174 ALFALFA. 
These were weighed and sampled at the close of each day. 
The samples of the food and of the excrements were dried 
and analyzed. The methods of analysis used throughout 
this work were those adopted by the Association of Official 
Agricultural Chemists. The calories were determined by 
combustion in an Atwater. Blakeslee calorimeter. The heat 
of combustion of the daily samples of urine were determined 
in all cases except in the fifth trial and in the trial with hog 
millet. From the composition of the food thus determined 
and the total weight of food eaten by the animal during the 
four days, the total amounts of each of the food nutrients 
consumed were calculated. In the same way, the total 
amount of nutrients in the dung for the four days was de- 
termined. The difference in the amounts found in the dung 
and that found in the food eaten represents the amounts 
digested. This difference divided by the total amounts of 
nutrients consumed and the result multiplied by 100 gives 
the percentage digested. Five separate trials of four days 
each were made using in all, the same two steers. 
In the first trial, the animals were fed first crop alfalfa 
hay of fair quality. This was cut in a feed cutter and the 
steers were fed all that they would eat up clean which 
amounted to almost 16 pounds of dry matter daily per steer. 
In the second trial, the daily ration consisted of 16 
pounds alfalfa hay from the same lot as that used in the first 
experiment, and 5 pounds of corn meal. In the third trial, 
the daily ration consisted of about 42 pounds of green alfal- 
fa, third cutting. In the fourth trial, the daily ration con- 
sisted of 16 pounds of alfalfa hay, 5 pounds barley meal and 
15 pounds mangels. In the fifth trial, the daily ration was a 
duplicate of the ration of thesecond trial, viz.: alfalfa hay and 
corn meal, with theaddition of about two tablespoonfuls of 
International Stock Food.* The object of this last trial was 
to determine the effect of a condimental food on the digesti- 
bility of aration. A detailed account of the method of making 
these digestion trials and calculating the results is given in 
the Annual Report and also in a supplement to this bulletin. 
The results of these five trials are given in the following 
table: 
* According to the Connecticut Experiment Station this material contains 
wheat feed, cayenne pepper, charcoal, salt and a bitter drug resembling gentian. 
