| Water | 82·5 |
| Nitrogenous compounds | 0·2 |
| Extractive matters | 2·6 |
| Starch, &c. | 4·7 |
| Cellulose | 10·0 |
| ——— | |
| 100·0 |
Rape is one of our most valuable plants for stock feeding. Two varieties are cultivated in these countries—the summer rape (Brassica Campestris oleifera) and winter rape (Brassica rapus). The great utility of rape arises from the circumstance of its being generally obtained as a stolen crop; for otherwise it is not quite equal to other plants that might be substituted for it—cabbages, &c. This plant is very rich in oily matters, and has been found well adapted both for the feeding of cattle and the fattening of sheep. Its composition, according to Voelcker, is shown in this table:—
| COMPOSITION OF GREEN RAPE. | |
| Water | 87·050 |
| Flesh-formers | 3·133 |
| Fatty matters | 0·649 |
| Other respiratory substances | 4·000 |
| Woody fibre | 3·560 |
| Mineral matter (ash) | 1·608 |
| ——— | |
| 100·000 | |
With respect to the value of rape for the feeding of stock in spring, Mr. Rham makes the following remarks:—
If the crop is very forward it may be slightly fed off, but in general it is best to let it remain untouched till spring. In the end of March and the beginning of April it will be a great help to the ewes and lambs. It will produce excellent food till it begins to be in flower, when it should immediately be ploughed up. The ground will be found greatly recruited by this crop, which has taken nothing from it, and has added much by the dung and urine of the sheep. Whatever be the succeeding crop, it cannot fail to be productive; and if the land is not clean, the farmer must have neglected the double opportunity of destroying weeds in the preceding summer, and in the early part of spring. If the rape is fed off in time, it may be succeeded by barley or oats, with clover or grass seeds, or potatoes, if the soil is not too wet. Thus no crop will be lost, and the rape will have been a clear addition to the produce of the land. Any crop which is taken off the land in a green state, especially if it be fed off with sheep, may be repeated without risk of failure, provided the land be properly tilled; but where cole or rape have produced seed, they cannot be profitably sown in less than five or six years after on the same land. The cultivation of rape or cole for spring food cannot be too strongly recommended to the farmers of heavy clay soils.
The Mustard Plant is occasionally used as food for sheep, for which purpose its composition shows it to be well adapted. Voelcker's analysis proves it to be very rich, relatively, in muscle-forming elements and in mineral matters; it might, therefore be with advantage combined with food relatively deficient in these principles.
| COMPOSITION OF FRESH MUSTARD. | |
| Water | 86·30 |
| Albuminous matters | 2·87 |
| Non-nitrogenous matters (gum, sugar, oil, &c.) | 4·40 |
| Woody fibre | 4·39 |
| Ash | 2·04 |
| ——— | |
| 100·00 | |
The Prickly Comfrey has been recommended as a good forage plant. It yields an abundant crop—or rather crops, for it may be cut several times in the year. The plant is a handsome one, and it might combine the useful with the ornamental if it were cultivated on demesne or villa farms. Dr. Voelcker states its composition to be as follows:—