Potatoes as Food for Cattle and Sheep.

Feilding Star, Volume XVIII, Issue 203, 1 March 1897, Page 2

Potatoes as Food for Cattle and Sheep.

« In the agricultural review of the Journal des Debats, D. Zolla reports some interesting tests of the use of '' potatoes as food for cattle and sheep ' which are of general interest. The ' tests, says the American Consul at Mayence, gave such satisfaction here tbat I think it of sufficient importance and 1 interest to give herewith a report of how \ they were made, and the results. In ' tbe first place, tbese tests were made to ascertain whether, by using potatoes as food for cattle and sheep, a better profit could be derived from the potatoes thus used than from their usual sale to the manufacturers of spirits and starch. The animals, cattle as well as sbeep, for these trial tests, were divided into three lots. The first lot were fed on equal rations of beetroot and hay ; the 1 second on equal rations of potatoes and ■ hay; and tbe third lot got a larger portion of potatoes. By the first two • lota, the idea was to ascertain the comparative merits as to increased produc- ' tivo powers of " taking on flesh " as between beetroot and potatoes ; tbe • third was for the purpose of demonstrating the effect of an increased allowance 1 of potatoes, and to show the limits ■ within which potatoes could be judi- [ ciously and usefully employed as food 1 for flesh-gaining purposes. The potatoes, with one exception, were first ' boiled, and the results demonstrated the 1 merits aud nutritive powers of potatoes over beetroots as 2001 b to 1001 b, per head. The first lot were fed 1101 bof beetroot, or 651 bof boiled potatoes mixed with lllbs of chopped fodder and 161 bof chopped hay, to which was added 1 30gr of salt. The first lot of sheep were fed 91b of beetroot, or 4ilb of boiled potatoes with lib of chopped fodder and 21b of chopped hay, also with 80gr of salt. The increased ration of potatoes waa 661 b for tbe cattle and 6_\b for the sheep. The results of the cattle tests were as follows, before and after sixtyono days' feeding : — Weight Weight Lot Feed at first at close Inc'se 1. Hay and beet root 5264 5664 400 2. Hay and potatoes 5106 5652 646 3. Increased potato ration ... 5207 5816 609 It wae, therefore, conclusively proven that feeding with potatoes was of much more value in taking on weight than feeding with beetroots. In the continuation of the tests, all the animals were fed with potatoes, and, in addition thereto, 4£lb of oilcake were added. In 95 days the cattle of the first lot, fed with beetroots 67 days and on potatoes 28 days, showed an increase in weight per head per day of 21b ; in 81 days tbe cattle of the second lot, fed with the medium ration of potatoes per head per day, 2|lb ; in 81 days the cattle of the third lot, fed with the increased ration of potatoes per head per day, 2s lb. Better results were obtained with sheep, which were divided into four lots. The first lot (10 sheep) was fed with a medium ration of beetroot and hay, as stated above ; the second lot (10 sheep) was fed with the minimum ration of potatoes and bay ; the third lot (10 sbeep) was fed the increased ration of potatoes and hay ; the fourth lot (8 sheep) was fed raw potatoes, and the amonnt given was 6_lb of potatoes and 21b of chopped hay per day, with the following results :— Weight Weight Lot Peed at first at close Ine 'se 1. Beet root and hay 888 923 86 2. Potatoes and hay 855 1023 168 3. Increased potato ration ... 774 1117 348 This shows a double increase in the second lot in favour over beetroot and a double increase in the third lot over the second lot iv favour of the increased ration of potatoes. Tho tests with the sbeep covered a period of 116 days, and showed the remarkable result of doubling a sheep's weight in that time on a potato diet. The fourth lot, fed on raw potatoes and hay, was only remarkable in showing the inferiority of raw to cooked potatoes. Tbese tests not only thoroughly demonstrate the fact that potatoes are a first- class food for cattle aud sheep for flesh-gaining purposes, but tbe meat was found to be of superior quality. ______________