EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



Vol. Vf. ^o. 5. 



There bas been of late considerable controversy among feeders in this 

 country and in Europe as to the reliability of the feeding- standards 

 proposed by Frof. Emil Wolff. In Europe it has been contended that 

 as a rule they are too low in protein and lower than the results obtained 

 in practice justify. In this country they have been frequently criticized 

 as being too high in protein, and the data collected indicate that they 

 call for rather more protein than farmers and successful feeders are in 

 the habit of feeding. It may be that the conditions of this country 

 favor the feeding of a wider ration, giving more carbohydrates and fat, as 

 these materials are relatively cheap and easily obtained. Wolft"'s stand- 

 ards were suggested twenty- five or more years ago, when there were 

 fewer data at command than now. They may need revising and modi- 

 fying to suit our conditions, and this presents a useful field of work for 

 the experiment stations. It would seem, indeed, that the record of the 

 feeding experiments already made by tlie stations sliould furnish much 

 information upon this point. There is, however, a lack of systematic 

 work along this line, and the results are frequently not (comparable. 

 The amount of reliable data on which to base a series of American feed- 

 ing standards is comparatively small. In many cases the plan of the 

 experiment either does not admit of inferences on this point, or the 

 amounts of digestible nutrients are not calculated, and could not be cal- 

 culated with accuracy from the data reported. Too often the experi- 

 ments are merely a superflcial comparison of this feeding stuff' with that 

 without a consideration of the actual amounts of digestible nutrients 

 fed in each case. In such cases the results remain simply a comparison 

 of the feeding stuffs in (juestion, without furnishing any real contribu- 

 tion to the science of feeding. The opportunity is lost of combining 

 the scientific with the purely practical. The intelligent farmer is given 

 little which he could not have found out, perhaps equally well, for him- 

 self, instead of being given the result of scientific research along with 

 the practical outcome of the experiment. It is a mistake to assume 

 that in order to get results of practical value to the farmer the feeding 

 methods of the farmer must be imitated. 



Recently an experiment with cows was reported in which, using a 

 constant basal ration, the effect of various coarse materials on the milk 

 was studied. The nutritive ration of the basal ration was about 1 : 9.87 

 and was not materially improved by the feeding stuffs added in differ- 



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