CONTRIBUTIONS TO STOCK FEEDING. 229 



versy. It is beyond the scope of my present communica- 

 tion to describe in detail the history of the particular line 

 of arguments on both sides : it will suffice for the present 

 to state that the animated discussions arising from their 

 varying views, extending over a series of years, have ex- 

 erted a most salutary influence on the development of more 

 concise ideas regarding the requirements of a rational basis for 

 the compounding of fodder-rations. Liebig's book, " Chem- 

 istry in its Application to Agriculture and Physiology," 

 published first in 1840, deserves here a particular notice 

 on account of the profound interest it created among all 

 classes of society. The new field of chemical inquiry that 

 it pointed out attracted at once the attention of chem- 

 ists in every civilized country, and induced many able 

 scientific investigators to devote themselves exclusively to 

 an inquiry into the principles which underlie the best agri- 

 cultural practice. Boussingault's attempts to show by 

 actual feeding experiments the practical value of compound- 

 ing fodder-rations on the basis of an analysis of the various 

 fodder-crops recommended itself in particular to intelligent 

 and progressive agriculturists as a course worthy of imi- 

 tation. The united efforts of these two great leaders in 

 rational agriculture to turn chemistry to practical account 

 in agricultural operations led soon (1850) to a more general 

 introduction of agricultural experiment stations, — a class 

 of institutions to which our present best farm practice is 

 more indebted than to any other influence which can be 

 named. Among the first contributions from that source 

 to the science of stock-feeding are those of Messrs. Lawes 

 and Gilbert of Rothamsted in England. Their reports 

 on some experiments with fattening swine (1853) and sheep 

 (1862) are of particular interest on account of the practical 

 illustration they furnish, that non-nitrogenous substances 

 are of great importance at certain stages of fattening stock, 

 indorsing thus, to some extent, Liebig's view. The rapid 

 increase of experiment stations for the purpose of studying 

 the principles winch underlie the best modes in farm prac- 

 tice, and of devising new propositions for agricultural en- 

 terprise, made itself soon known in a striking manner by 

 the changes which the current notions of a proper valuation 

 of fodder-crops suffered. 



