404 STATE BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. 



THE COMPARATIVE FOOD-VALUE OF CERTAIN VARIETIES OF INDIAX 

 COKN RAISED IX MICPIIGAX, AND OF CERTAIN MILLSTUFFS. 



BY R. C. KEDZIE. 

 [Lectures read at the Farmers' Institutes held at Dowagiac and Bay City.] 



In the Farmers' Institute held at Paw Paw last winter, a question arose in 

 regard to the fattening properties of different varieties of Indian corn, when 

 fed to swine, and the wisli was then expressed that I would analyize the differ- 

 ent A"arieties of corn raised in our State, and furnish farmers with some means 

 of estimating the food-value of our leading varieties of corn. 



By the kindness of David Woodman 2d, and others, I obtained thirteen 

 specimens of corn, which were analyzed, and the corn with the results of anal- 

 ysis was exhibited at the State Fair in Detroit. 



A few weeks ago I received the following letter from the Master of the State 

 Grange : 



Paw Paw, December 20th, 1878. 

 Dr. i?. C. Kedzie : 



Dear Sir— As our farmers are not all practical chemists, and do not fully under- 

 stand the relative value of the ingredients of which corn is composed, for fattening 

 purposes, j'ou will confer a favor hy answering the following questions as supplemen- 

 tary to your analysis of corn: 



1. Did the condition of the corn as to dryness have anything to do with the amount 

 of " water " found in the samples analyzed ? 



2. What is the relative value of the different ingredients or elements of which 

 corn is composed for fattening purposes? 



3. What is the relative value of •' White Dent " in the samples analyzed for fatten- 

 tening purposes, as compared with the other varieties analyzed? 



By answering the above fxuestions you will confer a favor. 



Yours very truly, J. J. AVOODMAN. 



These are important subjects for the consideration of farmers, and the 

 chemical analysis of these varieties of corn is mainly of value by enabling us 

 to satisfactorily consider these and similar questions. 



In entering upon this subject I concluded it would be well to include the 

 various mill-products used as food for animals, and to compare these with the 

 various kinds of corn in estimating the food-value. I have not limited m)'self 

 to the fattening properties of these materials, but I aim to also make some 

 estimate of their food-value to the growing, the working, as well as the fat- 

 tening animal. 



In estimating the value of any complex substance it is a good plan to sepa- 

 rate from it anything -which has little or no value for the use proposed. We 

 thus separate the wheat from the chaff, and are able to make a more satisfac- 

 tory estimate of both the Avhcat and the chaff by reason of this separation. 

 In looking at the table of analysis of the corn, you see that certain substances 

 appear in them all which have little or no direct value as food ; or they may 

 be present in such quantity as to be in excess of the demands of any animal 



consuming these food materials. 



"WATER. 



Water appears in somewhat large amount in all these substances, but the 

 amount varies somewhat in them all. The water present in these food mate- 



