Transactions of RHASS Volume 1940 - Page 018
Image details
| Year | 1940 |
|---|---|
| Transcription |
|
| OCR Text |
24 srocK—rnnnme UNDER WAR CONDITIONS. aftermaths. As in this country, it has been found that the use of molasses in the making of such silage goes far to ensure a product of good quality. For the rest, German nutrition chemists have been carrying out a most thorough search for protein substitutes, and they claim, in the case of the ruminant animal, a considerable measure of success. It has long been known that the food of the ruminant, during the time that it remains in the paunch, undergoes bacterial fermentation. It is, in fact, largely by the help of bacteria that cattle and sheep are able to digest cellulose. But there is another side to the business, because the bacteria, in order to grow and multiply, require a supply of nitrogen compounds and, under ordinary circumstances, they use up part of the protein of the food. Thus there is a considerable wastage of protein in ruminant digestion. The idea underlying the German work is to mix with any convenient food-stuff—beet pulp or compound cake—a certain amount of some cheap and simple synthetic nitrogen compound which the bacteria will feed upon in preference to the food protein. A variety of such substances have been tried, and of these urea, which can be very cheaply manu- factured, seems to be almost as good as any. In Germany a large number of practical feeding trials have been carried out in which a properly balanced ordinary ration has been compared, on the one hand, with a protein-deficient ration, and, on the other, with this last fortified by the addition of urea. Most of the results show that the urea is a help— at any rate where the basal ration is extremely short of protein. On the other hand, some of the trials have shown that a considerable part of the urea is absorbed into the blood as such, and is quickly passed out again by the kidneys. If this happens, it is difficult to see what value the urea can have. On the whole, the case is scarcely proved, and some of the published results are not altogether free from the suspicion that they have been produced to order. The use of urea or some similar substance might be a possibility to bear in mind if we found ourselves in the same straits as those in which the German farmer finds himself at present, and meantime experiments are being carried out in this country. But it seems that our main problem will be to make good a deficiency of starchy rather than of high- protein foods, and that, in so far as we find it necessary to replace imported oil—cakes, we should aim at producing more home-grown foods of the types required, such as beans and silage. STOCK-FEEDING UNDER WAR CONDITIONS. 25 THE USE OF SURPLUS AND ‘BROKE’ POTATOES. The potato acreage in Germany is very large, and the crop is grown both for direct human consumption and for the manufacture of starch and alcohol. As in this country, the yield varies widely from year to year, and the surplus has often been considerable. Naturally then, the Germans have given a good deal of study to the utilisation of this surplus and also to the use, in animal feeding, of small, dis- eased, and otherwise damaged tubers. The chief difficulties are that the surplus often becomes available at a time when it is not wanted (6.9., a surplus of old potatoes in June), and that ‘ broke ’ is subject to very heavy wastage if it is kept in pits, in the usual way, for any length of time. The ideal method of conservation is, of course, artificial drying, but a special plant and a special process are necessary to the production of an easily digestible potato meal. The product of an improvised plant is likely to be unsatisfactory. Where greenstuff is available, one of the most satisfactory methods is to make a mixed silage by the method that was first developed in Holland. Where, for instance, an early or second-early crop is marketed direct from the field, the broke may be preserved for future use by ensiling it along with aftermath grass and clover. For this purpose there is no need to have a concrete or other form of container, nor even to dig a pit or trench. A level piece of ground is chosen and a foundation for the silage stack is made with a layer of green grass, which should be about a foot deep. Upon this, alternate layers of potatoes and grass are built up. The Dutch recommend a proportion of about three tons of grass to one of potatoes, and, if plenty of grass is available and the silage is wanted for cattle food, this pro- portion may be recommended. The proportion of grass can, however, be reduced to something less than two-thirds, when the resulting silage will be more suitable for pig-feeding. The potatoes should be reasonably clean, but otherwise need no preparation, and no molasses or other addition is required. A surplus of old-crop potatoes may be dealt with in the same way as soon as a cut of grass is available—say in early June. In this case, however, it is necessary to knock off the bulk of the sprouts, which might otherwise cause scouring or even porsoning. In this process, the heat of the fermentation cooks the potatoes. The product is sweet-smelling and palatable, and can be used in quite large amounts for dairy and fattening cattle and for pigs. As always in the making of silage, tight packing is important, and this may be most easily secured |
| Title | Transactions of RHASS Volume 1940 - Page 018 |
