SEEDS.
In seeds the elements of nutrition exist not only in the most highly
elaborated, but also in the most concentrated state; hence their
nutritive value is greater than that of any other class of food
substances.
_Wheat Grain_ is the most valuable of seeds, as it contains, in admirably
adjusted proportions, the bone, the fat, and the muscle-forming
principles. In the form of bread, it has been, not inaptly, termed the
"staff of life," for no other grain is so well adapted, _per se_, for
the sustenance of man; and many millions of human beings subsist almost
exclusively on it. The lower animals are in general fed upon the grain
of oats, of barley, and of the leguminous plants, and the use of wheat
is almost completely restricted to the human family.
Wheat grain, by the processes of grinding and sifting, is resolvable
into two distinct parts--bran and flour. In twenty-four analyses made
by Boussingault, the proportion of the bran was from 13.2 to 38.5
per cent. and that of the flour from 61.5 to 86.8 per cent. The floury
part is of very complex structure; it includes starch, gluten, albumen,
oil, gum, gummo-gelatinous matter, sugar,[34] and various saline matters.
The gluten and albumen constitute the nitrogenous, or flesh-forming
principles of flour, and make up from 16 to 20 per cent. of that
substance; the non-nitrogenous, or fat-forming elements, such as
starch and gum, form from 74 to 82 per cent. According to Payen, the
proportion of gluten diminishes towards the centre of the seed, from
which it follows that the part of the grain nearest the husk is the
most nutritious--so far at least as muscle-making is concerned. The
desire on the part of the public for very white bread has led to the
_fine_ dressing of Wheat-grain, and consequently to the separation from
that substance of a very large proportion of one of its most nutritious
constituents. Crude gluten may be obtained by kneading the dough of
flour in a muslin bag under a small current of water; the starch, or
fecula, and the gum, are carried away by the water, and the gluten in
an impure form remains as an elastic viscous substance, which on drying
becomes hard and brittle. It is to the gluten of flour that its property
of panification, or bread-making, is due. On the addition of a ferment,
a portion of the starch is converted into sugar and carbonic acid gas,
and the latter causes the gluten to expand into the little cells, or
vesicles, which confer upon baked bread its light, spongy texture.
ANALYSES OF WHEAT.
1. 2. 3. 4.
Whole
Grain. Flour. Bran. Husk.
Water 15.00 14.0 13 13.9
Flesh-formers 12.00 11.0 14 14.9
Fat-formers 68.50 73.5 55 55.8
Woody fibre 2.75 0.7 12 9.7
Mineral matter 1.75 0.8 6 5.7
------ ----- --- -----
100.00 100.0 100 100.0
_Nos. 1, 2, and 3.--The mean results of a great number of analyses._
_No. 4.--By_ MILLON.
_Over-ripening of Grain._--The final act of vegetation is the production
of seed, after the performance of which function many plants, having
accomplished their destined purpose, perish. The grasses (which include
the cereals) are _annuals_, or plants which have but a year's existence,
consequently their development ceases so soon as they have produced
their seed. When wheat, oats, and the other cereals, attain to this
final point in their growth, the circulation of their sap ceases,
their color changes from green to yellow, and they undergo certain
changes which destroy their power of assimilating mineral matter, and
consequently render them no longer capable of increasing their weight.
The proper time for cutting wheat and the other cereals is immediately
after their grain has been fully matured. When the green color of the
straw just below the ears changes to yellow, the grain, be it ripe or
unripe at the time, cannot afterwards be more fully developed. This is
rendered impossible in consequence of the disorganisation of the upper
part of the stem--indicated by, but not the result of, its altered
hue--which cuts off the supply of sap to the ears, and the latter do
not possess the power of absorbing nutriment from the air.
When the vital processes which are incessantly going on in the growing
plants are brought to a close, the purely chemical forces come into
operation. If the seed be perfectly matured and allowed to remain
ungathered, it is attacked in wet weather by the oxygen of the air, a
portion of its carbon is burned off, some of its starch is converted
into sugar, and in extreme cases it germinates and becomes _malty_.
But not only is the seed liable to injury from the elements; it is also
exposed to the ravages of the feathered tribe, and no matter how well
a field of corn may be watched, or how great the number of _scarecrows_
erected in it, there is always a certain diurnal loss, occasioned by the
ravages of birds.
It is not only necessary that ripe corn should be cut as soon as
possible, but it is sometimes desirable to reap it before it becomes
fully matured. When the grain is intended for consumption as food, the
less bran it contains the better. Now the bran, as is well known, forms
the integument, or covering of the vital constituents of the seed; and
it is the last part of the organ to be perfected. The growth of the
seed for several days before its perfect development, is confined to
the _testa_ or covering. Now as this is the least valuable part of the
article, its increase is matter of but little moment; and when it is
excessive it renders the grain less valuable in the eyes of the miller.
That the cutting of the grain before it is perfectly ripe is attended
with a good result, is clearly proved by the results of an experiment
recorded in Johnston's "Agricultural Chemistry." A crop of wheat was
selected; one-third was cut twenty days before it was ripe; another
third ten days afterwards; and the remaining portion when its grain had
been fully matured. The relative produce in grain of the three portions
taken, as stated above, was as 1, 1.325, and 1.260. The following table
exhibits the relative proportions of their constituents:--
In 100 parts of the grain cut at
20 days. 10 days. Dead ripe.
Flour 74.7 79.1 72.2
Sharps 7.2 5.5 11.0
Bran 17.5 13.2 16.0
---- ---- ----
99.4 97.8 99.2
The flour contained gluten 9.3 9.9 9.6
The results of this experiment, and of the general experience of
intelligent growers, show that grain cut a week or ten days before it is
perfectly ripe contains more flour, and of a better quality, too, than
is found in either ripe or very unripe seed. But this is not the only
advantage, for the straw of the green, or rather of the greenish-yellow
corn, is fully twice as valuable for feeding purposes as that of the
over-ripe cereals. There is an extraordinary decrease in the amount
of the albuminous constituents of the stems of the cereals during the
last two or three weeks of their maturation, and as there is not a
corresponding increase of those materials in the seed, they must be
evolved in some form or other from the plants.
There can be only one object attained by allowing the seed to fully
ripen itself, and that is the insurance of its more perfect adaptability
to the purpose of reproduction. When the _testa_ is thick it best
protects the germ of the future plant enclosed in it from the ordinary
atmospheric influences until it is placed under the proper conditions
for its germination.
_Wheat, a costly food._--It occasionally happens that the wheat harvest
is so abundant, that many feeders give large quantities of this grain to
their stock. Now, as Indian corn is at least 25 per cent. cheaper than
wheat, even when the price of the latter is at its _minimum_, I believe
that it is always more economical to sell the wheat raised on the farm,
and to purchase with the proceeds of its sale an equivalent of Indian
corn, which is a more fattening kind of food.
_Bran_ is, with perhaps the exception of malt-dust, the most nutritious
of the refuse portions of grains. It is usually given to horses, and
owing to its high proportion of nitrogen, is, perhaps, better expended
in the bodies of those hard-working animals, than in those of pigs and
cows--animals that occasionally come in for a share of this valuable
feeding-stuff. It should be borne in mind that bran commonly acts as
a slight laxative, and that it is less digestible than flour, a large
portion of it usually passing through the animal's body unchanged.
This drawback to the use of bran may be obviated by either cooking or
fermenting the article, or by combining it with beans or some other
kind of binding food.
AVERAGE ANALYSES OF GRAIN.
--------------+-------+------+-----+--------+------+-----+--------+------
| | | | |Indian| | Rye |Buck-
|Barley.| Bere.|Oats.|Oatmeal.| Corn.|Rice.|(Irish).|wheat.
+-------+------+-----+--------+------+-----+--------+------
Water | 16.0 | 14.25| 14.0| 13.00 | 14.5 | 14.0| 16.0 | 14.19
Flesh-formers | 10.5 | 10.10| 11.5| 16.00 | 10.0 | 5.3| 9.0 | 8.58
Fat-formers | 67.0 | 64.60| 64.5| 68.00 | 69.0 | 78.5| 66.0 | 51.91
Woody fibre | 3.5 | 9.03| 7.0| 1.75 | 5.0 | 2.5| 8.0 | 23.12
Mineral matter| 3.0 | 2.02| 3.0| 1.25 | 1.5 | 0.7| 1.0 | 2.20
+-------+------+-----+--------+------+-----+--------+------
| 100.0 |100.00|100.0| 100.00 |100.0 |100.0| 100.0 |100.00
--------------+-------+------+-----+--------+------+-----+--------+------
_Barley_ is inferior in composition to wheat. As a feeding stuff, the
English farmers assign to it a higher, and the Scotch farmers a lower,
place than oats, which, perhaps, merely proves that in Scotland the oat
thrives better than the barley, and in England the barley better than
the oat. Barley-meal is extensively used by the English feeders, and
with excellent results. Where _barley-dust_ can be obtained it is a far
cheaper feeding stuff than the meal. Barley husks should never be given
to animals unless in a cooked or fermented state.
_Oat Grain_ is, perhaps, the most valuable of the concentrated foods
which are given to fattening stock. When it is cheap it will be found
a more economical feeding stuff than linseed-cake, and, unlike that
substance, can be used without the fear of adulteration. Oats are equal
to wheat in their amount of flesh-forming matters; but their very high
proportion of indigestible woody fibre detracts from their nutritive
value. Oat-meal is more nutritious than wheat-meal; and oat-flour,
especially if finely dressed, greatly excels wheat-flour in its
nutrimental properties, because, unlike the latter, the finer it is the
greater is its amount of flesh-formers. Bread made of oat-flour is very
heavy, and is far less palatable than the bread of wheat. Oat-meal has
been found to contain nearly 20 per cent. of nitrogenous matters. The
white oat is more nutritious than the black, and the greatest amount of
aliment is found in the grain which has not been allowed to over-ripen
in the field. Oat husk is very inferior to the bran of wheat. Toppings
are seldom worth the price at which they are sold.
_Indian Corn_ has been highly extolled as a fattening food for stock,
and its chemical composition would seem to justify the high opinion
which practical men have formed of its relative nutritive value. In the
United States, the feeding of horses on Indian corn and hay has been
found very successful; but in these countries oats will be found a more
economical food. For fattening purposes Indian corn appears exceedingly
well adapted, as it contains more ready-formed fat--4.5 per cent.--than
is found in most of the other grains, and, on an average, 70 per cent.
of starch. Pigs thrive well on this grain. The Galatz round yellow grain
is somewhat superior to the American flat yellow seed.
_Rye_ is not extensively cultivated in this country, but on the
Continent it is raised in large quantities. In the north of Europe
it forms a considerable proportion of the food of both man and the
domesticated animals. In Holland it is commonly consumed by horses, but
in England there has always been a prejudice against the use of this
grain as food for the equine tribe. It has been highly recommended for
dairy stock, five pounds of rye-meal, with a sufficiency of cut straw,
constituting, it is stated, a dietary on which cows yield a maximum
supply of milk. Irish-grown rye contains less starch, and more
flesh-formers and oil, than the Black Sea grain.
_Rice_, although it forms the chief pabulum of nearly one-third of
the human family, is the least nutritious of the common food grains.
Rice-dust, an article obtained in cleaning rice for European consumption,
is said to promote the flow of milk when given to cows. It is sold in
large quantities in Liverpool, where, according to Voelcker, it often
commands a higher price than it is worth.
_Buckwheat_ is chiefly used as a food for game and poultry.
_Malted Corn._--During a late session of Parliament a Bill was passed to
exempt from duty malt intended to be used as food for cattle. As feeders
may now become their own maltsters, it may be of some use to them to
have here a _resume_ of this Bill:--
1. Any person giving security and taking out a licence may make
malt in a malt-house approved by the Excise for the purpose; and
all malt so made and mixed with linseed-cake or linseed-meal as
directed, shall be free from duty.
2. The security required is a bond to Her Majesty, with sureties
to the satisfaction of the Excise, not to take from any such
malt-house any malt except duly mixed with material prescribed
by the Act.
3. The malt-house must be properly named upon its door.
4. All malt made in it shall be deposited in a store-room, and
shall be conveyed to and from the room upon such notice as the
officer of Excise shall appoint.
5. The maltster shall provide secure rooms in his malt-house,
to be approved in writing by the supervisor, for grinding the
malt made by him in such malt-house, and mixing and storing the
same when mixed; and all such rooms shall be properly secured
and kept locked by the proper officer of Excise.
6. All malt before removal from the malt-house shall be ground
and thoroughly mixed with one-tenth part at least of its weight
of ground linseed-cake or linseed-meal, and ground to such a
degree of fineness and in such manner as the commissioners shall
approve, and mixed together in a quantity not less than forty
bushels at a time in the presence of an officer of Excise.
7. The maltster shall keep account of the quantity of all malt
mixed as aforesaid which he shall from time to time send out or
deliver from his malt-house, with the dates and addresses of the
person for whom such mixed malt shall be so sent or delivered.
8. If any person shall attempt to separate any malt from any
material with which the same shall have been mixed as aforesaid,
or shall use this malt for the brewing of beer or distilling of
spirits, he shall forfeit the sum of L200.
9 and 10. The penalties of existing Acts are recited.
11. This Act shall continue and be in force for five years.
Some samples of malt and barley examined in May, 1865, by Dr. Voelcker
for the Central Anti-Malt Tax Association, afforded the following
results:--
-------------------------+-------+---------------------------------------
|Barley | Malt marked
|marked |
| No. 1.| No. 5.| No. 7.| No. 9.|No. 14.|No. 16.
-------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------
Moisture | 11.76| 8.72| 7.43| 7.76| 8.35| 7.06
Sugar | 3.75| 4.29| 5.48| 7.85| 9.46| 9.86
Starch and dextrine | 70.40| 71.03| 69.70| 67.57| 67.53| 67.67
[*] Albuminous compounds | | | | | |
(flesh-forming matters)| 7.75| 8.44| 8.81| 9.37| 8.60| 8.31
Woody fibre (cellular) | 4.46| 5.22| 6.38| 5.38| 4.14| 5.11
Mineral matter (ash) | 1.88| 2.30| 2.20| 2.07| 1.92| 1.99
+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------
| 100.00| 100.00| 100.00| 100.00| 100.00| 100.00
[* Containing nitrogen] | 1.24| 1.35| 1.41| 1.50| 1.38| 1.33
-------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------
A great deal has been said and written in favor of malt as a feeding
stuff, but I greatly doubt its alleged decided superiority over barley;
and until the results of accurately conducted comparative experiments
made with those articles incontestably prove that superiority, I think
it is somewhat a waste of nutriment to convert barley into malt for
feeding purposes. The gentlemen who verbally, or in writing, refer
so favorably to malt, acknowledge, with one or two exceptions, that
their experience of the article is limited. Mr. John Hudson, of
Brandon, states that he made a comparative experiment, the results
of which proved the superiority of malt. But, in fact, the only
properly-conducted experiments to determine the relative values of malt
and barley were those made some years ago by Dr. Thompson, of Glasgow,
by the direction of the Government, and those recently performed by Mr.
Lawes, both producing results unfavorable to the malt. The issue of Dr.
Thompson's investigations proved that milch cows fed on barley yielded
more milk and butter than when supplied with an equal weight of malt.
I do not deny the probability that malt, owing to its agreeable flavor
and easy solubility, may be a somewhat better feeding stuff than barley;
and that, weight for weight, it may produce a somewhat greater increase
in the weight of the animals fed upon it: but although a pound-weight of
malt may be better than a pound-weight of barley, I am quite satisfied
that a pound's worth of barley will put up more flesh than a pound's
worth of malt. Barley-seeds consist of water, starch, nitrogenous
substances--such as gluten and albumen--fatty substances, and saline
matter. The amount of starch is considerable, being sometimes about
70 per cent. In the process of malting (which is simply the germination
of the seed under peculiar conditions), a portion of the starch is
converted into sugar and gum, the grain increases in size and becomes
friable when dried, and the internal structure of the seed is completely
broken up. During these changes a partial decomposition of the solid
matter of the seeds takes place, and a large amount of nutriment is
dissipated, chiefly in the form of carbonic acid gas. From the results
of the experience of the maltster, and of special experiments made by
scientific men, it would appear that a ton of barley will produce only
16 cwt. of malt. Allowance must, however, be made for the difference
between the amount of water contained in barley and in malt, the latter
being much drier. According to Mr. E. Holden, the centesimal loss
sustained in malting may be stated thus:--
Water 6.00
Organic matter 12.52
Saline matter 0.48
------
100.00
Dr. Thompson[35] sets down the loss of nutriment (exclusive of that
occasioned by kiln-drying), as follows:--
Carried off by the steep 1.5
Dissipated on the floor 3.0
Roots separated by cleaning 3.0
Waste 0.5
---
8.0
We may say, then, that by the malting of barley we lose at least 2-1/2
cwt. of solid nutriment out of every ton of the article, and this loss
falls heaviest on the nitrogenous, or flesh-forming constituents of
the grain. When there are added to this loss the expense of carting
the grain to and from the malt-house, and the maltster's charge for
operating upon it (I presume in this case that the feeder is not his own
maltster), it will be found that two tons of malt will cost the farmer
nearly as much as three tons of barley; and he will then have to solve
the problem--_Whether or not malt is 40 or 50 per cent. more valuable
as a feeding-stuff than barley_.
The difference in value between barley and malt is generally 14s. per
barrel; but it is sometimes more or less, according to the supply and
demand. Barley, well malted, will lose on the average 25 per cent. of
its weight, the loss depending, to some extent, upon the degree to which
the process is carried, and on the germinating properties of the barley.
Barley malted for roasters ought not to lose more than 21 per cent. of
its original weight--53 lbs. to the barrel. The heavier the barley the
less it loses in malting; a barrel of 224 lbs., and value from 15s. to
16s., ought to produce a barrel of malt of 196 lbs., value 29s. to 30s.
If we deduct from the cost of a barrel of malt the amount of duty at
present levyable upon it, the price of the article will be still nearly
50 per cent. greater than that of an equal weight of barley. The cheaper
barley is the greater will be the relative cost of malt. The maltster's
charge for converting a barrel of barley into malt is about 4s.; so
that if the price of the grain be so low as 12s. per barrel, which it
sometimes is, the cost of malting it would amount to 33 per cent. of its
price. Then, the diminution in the weight of, and the cost of carting
the grain, must be taken into account; and when the whole expense
attendant upon the process of malting is ascertained, it will be found
that I have not exaggerated in stating that a ton of malt costs as much
as a ton and a half of barley.
If the consumer of malt germinate the seeds himself, he may probably,
if he require large quantities of the article, produce it at a somewhat
cheaper rate than if he bought it from the maltster; but few persons who
have the slightest knowledge of the vexatious restrictions of the Inland
Revenue authorities would be likely to place his premises under the
_espionage_ of an excise officer.
As the superiority of malt over barley (if such be really the case) must
be chiefly due to the looseness of its texture, which allows the juices
of the stomach to act readily upon it, barley in a cooked state might be
found quite as nutritious: It would not be fair to institute comparisons
between dense hard barley-seeds and the easily soluble malted grains.
During the cooking of barley a portion of the starch is changed into
sugar, but in this case with only an inappreciable waste of nutriment.
When the cooking process is continued for a few hours, a considerable
amount of sugar is formed, and the barley acquires a very sweet flavor.
When the malt for cattle question was under discussion, I made a little
experiment in relation to it, the results of which are perhaps of
sufficient interest to mention:--Two pounds weight of barley-meal were
moistened with warm water; after standing for three hours more water was
added, and sufficient heat applied to cause the fluid to boil. After
fifteen minutes' ebullition, a few ounces of the pasty-like mass which
was produced were removed, thoroughly dried, and on being submitted
to analysis yielded six per cent. of sugar. The addition of a small
quantity of malt to barley undergoing the process of cooking will
rapidly convert the starch into sugar.
Barley is naturally a well-flavored grain, and all kinds of stock eat
it with avidity. It may be rendered still more agreeable if properly
cooked, and this process will, by disintegrating its hard, fibrous
structure, set free its stores of nutriment. I incline strongly to
the opinion that barley, when well boiled, is almost, if not quite,
as digestible as malt.
A serious disadvantage in the use of malt is, that it must be consumed,
it is said, in combination with 10 per cent. of its weight of linseed-meal
or cake. Now, malt is a very laxative food, and so is linseed; and if
the diet of stock were largely made up of these articles the animals
would, sooner or later, suffer from diarrhoea. In such case, then,
the addition of bean-meal, or of some other binding food, would become
necessary, and the compound of malt, linseed, and bean-meal thereby
formed would certainly prove anything but an economical diet.
_Malt Combs._--I should mention that a portion of the nutriment which
the barley loses in malting passes into the radicles, or young roots,
which project from the seeds, and are technically known by the term
"combs," "combings," or "dust." At present these combs are separated
from the malt, but if the latter be intended for feeding purposes this
separation is unnecessary, and in such case the barley will not be so
much deteriorated. The combs, which constitute about 4 per cent. of the
weight of the malt, are sometimes employed as a feeding stuff. I have
made an analysis of malt-combings for the County of Kildare Agricultural
Society, and have obtained the following results:--
100 PARTS CONTAINED--
Water 8.42
[*] Flesh-forming (albuminous) substances 21.50
Digestible fat-forming substances (starch, sugar,
gum, &c.) 53.47
Indigestible woody fibre 8.57
[+] Saline matter (ash) 8.04
------
100.00
[* Yielding nitrogen 3.44]
[+ Containing potash 1.35
Containing phosphoric acid 1.74]
This article was sold as a manure at L3 6s. per ton--a sum for which it
was not good value; but as a feeding substance it was probably worth L4
or L5 per ton. Its composition indicates a high nutritive power; but it
is probable that its nitrogenous matters are partly in a low degree of
elaboration, which greatly detracts from its alimental value.
In conclusion, then, I would urge the following points upon the
attention of the farmer:--
1st. Before using malt for feeding purposes, wait until you learn the
general results of the experience of other farmers with that article.
The manufacture of malt for feeding purposes is rapidly on the decline,
instead of, as had been anticipated, on the increase.
2nd. Should you experiment with barley and malt, use equal money's worth
of each, and employ the barley in a cooked state.
3rd. Use malt-combings as a feeding stuff, and not as a manure. They are
good value for at least L3 10s. per ton.
4th. Bear in mind that a ton of barley contains more saline matter than
an equal weight of malt; consequently, that stock fed upon barley will
produce a manure richer in potash and phosphates than those supplied
with malt.
_Leguminous Seeds._--The seeds of the bean, of the pea, and of several
other leguminous plants, are largely made use of as food for both man
and the domesticated animals. They all closely resemble each other in
composition, but in that respect differ considerably from the grains of
the _Cerealiae_, for whilst the latter contain on an average 12 per cent.
of flesh-formers, beans and peas contain 24 per cent. The flesh-forming
constituent of the leguminous seeds is not gluten, as in the grain
of the cereals, but a substance termed _legumin_, which so closely
resembles the cheesy matter of milk that it has also received the name
of _vegetable casein_. Indeed, the Chinese make a factitious cheese out
of peas, which it is difficult to discriminate from the article of
animal origin.
_Beans_ are used as fattening food for cattle, for which purpose they
should be ground into meal, as otherwise a large proportion of their
substance would pass through the animal's body unchanged. It is not good
economy to give a fattening bullock more than 3 or 4 lbs. weight per
diem; a larger proportion is apt to induce constipation. The very small
proportion of ready-formed fat, the moderate amount of starch, and the
exceedingly high per-centage of flesh-formers which beans contain, prove
that they are better adapted as food for beasts of burthen than for the
fattening of stock. Oats, Indian corn, or oil-cake, will be found to
produce a greater increase of meat than equal money's worth of beans
or peas, and I would therefore recommend the restriction of leguminous
seeds, under ordinary circumstances, to horses and bulls. It has been
stated, on good authority, that when oats are given whole to horses,
a large proportion passes unchanged through the animal's body, but that
on the addition of beans, the oats are thoroughly digested.
COMPOSITION OF LEGUMINOUS SEEDS.
--------------------+-------+-------+-------+--------+----------
| Common|Foreign| Peas.|Lentils.| Winter
| Beans.| Beans.| | | Tares
| | | | |(foreign).
--------------------+-------+-------+-------+--------+----------
Water | 13.0 | 14.5 | 14.0 | 13.0 | 15.5
Flesh-formers | 25.5 | 23.0 | 23.5 | 24.0 | 26.5
Fat-formers | 48.5 | 48.7 | 50.0 | 50.5 | 47.5
Woody fibre | 10.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 9.0
Mineral matter | 3.0 | 3.8 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 1.5
--------------------+-------+-------+-------+--------+----------
| 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0
--------------------+-------+-------+-------+--------+----------
_Oil Seeds._--The seeds of a great variety of plants, such as the flax,
hemp, rape, mustard, cotton, and sunflower, are exceedingly rich in oil,
some of them containing nearly half their weight of that substance. Of
these oil-seeds there are many which might with advantage be employed as
fattening, food, although one only--linseed--has come into general use
for that purpose.
_Rape-seeds_ closely resemble linseeds in composition, but they are
considerably cheaper. They contain an acrid substance, but the large
proportion of oil with which it is associated almost completely
disguises its unpleasant flavor.
_Linseed_ is one of the most valuable kinds of food which could be given
to fattening animals. Its exceedingly high proportion of ready-formed
fatty matter, the great comparative solubility of its constituents, and
its mild and agreeable flavor, constitute it an article superior to
linseed cake. The laxative properties of linseed are very decided; it
should therefore be given only in moderate quantities. As peas and
beans exercise, as I have already stated, a relaxing influence upon
the bowels, a mixture of linseed and peas or beans would be an
excellent compound, the laxative influence of the one being corrected
by the binding tendency of the other. Linseed being one of the most
concentrated feeding stuffs in use, it will be found an excellent
addition to bulky food, such as chaff and turnips. Linseed oil has
been used as a fattening food, but there is nothing to be gained by
expressing seeds for the purpose of using their oil as a feeding
material. When hay is scarce, and straw abundant, the latter may be
made almost as nutritious as the former by mixing it with linseed, and
steaming the compound. A stone of linseed and two cwt. of oat-straw
chaff, when properly cooked, constitute a most economical and
nutritious food.
Mr. Horne, who experimented with linseed two or three years ago,
obtained results highly favorable to the nutritive value of that
article. Six bullocks were selected, and each animal placed in a
separate box. They were fed with cut roots--at first Swedes, then
mangels and Swedes, and lastly, mangels alone: in addition, there were
supplied to each 6 lbs. rough meadow-hay reduced to chaff, and 5 lbs.
oil-cake, or value to that amount. They were divided into three lots,
two in each. Lot 1 had 5 lbs. oil-cake for each animal; lot 2, barley
and wheat-meal, equal in value to the 5 lbs. oil-cake; and lot 3, an
equal money's worth of bruised linseed. The oil-cake cost L10 16s. per
ton, the mixture of barley and wheat L8 15s. per ton, and the bruised
linseed L13 per ton. The experiment lasted 112 days, and at its close
the results, which proved very favorable to the bruised linseed, were
as follows:--
Increase in
live weight.
Lot 1. Oil-cake 637 lbs.
Lot 2. Wheat and barley-meal 667 lbs.
Lot 3. Bruised linseed 718 lbs.
During the 112 days each bullock consumed 5 cwt. oil-cake (or an
equivalent amount of linseed or wheat and barley), 6 cwt. hay, and
90 cwt. of roots. The average increase in each animal's weight was
337 lbs. = 224 lbs. _dead_ weight. The economic features of this
experiment are best shown in the following figures:--
FOOD CONSUMED.
L s. d.
5 cwt. oil-cake, at 10s. 6d. per cwt. 2 12 6
6 cwt. hay, at 3s. per cwt. 0 18 0
16 weeks' attendance, at 6d. per week 0 8 0
---------
L3 18 6
---------
Gained 16 stones per week, at 8s. per stone 6 8 0
---------
Balance to pay for 90 cwt. of roots 2 9 6
The manure obtained afforded a good profit.
The seed-pods, or, as they are termed, the _bolls_ of the flax,
have been recommended as an excellent feeding stuff. They are not
so nutritious as linseed, but they are cheaper, and when produced
on the farm must be an economical food. Mr. Charley, an intelligent
stock-feeder in the county of Antrim, and an eminent authority in every
subject in relation to flax, strongly recommends the use of flax-bolls.
He says:--
The cost of rippling is considerable; but I believe, for
every L1 expended, on an average a return is realised of L2,
particularly on a farmstead where many horses and cattle are
regularly kept. The flax-bolls contain much more nourishment
than the linseed-cake from which the oil has, of course, been
expressed, and they form a most valuable addition to the warm
food prepared during winter for the animals just named. I believe
they have also a highly beneficial effect in warding off internal
disease, owing, no doubt, to the soothing and slightly purgative
properties of the oil contained in the seed. The change made in
the appearance of the animals receiving some of the bolls in their
steamed food is very apparent after a few weeks' trial; and the
smoothness and sleekness of their shining coats plainly show the
benefit derived. Is it not surprising, with this fact before our
eyes, that many agriculturists--indeed, I fear the majority--persist
in the old-fashioned system of taking the flax to a watering-place
with its valuable freight of seed unremoved, and plunge the sheaves
under water, losing thereby, _in the most wanton manner_, rich
feeding materials, worth from L1 to L3 per statute acre?
In the following table, the composition of all the more important
oil-seeds is given:--
COMPOSITION OF OIL-SEEDS, ACCORDING TO DR. ANDERSON.
--------------------------+---------+----------+----------+---------------
| | | | Cotton-seed
|Linseed. |Rape-seed.|Hemp-seed.|(decorticated).
+---------+----------+----------+---------------
| | | |
Water | 7.50 | 7.13 | 6.47 | 6.57
| | | |
Oil | 34.00 | 36.81 | 31.84 | 31.24
| | | |
Albuminous compounds | | | |
(Flesh-formers) | 24.44 | 21.50 | 22.60 | 31.86
| | | |
Gum, mucilage, sugar, &c. | \ | 18.73 | \ | 14.12
| }30.73 | | }32.72 |
Woody-fibre | / | 6.86 | / | 7.30
| | | |
Mineral matter (ash) | 3.33 | 8.97 | 6.37 | 8.91
+---------+----------+----------+---------------
| 100.00 | 100.00 | 100.00 | 100.00
--------------------------+---------+----------+----------+---------------
_Fenugreek-seed_ is used very extensively in the preparation of
"Condimental food." It is often given to horses out of condition.
Sheep have been liberally supplied with this food, which, however,
it is stated, communicates a disagreeable flavor to the mutton.
It contains, according to Voelcker, the following:--
Water 11.994
Flesh-formers 26.665
Starch, gum, and pectin 37.111
Sugar 2.220
Fatty and oily matters 8.320
Woody fibre 10.820
Inorganic matter 2.870
-------
100.000