ANIMAL PRODUCTION. 565 



of the feeding stuff market are bad and are inimical to the financial interests of 

 the farmers and other consumers." 



Feeding- stufE control in 1906, Wehnert (Landw. Wchnbl. Schles. Hoist., 

 57 (1907), Xo. .is, pp. 621~G2.')). — Data rejjarding tlie extent of tlie feeding stuff 

 contntl worlc in Sclileswig-IIolsttMU. 



The ash constituents of food stufEs, H. Ingle (Transvaal Agr. Jour., 5 

 ( 1907), No. 19, pp. 6.'i7-656). — A number of general deductions are drawn from a 

 discussion of the importance of mineral constituents in the feeding of farm ani- 

 mals. As the author points out, " in the seeds there is a concentration of some 

 of these mineral constituents, particularly of phosphoric acid, potash and mag- 

 nesia, with relatively little lime. In the leaves and stems of certain plants, lime 

 is, relatively to the phosphoric acid, mucli more abundant than in the seeds. 

 Cereals are remarkable for the low proportion of lime to phosphoric acid con- 

 tained in both their seed and straw. Leguminous plants, e. g., lucerne, clover, 

 I)eas and beans, contain a high proportion of lime in their leaves and stems. 



" Lime and phosphoric acid are required for the formation of bones in ani- 

 mal's in the proportion of about 1.5 of lime to 1 of phosphoric acid, and, in all 

 probability, these are the proportions in which these constituents should be pres- 

 ent in the rations of the animals in order to give the most favorable conditions 

 for healthy growth. Animals require, for their proper growth, supplies of 

 chlorids, fluorids, iron, and probably other substances which may not be present 

 in sufficient quantity in their food. 



" A diet composed exclusively of cereals, e. g., oat hay or oat hay and mealies 

 [i. e. corn], is not suitable foi; animals, and the preponderance of phosphoric 

 acid in such a diet should be compensated by the addition of foods rich in lime^ 

 e. g., hicerne, clover, or even grasses." 



The chemical composition of Washington forage crops. Analyses of 

 grains and concentrated feeding stuffs, R. W. Thatcher ( WasJihigton Sta. 

 liul. 82, pp. 32). — The forage crops analyzed in continuation of earlier work (E, 

 S. R., IS, p. 43G) included timothy hay, hay from wild oats, bald barley, spelt, 

 oats, oats and peas, macaroni wheat hay, Proso millet, wild pea or mountain 

 vetch, pine grass and other mountain range grasses, hay from redtop and other 

 grasses, timothy and alsike hay, clover hay, green rape, carrots, and ruta-bagas. 

 In a number of cases the crops were cut at different stages of growth. 



The concentrated feeds analyzed included oats of different varieties, flax- 

 seed, flaxseed and bran, ground barley, soft wheat, dried blood, buckwheat 

 middlings, cotton-seed, meal, gluten meal, gluten feed, cocoanut meal, oat hulls, 

 and dairy feeds. 



Some of the deductions drawn from the analytical work follow : 



" The analyses of timothy hay show that the stage of maturity at which the 

 crop has its highest feeding value is from 3 to 5 days after it has reached full 

 bloom. 



" Wild oats if cut very early yield hay of high protein content and fair feed- 

 ing value, but if allowed to stand until nearly mature produce hay of very poor 

 quality. 



" Hal<l l)arley, spelt, and oats show only slight variations in total foeding value 

 during the period of formation of seeds, but their nutritive ratio grows wider 

 owing to the decrease in the percentage of protein, or flesh-forming material 

 and increase in fats and carbohydrates, or energy-producers. This is esi)ecially 

 noticeable in the case of the barley which, moreover, has a wide ratio at all 

 stages of growth and should, therefore, be cut for hay at as early a stage of 

 growth as is consistent with good yields per acre. Spelt i)roduces hay of a 

 narrower nutritive ratio than any other grain hays, and is hence a valuable 



