558 



In accordance with a suggestion l)y the director of the station, Pro- 

 fessor ^laercker, an arrangement was made between the station and 

 the Halberstddter landwirthschaftlicher Vcrein, one of the branches of 

 the provincial agricultural society, by which these questions should 

 be put to the test of cooperative erperiment. It was provided that 

 the plans should be drawn up by a commission, consisting of members 

 of the Verein and the director of the station ; that the tests should be 

 carried out by a number of farmers who were in condition to make 

 them accurately with a considerable number of animals; and that 

 analyses of the feeding stutfs and tlie milk should be made by the sta- 

 tion, which should also work out and publish the results. Dr. Morgen, 

 one of the assistants of the station, was placed in the immediate charge 

 of its share of the cofiperative enteri)rise. 



A brief account of the results of the trials of the first season was 

 published shortly after their completion. Although they have excited 

 mnch attention in the Province, and are regarded by experts in Ger- 

 many as of metre than usual interest, they have receive<l but little 

 attention in the United States, a fact which is not surprising, since the 

 full details are not yet in print.* 



The (pu'stions i)roi)osed for investigation in the experiments of the 

 first season (1887-88) are stated and explained by Maercker and Morgen 

 in their report, as follows: 



(1) "How large quantities of the very watery feeding stufls which 

 are so important in our Province, namely, ditTusion residue of beets and 

 potato residue, can be fed without impairing the i)rofitableness of the 

 production of milk by cows or of flesh by fattening aninuils?" 



The views of i)racti<al fee<lers in the Province regarding this ques- 

 tion are extreniely various. Sonu* hesitate to feed more than GO pounds 

 of beet residue to grown cattle per head ]>er day, while others do not fear 

 to give 110 pounds or more. "With potato residue the range is still 

 wider — from 1.") to l-'5 gallons per head jter day. 



(2) "Starting with a ratiim of attested quality and (juantity, how 

 much concentrated foihh'r can be a«lde<l without imiiairing the profit of 

 production, and what is the best nutritive ratio?'' 



Here again the widest differences of opinion are found among ])ra('ti- 

 cal men. Taking the same basal ratio of dilVusion residue, potato residue, 

 and hay, some consider an addition of .5.5 pounds of concentrated foixl 

 l)er head i>er day as large as can be used to advantage, while others 

 regard 11 i)Ounds or more as the most profitable. 



With regard to these questions it was clearly understood at the out- 

 set that categorical answers ajtplicable in all ]»laces would be impossi- 

 ble, so wide are the dillerences in individuality and productive capacity 

 of different herds. But as the farms on which the experiments were 



*A preliminary report by Professor Maercker and Dr. Morgen was published in 

 the Magdebnri;iHclic Zeitunji;, November 21 to Doccniber 6, 1888. Abstracts of this are 

 given in Ceutralbl. f. Agr. Chciu., 1889, p. 460, and Juhresbcr. ii agr. C'heui., 1889, 

 p. 611. 



