232 STATE BOARD OP AGRICULTURE. 



tions his cows will return the most net profit from the materials which 

 his farm produces. 



The standard ration fails to recognize the peculiarities of different 

 feeding stuffs in the matter of their specific effects upon the quality of 

 the butter produced or upon the health and condition of the cow. Some 

 fodders, though showing a very high content of digestible nutrients, are 

 nearly worthless because cows do not like them or because they seriously 

 impair the quality of the products. It is not enough, therefore, to re- 

 port the relation between the quantity of butter produced and the quan- 

 tity of food consumed, when new forage plants are under discussion. 

 The quality of the products and the relation of the material to the ap- 

 petite of the cow must also be given, to round out and complete the 

 proper history of the experiment. 



COMPOSITION OF FEEDING STUFFS. 



Chemical analyses have been made of all our common feeding stuffs 

 either at this experiment station or elsewhere. The average of a large 

 number of such analyses combined with digestion coefficients are given 

 in the following table. This table sets forth the amount of dry matter 

 and digestible material in one pound of each of the materials mentioned. 

 The carbohydrates and fat are combined under one head, the fat being 

 multiplied by 2.4 to reduce it to its equivalent value in units of car- 

 bohydrates. The nutritive ratio of the digestible material in a given 

 fodder is also named. In the calculation of rations it is necessary to 

 multii)ly the figures given in the table by the number of pounds of the 

 material taken to find the weight of the ingredients in the material. 



The table is compiled from various sources. Some of the analyses 

 made at this station are brought into the table by the use of the proper 

 iigestion coefficient. Others are taken from tables in Woll's Dairy Cal- 

 !ndar and from Henry's Feeds and Feeding. 



