New Yokk Ageicultueal Experiment Station. 123 



Although) it was found possible, when using a large number of 

 foods in contrasted rations of these kinds, to have the ordinary 

 groups of organic compounds in approximately equal proportions 

 there was always a much larger amount of mineral matter in the 

 one ration owing to the bone of the animal meal. So there was 

 sometimes nearly three times as much phosphorous in the one ra- 

 tion as in the other. Calculating all the phosphorous as phos- 

 phoric acid, there was in the animal meal ration fed to chicks and 

 hens generally about 3.9 per ct. of phosphoric acid, while in the 

 ration of vegetable origin there was about 1.4 per ct. In the con- 

 trasted rations for duckling's there were 4.0 per ct. and 1.9 per ct. 

 of phosphoric acid, respectively. 



By using bone ash in another series of experiments, the amount 

 of phosphorus was made to equal and sometimes slightly exceed 

 that in the animal food ration, although all the organic matter 

 was still derived from vegetable food. There was in the animal 

 food ration fed to chicks, phosphorus equivalent to about 3.9 per 

 ct. of phosphoric acid and in the contrasted ration to about 4.0 

 per ct. The animal food ration for ducklings contained about 

 3.6 of phosphoric acid and the vegetable food ration about 4.0 

 per ct. Both rations for laying hens contained about 3.6 per ct. 

 of phosphoric acid. Practically the same relative amounts of 

 protein, fats and carbohydrates existed in the contrasted rations. 

 The vegetable food ration, thus supplemented by the mineral mat- 

 ter of bone ash, when fed to chicks, proved fully equal to the 

 ration containing animal meal, so far as rapidity of growth was 

 concerned. In economy it was even somewhat superior, for con- 

 siderable less food was required for equal results. For laying hens 

 the rations were equal in efficiency for some months, but the ration 

 containing animal food proved somewhat more enduring in its 

 effects. With ducklings the ash-supplemented ration of vegetable 

 food proved decidedly inferior to the corresponding ration con- 

 taining animal food. 



From these results it appears that rations containing a neces- 

 sary amount of protein and having the relation of the ordinarily 



