FEEDING THE STOCK 105 



It is not necessarily the cheapest foods that will do 

 this. 



The Use of Scales. In this connection, it may be 

 well to call attention to the farm scales, something 

 that should be found on every well-regulated farm. 

 The farmer may, then, from time to time, experiment 

 with different feeds, both as to quantity and kind, and 

 by frequent weighings of the animals so fed, determine 

 the effect of such feeding. Besides, scales are very 

 handy in selling produce, weighing milk and in a thou- 

 sand and one other ways. They are comparatively in- 

 expensive, and will, with proper use, pay for them- 

 selves in a very short time. 



Experimental Study of Foods. 



1. Starch and sugar are pure carbohydrates. Get 

 some samples of these, label them and start a collec- 

 tion of carbohydrates. Add to this collection samples 

 of foods rich in sugar and starch. Corn, wheat, rye, 

 barley, mixed hay, silage, and all kinds of straw may 

 be classed as carbohydrate foods. Place these sam- 

 ples in bottles and label them properly. 



2. To test seeds for starch, pulverize the seeds, boil 

 them in water for some time, and soak a piece of cot- 

 ton cloth in the water. Take out the cloth, dry, and 

 iron it. Is it stiff or "starchy" ? If so, where did the 

 starch come from ? 



3. Test corn, oats, wheat and rye for starch. Pul- 

 verize a few seeds, pour over them a little boiling 

 water, let stand a short time, and add a drop of iodine. 



