| Show THE VALUE OF PUMPKINS I Their Chemical Composition Hovr to Feed Them to Ctw rigs and Sheep I The feeding value of yellow field pumpkins pump-kins for milch cows hogs and sheep is based upon the smount of dry matter in 100 pounds as well as on the chemical composition of that matter The whole DUInDkin has about 69 percent water I I and 11 dry matter 00 of 1 per cent of this is albuminoids 08 carbohydrates 01 fat and 1 ash The value of this when figured in the ordinary way is about 10 cents per 100 pounds but as tho pumpkin contains a little pectic acid which becomes a digester of other food and gives it an additional value it may be said that good ripe pumpkins are worth 10 to 12 cents per 100 pounds to feed in moderate quantity with other food in the milk ration or for fattening A small quantity of pumpkins gives a relish and improves tho flavor of the milk But with reference to the effect of the seeds care must be taken if the seeds are fed to cows that they are mixed evenly with the rest of the pumpkin pump-kin The seeds are given in some cases as a diuretic medicine Their action is apt to bo on tho kidneys and dairymen often say that their cows shrink in their milk when freely fed with pumpkins And if the seeds get separated so the cows eat more than tho natural proportion propor-tion of seeds this effect upon the kidneys kid-neys would naturally affect the secretion secre-tion of milk The Chinese eat pumpkin seeds between be-tween tho courses of dinner and these are probably taken as an appetizer and digester These seeds are rich in nitrogen ni-trogen and oil and very nutritious Some feeders have been very successful in fattening pigs with a small allowance of pumpkin seeds in connection with other food These seeds used as a part of the food for poultry would fatten them rapidly It should not constitute more than onefifth to onefourth of the food given to poultry The dry matter in pumpkin seeds and the stringy parts amount to about 25 per cent or more than double that of tho whole pumpkin Tho nutritive value of the seeds per weight is four times as much as that of the body of the pumpkin without the seeds In connection with the foregoing forego-ing Country Gentleman says If pumpkins pump-kins were sliced up or pulped so that the seeds would be all mixed in evenly there would her no danger in feeding them to cows other cattle or hogs and it would be a very desirable addition when combined with other foods |
