No. 6. 



DEPARTMENT OP AGIIICULTUKE. 



383 



lias a less value than from a concentrated fodder, and the coarser, i. e., 

 the more librous the fodder, the less the value of each pound of 

 digestible material. 



The practical application of the Ivnowledge of the relative value of 

 fodders is in the determining which is the most prolitable to buy, 

 aud this is ascertained by estimating the relative cost of a pound of 

 digestible material in each of the dilFerent fodders offered in the 

 local market. 



This is ascertained as follows: Suppose in the local market, i. e., 

 at the railroad station, the prices are per ton: Bran, |10.00; corn, 

 122.00; oats, |26.00; gluten meal. If 24.00; cottonseed meal, $28.00; 

 timothy hay, |12.00; corn silage, |2.00; then the relative cost is as 

 given below: 



According to the above figures, the corn and the gluten meal would 

 be the cheapest of the concentrated fodders, and the silage would be 

 cheaper than the hay. The hay is cheaper per pound digestible than 

 the corn, but it will not do to argue that it is any cheaper, for the 

 pound digestible of the hay is not as valuable for food as the same 

 amount from the grain. 



To understand the entire problem, it will be necessary to take ac- 

 count also of the fertilizing value of the fodder. These values aiv 

 approximately as follows in dollars per ton: 



Wheat bran, |12 46 



Corn 6 78 



Oats, • 8 49 



Gluten meal, 16 40 



Cottonseed meal, 24 88 



Timothy hay, 5 36 



Corn silage, 1 30 



