ANIMAL PRODUCTION. 1065 



by supplying to the heu those food constituents which keep her in first-class 

 physical condition and which are needed to build up the egs; and shell. 

 Since protein is one of the constituents usually lacklnf; in the food ordinarily 

 fed to chickens, and since also it forms a large portion of the egg, the foods 

 which contain this constituent in large amounts are generally to be preferred." 



A general comparison of commercial and standard home-grown feeds shows 

 that in a large number of cases " the home-grown feeds are superior to the 

 commercial feeds, esi)ecially in the case of those commercial feeding stuffs bear- 

 ing a fancy name, which entirely masks the ingredients used. Furthermore, in 

 many cases the commercial mixtures that do really have a higher nutritive 

 value than the ordinary home-grown feeds could be much more economically 

 prepared on the farm by buying the standard concentrated feeds, such as blood 

 meal, cotton-seed and linseed meal, etc., and mixing them with home-grown 

 crops." 



Commercial feeding' stuffs of the United States: Microscopical examina- 

 tion, B. J. Howard {U. 8. Dept. Agr., Bur. Chem. Bui. lOS, pp. 72-86, pis. 

 6). — Histological studies are reported of the principal constituents of cattle 

 feeds, including the feeding stuffs themselves, weed seeds, medicinal or condi- 

 mental materials, and such animal products as meat meal, bone meal, oyster 

 and clam shells, and dried blood. 



The plates which -accompany the text facilitate the detection of normal and 

 abnormal constituents of feeding stuffs. 



Inspection of commercial feed stuffs, P. H. Smith and L. S. Walkee {Mas- 

 sachusetts Sta. Bui. 120, pp. 1-36). — The feeding stuffs examined under the 

 State law included cotton-seed meal, linseed meal, flax feed, gluten feed, dried 

 distillers' grains, malt sprouts, brewers' grains, wheat middlings, mixed wheat 

 feeds, wheat feeds with admixtures, wheat bran, daii'y feeds, molasses feeds, 

 rye feeds, calf meal, corn meal, ground oats, hominy meal, corn and oat feeds, 

 fortified starchy feeds, meat scraps, bone meal, meat and bone meal, granulated 

 milk, poultry mash and meal, chick and scratching grains, and alfalfa and 

 clover meals. 



According to the authors, " there has been a noticeable improvement in the 

 observance of the feed law, it being necessary to serve fewer notices for in- 

 fringement than ever before. Practically all of the jobbers and manufacturers 

 either ship their goods with guaranty attached to packages, or, in the case of 

 bulk shiimients, furnish tags and statements covering the law. At present the 

 trouble is largely with the retailers, who neglect to attach tags furnished or 

 who are ignorant of the legal requirements." 



A large proportion of the cotton-seed meals were found to be deficient in 

 protein. 



" Cotton-seed meal has been one of the most valuable protein concentrates 

 available to the northern dairyman. Its consumption, however, is sure to be 

 curtailed, unless adulteration is checked and a reform in the methods of deal- 

 ing is speedily brought about. It is assuredly for the interest of the southern 

 merchant to use every means in his power to see that this most valuable prod- 

 uct is unadulterated, that it is properly branded, and that it substantially con- 

 forms to the guaranty placed upon it." 



With respect to brewers' grains, the authors consider a good quality of this 

 feed to be " usually an economical concentrate, and attention is called to this 

 seemingly neglected feed stuff." 



The wheat feeds with admixtures examined, the authors state, were un- 

 usually poor, the protein content being very low, and attention is directed to 

 the fact that the consumer purchasing such goods pays nearly as much per 



