STALL-FEEDING. The feeding of cattle in stalls for the purpose of fatting them more readily than by simple grazing, and at a time when they cannot get fat on pastures, as a regular part of the process of husbandry, is comparatively modern. In former times cattle were slaughtered in October and November, which latter, in most languages derived from the Teutonic, Is called Slaughter-month, there being no possibility of buying fresh meat of any degree of fatness during winter, and salt meat was the food of all classes in that season. But now the process of fatting cattle goes on without interruption during the whole year, and fat beasts come as regularly to market to winter as in summer. Stall-feeding is now the principal meats by which oxen and cows are rendered fit for the market.
It has been observed, in the article SOILINO, that one object of that system was to save the waste of food which is occasioned by the tread. ing of cattle in pastures, and by their choosing the sweetest grassea to the neglect of the coarser. The principal object however is to save the manure, which in the pastures goes to waste, but in the yards or stall is all preserved. In stall-feeding another object Is looked to, that of increasing the substance of the animal, especially the fat; and to do this judiciously and with profit requires much experience and atten tion. It has been proved that animals require a certain portion of meat and drink to keep them alive, and that this quantity, in the same species, is in general in proportiou to the weight of the animal. If an animal has his exact ration of food, he will continue in health, but he will not increase in weight : in this ease therefore it only produces a certain portion of manure, which Is not equivalent to the food con sumed. If a larger quantity be given, the animal, if in health, will increase iu weight, and the more food he has, within a certain limit, the faster will be this increase : but there is a point where increase stops; and if by any means the animal is induced to take more, his stomach will be deranged, and he will become diseased, and occasion loss by over-feeding. It is consequently of great importance to the stall-feeder to ascertain what Is the exact quantity of food which it will be most profitable to give to a stall-fed animal. Experience alone can teach this : but some rules may be given which will enable any one who wishes to stall-feed cattle not greatly to err iu his mode of feeding, and soon to find out what is the most profitable course to pursue. For this purpose it is essential that after having ascertained by experiment the quantity of food which will give the greatest in crease of flesh per week on a certain weight of beasts when put up to fatten, all the food given to the cattle be carefully weighed, and no more be given in any day than is needful. The quality of the food should also be attended to ; for a truss of fine well-made clover, lucern, or sainfoin hay, may contain double the nourishment of another truss of coarse marsh hay. The beet kind of food should always be reserved for fatting cattle. Roots alone are too watery, and must be corrected by dry food, such as straw cut into chaff, or good hay, and especially farinaceous food, whether it be corn ground or bruised, or oil-cake. By a judicious mixture of food a much greater increase of flesh may be produced than by an irregular mode of feeding, however good the quality or abundant the quantity given may be. To overfeed is as unprofitable as to starve a beast, and produces similar effects. It is of
great importance that the cattle should be fed with great punctuality, at certain hours during the day, and that the troughs should be cleared of all the remains of food which they do not eat at each time of feeding. Rest and sleep are great aids to digestion, and a little gentle exercise after sleep prepares the stomach fors fresh supply of food. Air also is highly conducive to health ; and hence those beasts which aro allowed to move about in a loose stall, or a small yard protected from the rain and wind, thrive better in general than those which are tied up. It is the practice of many good feeders to put oxen in pairs iu small stalls, partly open, so that they may be in the air, or under shelter, as they prefer ; and the finest oxen, if not the fattest, arc pre pared for the market in this way. Experience shows that all domestic animals like company, and that they are more contented and quiet when they have a companion than when they are alone. This is the reason why they are put up in pairs. Whatever promotes the health and comfort of the animal will be most profitable to the feeder. When a beast has acquired a certain degree of fatness, it is a nice point to decide whether it would be best to send him to market or continue to feed him. This is often decided by mere caprice or fancy ; but if the food has been weighed, and the weekly increase of the beast is noted, which is best done by weighing, but may nearly be guessed by mea suring, it becomes a mere question in arithmetic to determine whether his increase pays for his food and attendance ; if it does not, there is a loss in keeping him ; and if a lean animal put in his stead would in crease faster on the same food, every day he is kept there is a loss of the difference between the increase of the two. The pride of pro ducing a wonderful animal at a fair or show may be dearly paid for, and must be put down to the account of luxuries, like the keeping of hunters or racehorses.
The most profitable food for fattening cattle is, in general, the pro duce of the farm : the expense of all purchased food is increased by the profit of the dealer and the carriage of it. And the only com pensation for this additional cost may be in increasing the manure, where the straw and roots of the farm are deficient : in that case oil cake, or even corn, may be purchased with advantage, since by means of the manure crops may be raised which without it must faiL The stalling of cattle, as well as the fatting of pigs, is in many situations the best means of carrying the produce of the farm to market. An ox can be driven many miles, whilst the food he has consumed would not repay the carriage, and all the manure would be lost, and must be purchased at a great expense, if it can be had at all. If a farmer can feed cattle, AO as to pay him a fair market-price for the food consumed, and something for the risk of accidental loss, he may be well contented to have the manure for his trouble : few stall-feeders get more than this In the long run.
It may be proper to add to the above, that the box-feeding where the animal is loose in a apace about IO feet square, is more conducive to health than stall-feeding where the animal is tied by the neck. The box is littered every morning, and the animal is thus kept dry and clean without the removal of the soiled litter, which thus kept from exposure to air and rain, ultimately yields a much more fertiliamg manure than that of the ordinary dung-heap.