Commercial wheatmeal is frequently only a mixture of inferior flour and bran or sharps. Being very difficult to keep, it is often offered in a very bad condition; from overheating it gets sour and musty, and greatly deteriorated in value. It is not often adulterated; if there are any suspicions of the sample not being pure, the microscope will be found useful in detecting the husks of any seed which has been mixed with the wheat. It is a good plan to take half an ounce of the meal, place it in a glass, pour over it four or five ounces of clear water, and keep stirring the mixture for five minutes; after allowing this to settle for a minute or two the liquid containing the floating particles should be carefully poured into another vessel, fresh water should again be added to the glass containing the sediment, and the process repeated until the water comes off quite clear. The residue may then be examined for sand, carbonate of lime, plaster of Paris, &c. The floating particles in the water poured off may be collected on a blotting-paper filter, and examined with a microscope for sawdust, the husks of seeds, &c. Barleymeal is largely used for feeding all kinds of stock. It is not so valuable as wheatmeal, contains less flesh-forming matters, and a much larger proportion of indigestible woody fibre. It contains a large percentage of heat-giving materials, and is well suited for fattening animals. For fattening pigs it is very valuable; it has been found that seven pounds of this meal will add nearly one and a quarter pound to the live weight of a pig. To cattle in the last stage of the fattening process we have known as much as 18 lb. per head daily given. We do not, however, believe that it is economical to give such a large quantity; the food cannot be all assimilated. Excepting under very unusual circumstances, it is not profitable to give more than one-third this amount. Barleymeal is best given along with bean or peameal; for fattening beasts of sixty imperial stones, a mixture of 5 lb. of the former, with 3 lb. of one of the latter, will be found to produce satisfactory results. The following is an analysis of a good sample of barleymeal Moisture...... Starch, gum, sugar, &c........ 1. Nitrogenous compounds Ash... 1. Containing nitrogen........ Per cent. 14.15 60.26 11.58 10.84 3.17 100.00 1.73 Barley dust is frequently mixed with the meal; this dust is the refuse obtained in the manufacture of pot or pearl barley, if the latter it is nearly as good as the meal itself. The refuse of the pot barley manufacture is, however, very inferior, contains a large per centage of indigestible woody fibre, and its addition to the meal must be looked upon as an adulteration. Barleymeal may be examined for adulterations in the same manner as we suggested for the examination of wheatmeal. If it is supposed to contain sand in any quantity, the amount can easily be ascertained by burning one hundred grains in a platinum capsule; the ash should not weigh more than four or five grains, and greater part should be dissolved on the addition of dilute hydrochloric acid. Oatmeal, as generally manufactured, is seldom employed for feeding stock. When it can be purchased at a reasonable price, it will be found highly advantageous to employ it in addition to some other food. In manufacturing ordinary commercial oatmeal the oats are invariably kiln-dried, and the outer husks removed before being ground. We thus obtain a meal which contains from fifteen to twenty per cent. less of woody fibre and moisture than if the oats were ground without undergoing these processes. The following is an analysis of oatmeal made from oats in their natural state : This There is a smaller quantity of moisture in this sample than is found in the whole oat, possibly this is due to evaporation during grinding; there is a larger quantity of flesh-forming matters and a smaller quantity of fat-forming materials than is usually found in a meal made from oats in their natural state. meal should be much more largely employed in feeding. There cannot be the least doubt but that meal thus manufactured is much superior to oats simply bruised. At the present price of oats, such meal might be made at £11 or £12 per ton, while the ordinary commercial oatmeal cannot be purchased under £18. Allowing for the smaller quantity of moisture and woody fibre the latter contains, it is fifteen or twenty per cent. dearer than the former for feeding purposes. For old horses, this meal, along with bran, is very suitable. Three or four pound per day given to dairy cattle will be found to increase the quantity and improve the quality of the milk; it should be given in the form of a mash, along with bran or sharps. Ryemeal is much more largely used on the Continent than in this country for feeding purposes. The grain of rye approaches nearest to that of wheat in the quantity of gluten it contains; it is also 100.00 1.44 0.68 100.00 This meal is valuable for all kinds of stock. It is used to a considerable extent in Germany for feeding pigs. Coarsely ground and mixed with other meals, it is used in some countries for making bread for horses. In the north of England a mixture of this meal with wheatmeal is often met with under the name of meslin. When the price will allow this will be found valuable for stock-feeding purposes. Ryemeal should be given along with coarsely ground meal of some other kind. Beanmeal and peameal are so much alike in composition that we may take them together. An average sample gives the following analysis Moisture..... Nitrogenous compounds............ Per cent. 12.12 23.72 49.16 9.81 4.19 100.00 This is a very concentrated food; it contains nearly twice as much flesh-forming matters as any of the meals we have described. For sustaining the vigour of animals under severe exertion this food is peculiarly suited. It is very useful for mixing with starch foods, or food deficient in nitrogenous matters. For feeding animals it is best thus mixed, as if too much of this meal is given alone the flesh of the animal thus fattened is hard and not SO palatable as if fattened on a mixture of meals. Besides, if the animal is supplied with too large a quantity of this food its digestion becomes impaired, and a large proportion of the food is passed off unassimilated. It being so very astringent, is best given along with some other food having opposite tendencies. Three lb. of this meal along with 3 lb. of linseed meal, for animals of 60 imperial stones, is the favourite food of some feeders. To all kinds of stock bean or peameal may be given with profit. It should, however, as we have already stated, be always mixed with some meal rich in fatty matters. districts a species of peameal is obtained, composed of the refuse matters of the split pea manufactory, where it can be purchased at a fair price. Farmers will find it well worth their attention. It contains a good deal of woody fibre; but in other respects is not deficient in the material which constitute a good feeding material. In some b Ash... a Containing nitrogen.. b Containing phosphates. Containing sand.... 0.66 As peas are kiln-dried before being split, the refuse matter contains only a small proportion of water. This dust is an economical food when given to stock, properly mixed with other food. A few years Linseed meal is largely used for feeding calves, but is seldom employed for feeding older animals. When boiled and distributed through bulky dry food, such as hay or straw-chaff, in the form of mucilage, it produces good results. ago, being very short of roots for feeding, we employed linseed meal to a considerable extent. We gave about two pounds per head daily to fattening cattle. The meal was boiled and made into a jelly; this was then poured over the dry food, consisting of maize meal, beanmeal, &c., and the whole mixed through a mass composed of hay-chaff and pulped turnips. At various times compounds, containing a large proportion of linseed meal, have been suggested for feeding animals instead of oil-cake. Amongst the most strenuous advocates of these compounds was Mr Warner, of Norfolk. From page 162 of his pamphlet "On the Use of Flax Seed" we take the following "When selected, which they were by lot, the six beasts to be fed on compound weighed 602 stones, and those to be fed on oil-cake 590 stones. When fat, the live weight of the former was 625 stones; of the latter, 705 stones, being a difference of 8 stone (the 12 stone overweight at the time being deducted) in favour of those fed on compound. But it was in the dead weight of each lot that the greatest difference was shewn, the compound-fed yielding 44 stone 9 lb. of meat more than those fed on oil-cake; but, taking the bone, fat, and hides, the difference in favour of the former was 50 stones 6 lb., or 38 stones 6 lb., deducting the 12 stone original extra weight. While there is an increase of produce, there is a considerable decrease in expense between those fed on the compound and on oil-cake. The latter consumed a much larger quantity of turnips than the former, and the cost of the compound was only £19, 6s. 11⁄2d., whilst that of the oil-cake was £21, 14s. 9d." Again, "with regard to the cattle compound, unquestionably its superiority centres in the linseed meal. Without the use of linseed meal, the attempt profitably to fatten cattle upon grain or pulse Moisture Per cent. 12.019 would be unavailing.' The large amount of experi- farmer's attention. A sample gave the following ence gained since Mr Warner wrote has thoroughly analysis :established the correctness of his views on the utility of those compounds. It is to be regretted that farmers are not even yet alive to the great importance of making up proper feeding compounds. They recognise the value of manures suited to the wants of the plants they cultivate-have their wheat manures, turnip manures, &c.--but seldom think of adapting the ingredients of a food to the necessities of the animals they desire to feed. An average sample of linseed meal gives the following analysis.— Woody fibre and mineral matters 46.500 Sel mineral matters..... 25.524 6.687 5.610 3.660 100.000 Palm-nut meal is the refuse obtained in the manufacture of palm-nut oil. It has only recently been introduced as a feeding material, but so rapidly has its use extended that the supply is not now equal to the demand. The price has risen fully 100 per cent. We have seen it largely employed in feeding sheep and cattle with most satisfactory results. To dairy cattle we have given it with great success. We found 3 lb. per head per day, along with 3 lb. of a mixture composed of equal parts of bean and barleymeal, produce a very large increase in the quality and yield of the milk. Linseed meal may profitably form an ingredient in The following sample was analysed in Dr Voelcker's the food of all kinds of farm stock. It is espe Maize meal, containing a large amount of heat-giving matters, is valuable for fattening animals. cially adapted for mixing with meal rich in flesh-forming matters, such as pea or beanmeal. Sometimes it is used mixed with oatmeal; when thus mixed it is considered that the oatmeal is less heating. Animals fed exclusively on this meal get rapidly fat, but the substance of which the cells or cellular tissue, in which the fat is deposited, is composed not being supplied in sufficient amount by this meal, the fat of animals so fed is always soft and flabby. Maize meal contains a large proportion of fatty matters, while wheatmeal contains only about 2 per cent.; this meal frequently yields 6 per cent. The following is an analysis of this meal : laboratory soon after public attention was called to this meal : proportion of oil; but even if this is reduced to oneWe believe recent analysis do not shew such a large half the meal is still valuable for feeding purposes. Miller's offal, consisting of bran, sharps, and boxings, have long been employed in feeding. The proportion of fatty matters in and immediately under the husk of the grains of corn is generally much greater than in the substance of the corn itself. Professor Johnstone found the pollard of wheat to yield more than twice as much oil as the fine flour obtained from the same sample of grain. The four portions separated by the miller in a sample of wheat grown in the neighbourhood of Durham gave of oil : Country millers only separate their wheaten flour into four parts, but in London and Paris five or six qualities are manufactured. Professor Johnstone, in his "Agricultural Chemistry," p. 728, says—“Three lots of good English wheat, ground at Mr Robson's largely employed with good results. An analysis gives mil in Durham, gave per cent. respectively : the following results : Per cent. Brewers' grains, where they can be obtained near at hand, are well worth the attention of the farmer. As they generally contain nearly seventy-five per cent. of water, they will not pay for a heavy carriage. They are largely used in the feeding of dairy cattle in the neighbourhood of the metropolis. It is customary in the southern counties to contract with the brewer for so many quarters per week during the whole year. During summer farmers often find a difficulty in consuming them, and either employ them for manure, or pack them into tanks in the ground. In these tanks the grains are well trodden down, and the whole covered with earth; thus secured they will keep a long time in capital order. If forty or fifty per cent. of the water can be removed from grains they may profitably be carried into the country long distances by rail. The following is an analysis of brewers' grains : Per cent. Sharps or pollards are the finer particles of the husk ; they contain less woody fibre, and can generally be purchased at more reasonable price than bran; for most purposes pollards, although not so rich in oil, is as good as bran. Boxings is a sort of "seconds flour," and is best adapted for cattle and pig feeding. Bran, as we have already observed, is generally preferred for horses; but there is no objection to mixing the bran, sharps, and boxings together, indeed, thus mixed we should prefer them for horses. Malt screenings are the roots of barley developed and removed during the malting process. They possess considerable feeding value, and are well suited for feeding dairy cattle. For sheep they have been THER RAILWAY CATTLE TRAFFIC IN AMERICA. HE following statement has been supplied by a correspondent, who justly regards it as a step in the right direction. At the same time, we may remark that although the regulations made by the State of Massachussets may suit the cattle traffic of America, similar regulations could not be carried into effect in this country. The mere fact that the cattle are required to be unloaded, and the lots belonging to different owners mixed, or kept separate at considerable expense and trouble, is in itself an insuperable objection, setting aside the delay to which the trains would be subjected. What is required is facility for giving water and food without unloading the cattle, and without detention to the trains, and this, as we have repeatedly shewn, is supplied by Reid's cattle waggons. As those waggons have now been adopted by the Atlantic and Great Western Railway Company, one of the principal lines in the United States, it will be found that the sub joined regulations, useful as they are to a certain extent, will be entirely superseded :— "Last May the State Legislature of Massachussets passed an Act for 'The more effectual Prevention of Cruelty to Animals,' the 5th section of which enacts as follows:-'No railroad company in this State, in the carrying and transportation of cattle, sheep, swine, or other animals, shall confine the same in cars for a longer period than twenty-eight consecutive hours, unless delayed by storm, or other accidental causes, without unloading for rest, water, and feeding, for a period of at least five consecutive hours. In estimating such confinement, the time animals have been confined without such rest on connecting roads, from which they are received, shall be computed; it being the intention of this Act to prevent their continuous confinement beyond twenty-eight hours, except upon contingencies hereinbefore stated." The followlowing section gives the railroad company a right of lien for the expenses of "the care and feed of animals so rested," and exempts from claims for damages for detention. Not only the company, but the "owner, consignee, or person in charge is liable in respect of every violation of this law to a penalty of $100. HOW THE AMERICANS DEAL WITH CATTLE DISEASE.* THER 'HERE is a subject not of a political but of a purely agricultural character, for which I care much more than I care to ring the changes on political cries. It is practical. The United States, which acts always as our pioneer on the political highway, has just furnished us with a practical example of the manner of dealing with the cattle plague, to which it is easy to point a moral. The disease which has been ravaging that great continent during the present summer was similar in all essential points to the cattle plague which ravaged this country. Its highly contagious nature, the great rapidity of its spread, its fatal character, and the speediness of death in almost every instance, will be recognised at once as facts of our own experience. That disease is indigenous in Texas, just as the Rinderpest has its home on the steppes of Russia. From Texas it travelled in an incredibly short space of time to New York, and even to Canada. Do not think of the United States as a country the size of Great Britain or of France. The disease had to travel from Texas further than the distance from the steppes of Russia to London. Yet there is no doubt that it did travel that great distance. Our Consul at Chicago states in a despatch that the disease followed the track of cattle from Texas, and that cattle on the prairies which grazed over their track were infected and died. It was thus that the disease was introduced into the state of Illinois. A despatch from the Secretary of State for Illinois (the Hon. Sharon Tyndale) confirms this account. Some Illinois cattle were subsequently conveyed to Pittsburg, in Pennsylvania, and other cattle went thence into the State of New York. These cattle unfortunately had contracted infection, so that, according to intelligence from New York, dated the 28th of July, whole herds *From a speech delivered at the Annual Dinner of the Huntingdonshire Agricultural Society, by Lord Robert Montagu. were swept away, and the State of New York was thrown into a sort of panic. Other cattle carried the disease from Illinois into Indiana, and thence to Chicago. A despatch from the British Consul at Buffalo, in Canada, informs us that the disease had broken out in that country in consequence of a drove of apparently healthy cattle having been sent by the Great Western Railway from Illinois to that province. These cattle were not Texan cattle, but they had unfortunately pastured where some Texan cattle had been. The American disease and the Rinderpest with which we are acquainted are therefore similar in every important respect. It is thus a question of interest for us to see what remedies were found successful in America. In Illinois the disease was stopped by the wholesale slaughter of infected cattle, and by enforc ing a very stringent law against importation. The law of the State of Illinois is very short, and is to this purport: No one may own, or even have on his premises, any Texan or Cherokee cattle. The punishment for delinquency amounts to $1000 fine and a year's imprisonment; besides which the owners of other cattle can institute an action for damages against an offender. In the State of Kansas there is a similar law. The States of Missouri and Ohio prevented large droves of cattle which had collected on their borders from entering their territory. This issued in conflicts between the drovers and the authorities, and a proclamation from the governor enjoining the belligerents to keep the peace. In the States of New Jersey and Pennsylvania there was the same wholesale slaughter, and by order of the local government the importation of cattle into those States was also prohibited. Besides all this the local authorities have power to stop and examine cattle on the railways. By virtue of this power several herds were slaughtered at various stations between the Western States and New York. At Chicago, where they all converge, the authorities were not satisfied with the stringent |