428 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 



recommended that Lammaria saccharina (pi. 3, fig. 1), which they 

 thought resembled spinach when cooked, should be used for cattle in 

 times of scarcity of other foods. 



Beckman carried on feeding experiments with dogs and hens giv- 

 ing these animals bread made from a mixture of finely ground sea- 

 weed, rye and potato flours. He said that during the baking the 

 characteristic odor disappeared and that the bread was found to 

 possess good properties. 



Gloess wrote that algae from which the salts of potassium, bromine, 

 and iodine have been removed can be used to replace oats in the diet 

 of horses, and serve as feed for swine and poultry when mixed with 

 their rations. 



Intensive experimentation conducted by Ringen shows that the 

 composition of seaweed varies with the season. The nutritive value 

 is highest in the fall so that the seaweed intended for fodder should 

 be harvested late in the summer. Two kinds of seaweed were used 

 in his experiments : Lamfiinaria^ which was used to provide a product 

 called Algit, and Fucus which was used to make Neptun. Seaweed 

 meal is high in ash content and nitrogen-free extract. The calcium, 

 magnesium, and iodine contents are especially high, but potassium, 

 copper, iron, and manganese exist in quantities too small to be of any 

 significance. The digestibility of seaweed meal is low, especially 

 when it is made from Fucus. The digestibility is lower for pigs than 

 it is for sheep. When meal prepared from Fucus is fed to the stock, 

 there is a loss of 7 to 9 grams of digestible protein from the rest of the 

 fodder. Sheep are able to use the protein in seaweed meal for main- 

 tenance and production of wool. Iodine in seaweed meal is easily ab- 

 sorbed, 55 to 58 percent of it being absorbed as compared with 35 to 40 

 percent in hay. The seaweed meal was decided to be a suitable calcium 

 supplement to the grain ration of pigs. The nutritive value of seaweed 

 meal is low. Pigs thrive better on Algin than they do on Neptun. The 

 meal has no effect on bacon quality. Seaweed-meal feeding increases 

 the weight of the thyroid and the iodine content rises both absolutely 

 and relatively. The meal has no effect on the vitamin A content of 

 pig liver. Seaweed meal has a strong laxative effect. Two sows that 

 were fed seaweed meal during the period of gestation showed marked 

 signs of iodism. 



Table 2. — Government typical analysis of kelp meaV 



Percent 



Ash (colloidal salts) 38.5 



Carbohydrates 40. 6 



Protein 5.6 



Fat (ether-soluble) .4 



Fiber 5. 8 



Moisture 9. 1 



* This analysis was obtained from the Department of Commerce, Washington, D. C. 



