Semi-CenUnnial Volume. 199 



Comparison of lot 30 with lots 32 and 38 shows that the blood and the 

 eg}? protein when not accompanied by ash did not enable normal growth 

 to be made, although the i-esults were better than those shown by ash 

 alone, the average gain per day of each of the six pigs being about three- 

 tenths of a pound. 



Consideration of lot 33 shows that here, where both ash and blood 

 protein were added to corn, a very good growth was obtained, it being 

 about five-sixths of a pound per day per pig. In lot 39, in which egg- 

 white proteins were added with ash, each of the pigs gained over a pound 

 a day for the 150 days that they were in the experiment, and made the 

 most rapid growth of any lot in the test. 



Valuable information is contributed by lots 34, 35, 36 and 37, all of 

 which received corn, and commercial buttermilk casein, and in which lot 

 34 was also fed corn starch in order to reduce the nutritive ratio to that 

 of corn. Lot 34 was notably inferior to the others, and shows that a 

 nutritive ratio as wide as that of corn is not suitable for young growing 

 pigs, even though it contains a supply of so admirably adapted a protein 

 as is milk casein. The other three lots are not very different in outcome, 

 though up to the last three weeks lot 37 was distinctly in the lead. In 

 this lot the nutritive ratio was narrow at first, when the young pigs were 

 actively forming protein in their bones, glands, muscles and connective 

 tissue, and as these fundamental cellular sti'uctures came to be supplied, 

 and growth consisted more and more in the storage of fat, the relatively 

 reduced supply of protein was entirely adequate. The excellent showing 

 made by these pigs throughout the trial confirmed the scientific judg- 

 ment which anticipated the results obtained. 



On the whole we may conclude from this experiment: (1) That for 

 young pigs, corn is deficient in ash; (2) that it is also deficient in pi'o- 

 tein; (3) that the protein of corn is defective in character. That ad- 

 ditional ash is needed is established by the facts that when pure pro- 

 teins of complete amino-acid constitution, derived from blood and from 

 eggs, are fed with corn, they are ineffective unless accompanied by ad- 

 ditional ash. The deficiency of total protein is shown by the superior 

 results obtained in lots 35, 36 and 37 over those shown by lot 34 with 

 its lower supply of the same protein. The fundamentally defective 

 character of the corn proteins is proven by the greatly superior results 

 shown by lot 34 over lot 30. In these two lots the relative amount of 

 protein in the ration was the same, but the presence of the complete 

 protein, casein, determined a very good growth in lot 34, while in lot 30 

 two of the animals barely lived through the experiment, and the others 

 made but a small growth. 



A very interesting experiment was conducted at the Wisconsin Agri- 

 cultural Experiment Station on sixteen grade Shorthorn heifer calves, 

 divided into four lots of four each, as nearly equal in weight as possible.* 

 The plan of the experiment included subjecting these animals to all of 

 the strain naturally coming to the species, including reproduction and 

 lactation. It was therefore continued through four years at least, be- 

 ginning May 31, 1907. Through this length of time one lot was fed 



Research Bull. No. 17, Wis. Agr'l Expt. Sta. 



