12 THOMAS MACFAELANE : 



herein Canada, and might tend to our reassurance, although even favorable results should 

 not cause us to slacken any efforts we may be making for utilising the waste matters from 

 our cities. 



I have alluded to the possible waste which takes place in applying nitrogen, phos- 

 phoric acid, and potash, to crops, and to the uncertainty which prevails as to their right 

 application. It is satisfactory to be able to state that our knowledge is much more 

 precise as regards another trio of substances of great importance to the farmer. These 

 are the albumeuoids, fats, and carbo-hydrates, present in the fodder supplied to live stock. 

 Thanks to the indefatigable industry of German agricultural and physiological chemists, 

 a new science has been created during the last twenty-five years, the teachings of which 

 have recently been set forth in Dr. Emil "Wolff's " Fiitterungslehre," or science of stock- 

 feeding. Its foundations were indeed laid as early as 1843 by Liebig and Boussingault, 

 but the superstructure has been the work of later chemists, such as Voit, Bischof, Petten- 

 kofer, Henueberg, Haubner, Stohmanu, Soxhlet, Wolff, Konig, Grouven, and others, most 

 of them officially connected with the experiment stations of Germany. Perhaps, indeed, 

 the extraordinaiy progress made has been in consec[uence of the establishment of these 

 institutions, of which there are now not less than fifty in active operation. By extraor- 

 dinary industry in the analysis of every variety of fodder, and by the most patient and 

 painstaking experiments as regards their digestibility, the authorities in this new science 

 have now established so-called " Fiitterungsnormen," or feeding standards, by the use of 

 which, cattle can be sustained, milk or wool produced, working animals fed, young stock 

 raised or oxen fattened in such a manner as to derive the absolutely greatest advantage 

 from the fodder consumed. These feeding standards prescribe for various animals, under 

 various circumstances, the proper quantities per day, and per 1,000 lbs. live weight, which 

 the rations should contain of albumen oids, fat and carbo-hydrates, and which correspond 

 to certain proportions between the nitrogenous and non-nitrogenous constituents of the 

 fodder. It is claimed that, by using these standards in conjunction with the analysis of 

 the various fodders, agriculturists can avoid all loss of material in the feeding of their 

 animals, and utilise the constituents of the fodder to the fullest possible extent. Since 

 the principles of this new science are even now well established, and since practical 

 farmers are for the most part unaware of their existence, it follows that in our Canadian 

 stock- feeding, much waste of feeding material may be going on. It especially appears to 

 be the case that by failing to provide the animals with a comparatively small, regular, 

 auxiliary supply (BeifuUer) of nitrogenous food, their digesting capacités are not fully 

 taken advantage of It behoves the farmer to look closely into the matter, although it 

 must be admitted that the way is not made very smooth for him. The professors of the 

 science have been so intent on advancing and establishing its theories, that they have left 

 the practical man far behind. Yet we very well know that the mass of information 

 accumulated, and the theories proposed, however reliable, can never replace the practical 

 experience of the stock-raiser. Nor, indeed, are they intended to do this, but to help him 

 in his work and give him a better foundation for his calculations. It is to be hoped that 

 the operations of the new experiment stations, or model farms, which our Government 

 is establishing will be able to lessen the gap which at present exists between the theory 

 and practice of cattle-feeding, tend to establish confidence among our farmers in the 

 teachings of science, and assist in preventing waste in the use of agricultural products. 



