48 AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 



the number of determinations of their digestibility is scarcely worth 

 mentioning. For instance, Dr. Jenkin's tables of American feeding 

 stuffs, which are intended to be a full compilation, show but one 

 analysis of Red Top and one of Orchard Grass, the names of several 

 other valuable upland grasses not appearing. Our knowledge of 

 the feeding value of some of our native grasses seems to be 

 especially meagre. For these I'easons it is proposed to do some- 

 thing each year at the Maine Experiment Station in learning more 

 about our hays and coarse fodders, so far as this can be done by 

 analyses and digestion experiments. We have quite generally 

 assumed that our fodders have the same average digestibility as are 

 given in the German tables. It is very probable that this assump- 

 tion is not correct in all cases. This is explained by the fact that 

 our cattle foods are grown in a climate and with cultivation different 

 from what exist in Europe, and while the laws controlling animal 

 nutrition are the same everywhere, this difference in the character 

 of our food stuffs may render the averages of the analyses and co- 

 efficients of digestibility of foreign materials inapplicable to practice 

 in this country. Work was begun in this direction in 1885, and 

 has been kept up more or less continuously until the present time. 

 In 1887, the work was considerably enlarged. In that year all the 

 species of hay-producing plants found on the College Farm that 

 could be obtained in sufficient quantity unmixed were gathered, 

 carefully dried and stored, their composition and digestibility, being 

 subsequently determined. 



Again, quite a large variety of cattle foods are found in the 

 markets which are bye products, either from milling or from the 

 manufacture of oils, such as the brans, fine feed, damaged flour, 

 oil meals, etc. 



The composition of each of these feeding stuffs is characteristic, 

 and is less subject to large variations than is the case with coarse 

 foods, but is affected somewhat by the processes of manufacture and 

 unfavorable conditions of storage. Samples of quite a variety of such 

 of these materials as are sold in Maine have been collected by the 

 Station, "the analyses of which will appear in the near future. 



But a knowledge of the composition and digestibility of cattle 

 foods has practical value only to the extent that we can apply it 

 to methods of feeding in such a way as to cheapen production. 

 Such a use of the information gained by laboratory investigations 

 is the object of the practical feeding experiments carried on by the 



