170 



EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



total gain of the first lot was 127.98 ]h».; of the second, 132.32 lbs. The author 

 states that rye, as distiiijiuished from barley, was not eaten readily when fed in large 

 amounts and that sometimes it was refused altogether. The conclusion was drawn 

 that although large amounts of rye can be successfully fed such rations can not long 

 be continued. To compare whole milk and skim milk, a ration of whole milk and 

 barley was continued with one of the pigs for some 7 months. After a short time 

 on whole milk and barley, a similar pig was fed at the close of the test on skim milk 

 and barley. The author calculates that skim milk made a return of 0.38 ct. per kg. 

 3V.S/.S with horses, rabbits and hens (pp. 504-523).— The author reports and dis- 

 cusses a number of experiments made with horses, rabbits and hens. The compar- 

 ative digestibility of rye and oats was tested with horses by W. Groot. The grains 

 were fed with clover hay, the daily ration consisting of 4,914 gni. of the former and 

 8,190 gm. of the latter. The usual experimental methods were followed. The aver- 

 age coefficients of digestibility of the two rations follow: 



Coefficients of digestibility of hay and oats, and hay and rye; average for two horses. 



^Sx^-i^-tein. 



Fat. 



Crude 

 fiber. 



Nitrogen- 

 free 

 extract. 



Hay and oats. 

 Hay and rye.. 



Per cent. '■ Per cent. 

 51.46 ] 62.80 

 52.24 1 55.84 



Per cent. 

 59.81 



Per cent. 

 36.60 

 31.23 



Per cent. 

 60.26 

 66.11 



As pointed out by the author, when oats constituted part of a ration, the fat was 

 much more thoroughly digested than when rye was fed. He believes that the chief 

 reason why oats are such superior feed for horses is that almost no vegetable fat is so 

 easily digested as that of oats. In the tests noted above, the time spent in work was 

 recorded as well as the weight of the horses. The losses in weight were greater on 

 the rye ration than on the oat ration. The fact that variations in weight can serve 

 for judging the value of feeding stuffs is insisted on. The author believes that 

 although oats are much better feed for horses than rye, yet the latter can be fed to 

 advantage in rather large quantities. He recommends that the grain be soaked 

 before feeding and that the horses be gradually accustomed to it. Since rye is defi- 

 cient in fat, this constituent should be supplied by other feeding stuffs. The low 

 coefficients of digestibility of fat observed when rye was fed is discussed and tests 

 bearing on this subject by Roschnowski, Redych, and R. Slawinski, are briefly 

 reported. Roschnowski found that as an average of two tests, the coefficients of 

 digestibility of rye by rabbits was as follows: Dry matter, 85.95; protein, 68.45; fat, 

 72.70; nitrogen-free extract, 93.59; crude fiber, 65.97; and ash, 36.15 per cent. 

 According to Redych' s results, rabbits digested 98.3 per cent of the fat of cocoanut 

 cake, 94.8 per cent of the fat of oats, and 76 per cent of the fat of rye. Slawinski 

 found that rabbits digested 96.3 per cent of the fat of cocoanut cake; 65.5 per cent of 

 the fat of oat straw, and 55 per cent of the fat of rye straw. 



Further studies of the comparative digestibility of rye, oats and barley, and espe- 

 cially of the fat are reported by the author, which were made by W. Grost. Three 

 hens were used, and the daily ration consisted of 70 gm. of the grains tested. The 

 coefficients of digestibility follow: 



CoeffiderUs of digestibility of rye, oats, and barley; experiments with hens. 



Rve .. 

 Oats . . 

 Barley 



^'\^^'- Protein. 



Per cent. \ Per cent. 

 76.96 70.72 



49. 88 62. 34 



69. 41 75. 41 



Fat. 



Nitrogen 



free 

 extract. 



Per cent. Per cent. 



16. .59 I 87.8 



84. 01 60. 82 



67. 43 81. 11 



