature of its own body, this source of waste of food would be entirely removed. It is not possible, however, to do this, because a limit is set to it by physiological laws, which cannot be infringed with impunity; but the housing of cattle, so as to diminish this waste as far as possible, is a point in regard to the propriety of which theory and practice are at one.

The old feeders kept their cattle in large open courts, where they were exposed to every vicissitude of the weather, but as intelligence advanced, we find them substituting, first hammels, and then stalls, in which the animals are kept during the whole time of fattening at an equable temperature. The effect of this is necessarily to introduce a considerable economy of the food required to sustain the animal heat; but it also produces a saving in another way, for it diminishes the waste of the tissues.

It has been ascertained by accurate experiments made chiefly on man, that muscular exertion is one of the most important causes of the waste of the tissues, and of increased respiratory activity. We cannot move a limb without producing a corresponding consumption of matters already laid up within the body; and it has also been found, that the difference in the quantity of carbonic acid expired during rest and active exertion, is very large. The inference to be drawn from this is, that when it is sought to fatten an animal rapidly, every effort must be made to restrain muscular motion so far as compatible with health. Hence, the peculiar advantage of stall-feeding, in which the animal is confined to one spot, and the more thoroughly it can be kept still, the greater will be the economy of food. This is gained by darkening the house, and excluding all persons, except when their presence is indispensable.

An extension of the same principle has led to the use of food artificially heated, but it is doubtful whether the advantages derived from it are commensurate to the increased expense of the process; at least opinions differ among the best informed practical men on this subject.

Many other matters, besides these mentioned, exercise an important influence on the feeding of stock, such as the general health of the animal, the breed, etc. These are subjects, however, which bear more directly on practical agriculture, and need not be discussed here.

The judicious feeder will not only give due weight to the principles already discussed in all he does, but he must take into consideration the extent to which they are liable to be modified in particular cases. He must also attend to the cost of different kinds of food, and the value of the manure produced by them, subjects of much importance in a practical point of view, and which must influence him greatly in choice of the particular substances he supplies to his cattle.



INDEX.



Acid, apocrenic, 21. Carbonic, 10, 15, 20, 37, 57, 115. Cerotic, 48. Crenic, 21. Geic, 21. Hippuric, 168. Humic, 21. Lactic, 168. Margaric, 47. Nitric, 11, 17, 30, 33, 38, 62, 112. Oleic, 47. Pectic, 46. Phosphoric, 73, 90. Stearic, 47. Sulphuric, 182, 237. Ulmic, 21. Uric, 168.

Adulteration of guano, 211.

Agricultural Chemistry Association of Scotland, 6.

Air, influence of, on germination, 55. In the pores of soils, 115.

Albite, 86.

Albumen, 48.

Albuminous constituents of plants and animals, 48.

Algoa Bay guano, 208.

Alkaline salts, value of, 260.

Alumina, 73, 86, 103.

Ammonia, absorption of, by plants, 29, 38. Absorption of, by soils, 123. Carbonate of, 29. Composition of, 12. Decomposition of, by plants, 61. Presence in dew, 17. " rain, 17. Production of, 12. Properties of, 12. Proportion of, in air, 16, 20. Proportion of, in drain water, 112. Proportion of, in soils, 107. Sulphate of, 29, 227. Sulphomuriate of, 227. Urate of, 205. Valuation of, 259.

Ammoniacal liquor, 229.

Amylaceous constituents of plants, 40.

Angamos guano, 207, 210.

Animal charcoal, 224. Manures, 204.

Animals, composition of, 281. Nitrogenous constituents of, 48, 281.

Apatite, 235.

Ascension Island guano, 208.

Augite, 89.

Australian guano, 207.

Avenine, 50.

Barks, amount of ash in, 66.

Barley, 286.

Barrenness of soils, 109.

Basalt, 92.

Beans, 286.

Bere, 286.

Biphosphate of lime, 237, 260.

Bird Island guano, 208.

Blood as a manure, 220.

Bone ash, 234.

Bone oil, 229.

Bones as a manure, 223. Dissolved, 237.

Box-feeding, 183.

Bolivian guano, 207, 210.

Bran, 197, 286.

Burning, improvement of soils by, 146.

Cabbage, 286.

Cane sugar, 43.

Carbon, properties of, 10. Proportion of, in plants, 10.

Carbonate of ammonia, 29. Lime, 96, 247. Magnesia, 96. Potash, 232. Soda, 232.

Carbonic acid, absorption of, by plants, 37. Decomposition of, by plants, 57. Evolution of, by plants, 58. How obtained, 10. Properties, 10. Proportion of, in air, 15, 20.

Carburetted hydrogen, 19.

Calcium, sulphuret of, 252.

Caramel, 44.

Carrot, 286.

Caseine, 50, 283.

Castor cake, 195.

Cattle food, composition of, 286.

Cellulose, 40.

Cerine, 48.

Cerotic acid, 48.

Chaff, 197.

Chalk, 96, 245.

Charcoal, animal, 224.

Chilian guano, 207.

China-clay, 87.

Chloride of potassium, 73, 102. Sodium, 73, 232. Manganese, 182.

Clay, 87. Absorbent action of, 121. Composition of, 95. Source of, 88, 94.

Clay-slate, 95.

Classification of plants, 81.

Coprolites, 98, 235.

Coral sand, 246.

Cotton cake, 195, 286.

Crenic acid, 21.

Crops, Mineral matters in, 270. Nitrogen in different, 270. Rotation of, 81, 266.

Deep Ploughing, effects of, 144.

Dew, ammonia in, 17. Nitric acid in, 19.

Dextrine, 43.

Diastase, 43, 53, 55.

Diorite, 92.

Dissolved bones, 237.

Dolerite, 92.

Dotter cake, 286.

Drainage water, analyses of, 112.

Draining, 138.

Dung, composition of, 170.

Dung heaps, management of, 179.

Earth-nut cake, 286.

Emulsine, 50.

Exhaustion of soils, 81.

Farm stock, feeding of, 276.

Farm-yard manure, 166, 172. Application of, 186.

Fat, amount of, in animals, 281.

Fatty acids, 47. Matters, 46.

Feeding cakes, 286.

Feeding of farm stock, 276.

Felspar, 86. Decomposition of, 88.

Fermentation of manure, 184.

Fire-clay, 95.

Fish manure, 221.

Flesh as a manure, 220.

Fog, ammonia in, 17. Nitric acid in, 19.

Food, cattle, 286.

Fruits, amount of ash in, 66.

Gas Lime, 252.

Geic acid, 21.

Germination, 54.

Gluten, 49.

Glutin, 49.

Glycerine, 47.

Gneiss, 91.

Granite, 91.

Grape sugar, 44.

Greenstone, 92.

Green manuring, 198.

Guano, 204. Adulteration of, 211. Application of, 214. Average composition of, 207. Fish, 222. Peruvian, characters of, 209. Phospho-Peruvian, 243. Sombrero Island, 236.

Hair, 218.

Hay, 286.

Heat, evolution of, by plants, 60.

Hempseed cake, 286.

Hippuric acid, 168.

Horn, 218.

Hornblende, 89.

Humic acid, 21.

Humin, 22.

Humus, 21, 98, 133.

Hydrogen, 10.

Ichaboe Guano, 207.

Indian guano, 208.

Inorganic constituents of plants, 9, 34.

Inorganic constituents; Absorption by plants, 38. Proportion in plants, 64.

Inorganic constituents of soils, 85.

Inuline, 43.

Iodine in plants, 76.

Iron, protoxide of, in soils, 107. Sulphate of, 182. Sulphuret of, in subsoils, 135.

Kaolin, 87.

Kooria Mooria guano, 207.

Labradorite, 86.

Lactic acid, 168.

Latham Island guano, 207.

Leaves, amount of ash in, 65. As a manure, 202.

Legumine, 50.

Lichen starch, 42.

Light, influence of, on plants, 57.

Lime, action of, on soils, 248. As a manure, 245. Bicarbonate of, 122. Carbonate of, 96. Biphosphate of, 237, 260. Humate of, 125 Phosphate of, 96, 233, 258. Sulphate of, 96, 253, 260.

Lime-plants, 82.

Limestone, 96.

Linseed cake, 195.

Liquid manure, 166, 187.

Madia Sativa, 286.

Magnesia, carbonate of, 96. Sulphate of, 182, 233.

Magnesian limestone, 96.

Malt-dust, 197.

Manganese in plants, 73. Oxide of, 73, 87. Chloride of, 182.

Mangold-wurzel, 286.

Manures, animal, 204.

Manures, application of, 165, 186. Fermentation of, 184. Farm-yard, 166, 172. Liquid, 166, 187. Mineral, 226. Theory of, 156. Sewage, 191. Vegetable, 195. Valuation of, 255.

Manuring, Green, 198. Principles of, 152.

Maple peas, 286.

Maracaybo guano, 236.

Margaric acid, 47.

Margarine, 46.

Marl, 245.

Mexican guano, 207.

Mica, 88.

Mica slate, 91.

Milk, composition of, 283. Curding of, 51.

Mineral constituents of plants, 9, 63.

Mineral manures, 226.

Mineral matters in different crops, 270. In animals, 281.

Moisture, influence of, on germination, 55.

Mucilage, 44.

Natrolite, 90.

New Island guano, 208.

Niger cake, 286.

Night-soil, 217.

Nitrate of potash, 229.

Nitrate of soda, 229, 260.

Nitric acid, absorbtion of, by plants, 30, 38. Decomposition of, by plants, 62. In drainage water, 112. In dew, 19. In air, 17. In fog, 19. Production of, 11, 33.

Nitrification, 11.

Nitrogen, amount in a six-course rotation, 160. Amount of, in different crops, 270. Presence in the atmosphere, 11. Properties of, 11. Proportion of, in plants, 11.

Nitrogenous constituents of plants, 48, 286.

Nitrogenous constituents of animals, 48, 281.

Oats, 286. Proportion of ash in, 68, 70.

Oil-cakes, 195, 286.

Oils, sweet principle of, 47.

Oily matters, 46.

Oleic acid, 47.

Oleine, 46.

Oligoclase, 86.

Oolitic limestone, 96.

Organic constituents of plants, 8. Sources of the, 13, 20.

Organic constituents of soils, 103.

Orthoclase, 86.

Oxide of iron in rocks and soils, 87, 107. Of manganese, 87.

Oxygen, evolution of, by plants, 58. Influence of, on germination, 55. Presence in atmosphere, 12. Properties of, 12. Proportion of, in plants, 12.

Pacquico Guano, 207.

Paring, improvement of soils by, 146.

Patagonian guano, 207.

Pea-nut cake, 286.

Peas, 286.

Peat, as a manure, 203.

Peat, use of, in dung-heaps, 184.

Pectic acid, 46.

Pectine, 46.

Peruvian Guano, 205, 207, 209. Upper, 207, 213.

Phosphate of lime, 96, 233. Value of, 258.

Phosphates, insoluble, 258. Soluble, 237, 260.

Phospho-Peruvian guano, 243.

Phosphuretted hydrogen in air, 19.

Pigeons' dung, 216.

Plants, Albuminous constituents of, 48. Amylaceous constituents of, 40. Ash of, 64, 73. Classification of, 81. Inorganic constituents of, 9, 34, 38, 63. Oily constituents of, 46. Organic constituents of, 8. Proximate constituents of, 40. Saccharine constituents of, 40.

Poppy cake, 196, 286.

Potash, carbonate of, 232. Muriate of, 231. Nitrate of, 229. Plants, 82. Salts, 231.

Potato, 286.

Poudrette, 217.

Proximate constituents of plants, 40.

Pyroguanite, 236.

Quartz, 86.

Rainwater, 17, 18.

Rape Cake, 196, 286. Dust, 195.

Rocks, crystalline, 85. Composition of, 91. Disintegration of, 85. Sedimentary, 86.

Roots of plants, amount of ash in, 65.

Rotation of crops, 81, 266.

Ruebsen cake, 286.

Rye, 286.

Saccharine Constituents of plants, 40.

Saldanha Bay guano, 207.

Salt, common, 232.

Sandstones, 95.

Schuebler's experiments, 127.

Sea Bear Bay guano, 208.

Sea weed, 200, 201.

Seeds, amount of ash in, 64.

Sesamum cake, 286.

Sewage manure, 191.

Shell sand, 246.

Silica plants, 82.

Silicate of potash, 233. Soda, 233.

Skin, 218.

Soda, carbonate of, 232. Nitrate of, 229, 260. Salts, 231. Silicate of, 233.

Sodium, chloride of, 232.

Soil, the, 20, 83. Influence on the composition of the ash of plants, 71. Chemical composition of, 98. Chemical and physical characters of, 83. Improvement of, by mechanical means, 137.

Soil, relation of, to heat and moisture, 127.

Soils, absorbent action of, 122. Air in the pores of, 114. Analysis, 101, 118. Barrenness of, 109. Classification of, 135. Exhaustion of, 81. Inorganic constituents of, 85. Mixing of, 150. Origin of, 84. Organic matters in, 103. Physical characters of, 118, 127.

Sombrero Island guano, 236.

Starch, 41. Lichen, 42.

Stearic acid, 47.

Stearine, 46.

Stems of plants, ash in, 64.

Straw, amount of ash in, 64. As a manure, 197.

Sulphate of iron, 182. Lime, 96, 253, 260. Magnesia, 182. Ammonia, 29, 227. Potash, 231.

Sulphomuriate of ammonia, 227.

Sulphur in plants, 78.

Sulphuret of iron, 135. Calcium, 252.

Sulphuretted hydrogen, 19.

Sugar, 43. Of milk, 283.

Subsoil, the, 134. Ploughing, 143.

Sunflower cake, 286.

Syenite, 91.

Tares, 286.

Teelcake, 286.

Temperature, influence of, on germination, 54.

Thomsonite, 90.

Trap rock, 92.

Tubers, amount of ash in, 65.

Ulmic acid, 21.

Ulmin, 22.

Upper Peruvian guano, 207, 213.

Urate, 216. Of ammonia, 205.

Urea, 168.

Uric acid, 168, 205.

Urine, composition of, 167. Human, 168. Sulphated, 216.

Valuation of manures, 255.

Vegetable manures, 195.

Vegetation, influence of light on, 57.

Voelcker's analyses of dung, 174.

Warping, 148.

Water, absorption of, by plants, 35. Decomposition of, by plants, 60. Exhalation of, by plants, 35. Rain, 17, 18.

Wax, 48.

Wheat, 286.

Woods, amount of ash in, 65.

Woody fibre, 41.

Wool, 219.

Zeolites, 90.

PRINTED BY R. AND R. CLARK, EDINBURGH.



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Vol. 1 Waverley, or "'Tis Sixty Years Since." 2. Guy Mannering, or The Astrologer. 3. Antiquary 4. Rob Roy. 5. Old Mortality. 6. Black Dwarf, and Legend of Montrose. 7. Heart of Mid-Lothian. 8. Bride of Lammermoor. 9. Ivanhoe. 10. Monastery. 11. Abbott. 12. Kenilworth. 13. Pirate. 14. Fortunes of Nigel. 15. Peveril of the Peak. 16. Quentin Durward. 17. St. Ronan's Well. 18. Redgauntlet. 19. The Betrothed. 20. The Talisman. 21. Woodstock. 22. Fair Maid of Perth. 23. Anne of Geierstein, or the Maiden of the Mist. 24. Count Robert of Paris. 25. Surgeon's Daughter—Castle Dangerous.