The Stock-Feeder's Manual Part 19

Root. Tops.

Water 9509 9430 Flesh-forming principles 052 075 Fat-formers (starch, gum, fat, &c.) 106 116 Woody fibre 222 236 Mineral matter (ash) 111 143 ------ ------ 10000 10000

The _Jerusalem Artichoke_ has long been cultivated as a field-crop on the Continent, and in certain localities the breadth occupied by it is very considerable. The French term the tuberous root of this plant _poitre de terre_, or _topin ambour_; and although they expose it for sale in the markets, it is not much relished by our lively neighbours, who are so remarkable for their _cuisiniere_. As food for cattle, however, the French agricultural writers state it to be excellent.

It is much relished by horses, dairy cows, and pigs; store horned-stock also eat it when seasoned with a little salt, and appear to enjoy it amazingly when permitted to pull up the roots from the soil. The green tops are also given to sheep and cattle, and, it is stated, are readily eaten by those animals.

The Jerusalem artichoke (_Helianthus Tuberoses_) differs from its half namesake, the common artichoke, and resembles the potato in being valuable chiefly for its tubers. It is perennial, and attains on the Continent a height varying from 7 to 10 feet. In this country its dimensions are less. The stem is erect, thick, coa.r.s.e, and covered with hairs. It is a native of Mexico, and although introduced 200 years ago into Europe, it can hardly be said to be acclimatised, since it very seldom flowers, and never develops seed. The plant is therefore propagated by cuttings from its tubers, each containing one or two eyes; or if the tubers be very small, which is often the case, a whole one is planted. The tubers possess great vitality, and remain in the ground during the most severe frosts, without sustaining the slightest injury.

For this reason it is usual to devote a corner of the garden to the cultivation of the Jerusalem artichoke; for, no matter how completely the crop may appear to have been removed from the soil, portions of the tubers will remain and shoot up into plants during the following season.

This peculiarity of the plant it is likely may prove an obstacle to its having a place a.s.signed to it in the rotation system.

The question now presents itself--What are the peculiar advantages which the crop possesses which should commend it to the notice of the British farmer? I shall try to answer the question.

1st. No green crop (except furze) can be grown in so great a variety of soils; except marshy or wet lands, there is no soil in which it refuses to grow.

2nd. It does not suffer from disease, is very little affected by the ravages of insects, is completely beyond the influence of cold, and may remain either above or below ground for a long time without undergoing any injurious changes in composition.

3rd. It gives a good return, when we consider that it requires very little manure, and but little labor in its management.

At Bechelbronn, the farm of the celebrated Boussingault, the average yield is nearly eleven tons per acre, but occasionally over fourteen tons is obtained. Donoil, a farmer of Bailiere, in the department of Haut-loire, states that he fed sheep exclusively on the tops and tubers of this plant, and that he estimated his profits at 23 per hectare (9 3s. 4d. per acre). The soil was very inferior. Donoil terms it third-rate, and it does not appear to have been manured even once during the fifteen years it was under Jerusalem artichoke. I fear our artificial manure manufacturers will hardly look with a favorable eye on the advent of a crop into our agriculture which can get on so well without the intervention of any fertilising agents. Indeed, several of the French writers state that little or no manure is necessary for this plant. But this can hardly be the case; for it is evident that a crop which, according to Way and Ogston, removes 35 lbs. of mineral matter per ton from the soil, or three times as much potash as turnips do, must certainly be greatly benefited by the application of manure. And I have no doubt but that the Jerusalem artichoke, if well manured and grown in moderately fertile soil, would produce a much heavier crop than our Continental neighbors appear to get from it.

4th. The Jerusalem artichoke may be cultivated with advantage in places where ordinary root-crops either fail or thrive badly. In such cases the ground should be permanently devoted to this crop. Kade gives an instance where a piece of indifferent ground had for thirty-three years produced heavy crops of this plant, although during that time neither manure nor labor had been applied to it. In Ireland the potato has been grown under similar circ.u.mstances.

The nutritive const.i.tuents of tubers of the Jerusalem artichoke bear a close resemblance in every respect, save one, to those of the potato. Both contain about 75 per cent. of water, about 2 per cent.

of flesh-forming substances, and 20 per cent. of non-nitrogenous, or fat-forming and heat-giving elements. In one respect there is a great difference--namely, that sugar makes up from 8 to 12 per cent. of the Jerusalem artichoke, whilst there is but a small proportion of that substance in the potato.

The large quant.i.ty of sugar contained in this root is no doubt the cause of its remarkable keeping properties in winter, and it also readily accounts for the avidity with which most of the domesticated animals eat it.

On the whole, then, I think that the facts I have brought forward relative to the advantages which the Jerusalem artichoke presents as a farm crop, justify the recommendation that it should get a fair trial from the British farmer, who is now so much interested in the production of suitable forage for stock.

COMPOSITION OF (DRY) JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE

Alb.u.minous matters 46 Fatty matters 04 Starch, gum, &c. 198 Sugar 695 Fibre and ash 57 ----- 1000

The _Potato_, regarded from every point of view, is by far the most important of the plants which are cultivated for the sake of their roots. Its tubers form the chief--almost sole--pabulum of many millions of men, enter more or less into the dietary of most civilised peoples, and const.i.tute a large proportion of the food of the domesticated animals. The great importance of this plant, arising from its enormous consumption, has caused its composition to be very minutely studied by many British, Continental, and American chemists. With respect to its nutritive properties, the least favorable results were obtained by the American chemists, Hardy and Henry, and the most by the European chemists.

The flesh-forming principles vary from 1 per cent., as found by Hardy, to 241 per cent., the mean results of the a.n.a.lyses of Krocker and Horsford. The proportion of starch in different varieties of the potato also varies, but not to the same degree as the nitrogenous principles.

In new potatoes, only 5 per cent. has been found; in ash-leaved kidneys, 950 per cent.; and in different kinds of cups, from 15 to 24 per cent.

The amount of starch is also influenced by the soil, the manure, the climate, and the various other conditions under which the plant is developed. The proportion of starch increases during the growth, and diminishes during the storage of the tubers.

Dr. Anderson is the most recent investigator into the composition of the potato; the chief results of his inquiries are given in the following table:--

a.n.a.lYSIS OF THE POTATO BY DR. ANDERSON.

--------------+--------+----------+-------------+-------+-------+------- Regents. Dalmahoys. Skerry-blues. White Orkney Flukes.

Rocks. Reds. +--------+----------+-------------+-------+-------+------- Water 7632 7591 7660 7593 7857 7441 Starch 1221 1258 1179 1277 1085 1255 Sugar, &c. 275 293 309 217 278 289 Flesh-formers soluble 216 210 190 188 148 198 insoluble 021 015 016 024 021 020 Fibre 553 521 541 555 593 671 Ash 088 081 094 104 098 098 +--------+----------+-------------+-------+-------+------- 10006 9969 9989 9958 10080 9972 --------------+--------+----------+-------------+-------+-------+-------

The potato is relatively deficient in flesh-forming matters, and contains the respiratory elements in exceedingly high proportions; hence it is well adapted for fattening purposes, and in this respect is equal to double its weight of the best kind of turnips. When used as food for man, it should be supplemented by some more fatty or nitrogenous substance--such, for example, as flesh, oatmeal, or peas. b.u.t.termilk, a fluid which is rich in nitrogen, is an excellent supplement to potatoes, and compensates to a great extent for the deficiency of those tubers in muscle-forming matters. If, then, the potato is destined to retain its place as the "national esculent" of the Irish, I trust their national beverage may be--so far at least as the ma.s.ses of the people are concerned--b.u.t.termilk, and _not_ whiskey.

Potatoes so far diseased as to be unsuited for use as food for man, may be given with advantage to stock. They may be used either in a raw or uncooked state, but the latter is the preferable form. Sheep do not like them at first, but on being deprived of turnips they acquire a taste for them; on a daily allowance, composed of 1 lb. of oil-cake or corn, and an unlimited quant.i.ty of potatoes, they fatten rapidly. Cattle thrive well on a diet composed of equal parts of turnips and diseased potatoes, and do not require oil-cake. The evening feed of horses may advantageously be composed of potatoes and turnips. If raw, the potatoes should be given in a very limited quant.i.ty--four or five pounds; in the cooked state, however, they may be given in abundance, but the animals should not, after their meal, be permitted to drink water for some hours. As a feeding substance, diseased potatoes, unless they be very much injured, are equal to twice their weight of white turnips; it is certain that they do not injure the health or impair the condition of the animals which feed upon them.

SECTION VI.

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 cla.s.s 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 a.n.a.lyses made by Boussingault, the proportion of the bran was from 132 to 385 per cent. and that of the flour from 615 to 868 per cent. The floury part is of very complex structure; it includes starch, gluten, alb.u.men, oil, gum, gummo-gelatinous matter, sugar,[34] and various saline matters.

The gluten and alb.u.men const.i.tute 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 const.i.tuents. 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.

a.n.a.lYSES OF WHEAT.

1. 2. 3. 4.

Whole Grain. Flour. Bran. Husk.

Water 1500 140 13 139 Flesh-formers 1200 110 14 149 Fat-formers 6850 735 55 558 Woody fibre 275 07 12 97 Mineral matter 175 08 6 57 ------ ----- --- ----- 10000 1000 100 1000

_Nos. 1, 2, and 3.--The mean results of a great number of a.n.a.lyses._

_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 gra.s.ses (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 a.s.similating 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 const.i.tuents 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, 1325, and 1260. The following table exhibits the relative proportions of their const.i.tuents:--

In 100 parts of the grain cut at 20 days. 10 days. Dead ripe.

Flour 747 791 722 Sharps 72 55 110 Bran 175 132 160 ---- ---- ---- 994 978 992

The flour contained gluten 93 99 96

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 alb.u.minous const.i.tuents 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 quant.i.ties 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 pa.s.sing 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.