202 AN AGRICULTURAL WAR PROBLEM 



position and feeding value of the mangold crop was 

 completed some time ago. At the present time the 

 various kinds of straws are under investigation. A 

 preliminary leaflet has been issued and the final 

 report will be ready shortly. 



Turning to the more scientific side of the work, 

 a point already referred to, the varying composi- 

 tion of the proteins of different foods, has received 

 much attention. At present the results achieved 

 have not gone beyond a revision of the methods of 

 protein hydrolysis and separation of the hydrolytic 

 products. Some years of scientific work will be 

 necessary before the information gained is likely to 

 be of practical importance. It is all the more 

 necessary therefore to prosecute the work with all 

 the resources which are available. 



Another point of scientific interest is the obser- 

 vation that the skin temperatures of animals of the 

 same breed kept under similar conditions show con- 

 siderable variations, and that on the whole animals 

 with a high skin temperature convert a smaller 

 proportion of their food into meat than animals 

 with a low skin temperature. A large calorimeter 

 was in process of construction with a view to the 

 pursuit of this line of investigation, but like many 

 other things, its completion must wait for happier 

 times. 



Statistical investigations are in progress on the 

 question of the relation between the amount of 

 food consumed and the amount of meat produced. 



