ANALYTICAL ASSOCIATIONS. 



203 



reason why farmers do not look sharply after the composition of 

 their feeding stuffs is that they have no standards with which 

 to compare them, so that they are not able to tell from the 

 analyses whether their purchases compare well or ill with the 

 average quality of such feeding stuffs in the market. It is 

 hoped that the following list, in which the average composition 

 of a few of the most common feeding stuffs is described, will go 

 far to remove that difficulty : — 



An attempt has been made to frame a scale of units applicable 

 to the valuable constituents of feeding stuffs, by which the 

 market prices of these substances may be estimated as soon as 

 their chemical composition is known. 



The principle upon which the units are determined requires a 

 little explanation. It is assumed that the carbohydrates in a 

 cake or meal — viz., such substances as starch, sugar, and mucilage 

 — have only one-fifth the value of albumen or oil, so that the 

 ratio of albumen, oil, and carbohydrates is put down as 5:5:1. 

 Whether that is a fair ratio for valuing the ingredients of a 

 concentrated fodder is a question on which there may be con- 

 siderable difference of opinion. There is no one definite ratio 

 which alone is the right one, but the relative values put upon 

 the ingredients of feeding stuffs may vary according to a variety 

 of circumstances. In the first place, there is their nutritive 

 effects, which of course will vary according to the kind and 

 condition of the animals consuming it and other conditions ; and 



