Sept. 17. 1917 Energy Values of Hominy Feed and Maize Meal 609 



The results obtained in experiment 179, period 3, appear to have been 

 abnormally low. The average of the 6 others, compared with Henry and 

 Morrison's average of 12 experiments, is as follows (Table XV) : 



Table XV. — Average percentage digestibility of maize meal 



Constituent. 



Dry matter 



Organic matter 



Total nitrogen 



True protein 



Crude fiber 



Nitrogen-free extract 



Ether extract 



Energy 



Henry and 



Morrison's 



average. 



90 



74 



57 

 94 

 93 



Our averages are slightly lower than Henry and Morrison's. The 

 latter did not include in their compilation experiments in which the 

 nutritive ratio of the total ration was i to 12 or wider.^ In all but one of 

 our six experiments the nutritive ratio approached or passed i to 12, 

 and this may account for the slightly lower digestibility. On the other 

 hand, the lower digestibility in such cases appears to be due to a con- 

 siderable extent to lessened fermentation of the carbohydrates and a 

 correspondingly decreased loss of energy in methane, so that, as the 

 writers have pointed out, a certain degree of compensation occurs as to 

 the energy values and particularly as to the metabolizable energy per 

 unit of digestible organic matter (2, p. 446, 451). It appears probable, 

 therefore, that the factors for the latter quantity obtained in our ex- 

 periments may be applied safely to other experiments also. 



The metabolizable energy of maize meal in our experiments, com- 

 puted as in Table IX (omitting experiment 179, period 3), was as shown 

 in Table XVI. Henry and Morrison's results afford no data for a com- 

 parison of this sort. 



Table XVI. — Metabolizable energy of maize ineal 



Experiment No. 



Experiment 179, Period 4 



Experiment 211, Period 2 



Experiment 211, Period 3 



Experiment 220, Period 3 



Experiment 220, Period 4 



Experiment 220, Period 5 



Average 



' Private communication. 



