A FEW REMARKS ABOUT FEED STUFFS 



attractive names and the manufacturers make great claims re- 

 garding their curative properties. 



The following is taken from Bui. 106, Mass. Exp. Station. 



"Cost and Selling Price Compared. None of the mineral drugs 

 used in these feeds except nitre, cost much over a cent a pound, 

 and the vegetable drugs vary in price from 3 to 12 cents a pound. 

 The cost of condimental feeds rarely exceeds 2 to 3 cents a pound. 

 The retail prices vary from 6 to 25 cents a pound, depending on 

 the \brand and quantity purchased. Condition powders are 

 much higher priced, from 30 cents to $i a pound. 



Value. "The food value of these feeds has been shown by 

 experiments to be no greater than that of ordinary grains of 

 which they are largely composed. Their medicinal value de- 

 pends largely upon the aromatic seeds and roots used as a tonic 

 for the stomach, on charcoal as an absorbent, and on the purga- 

 tive effect of the Epsom or Glauber's salts. The quantity re- 

 commended to be fed daily is usually so small (one ounce or less) 

 that very little effect can be expected unless the material is fed 

 for a considerable length of time. While it is probably true that 

 some of these stock foods may prove beneficial under certain con- 

 ditions, it is also true that most of them are heterogeneous mix- 

 tures and evidently put together by parties quite ignorant of the 

 principles of animal physiology, pathology and veterinary medi- 

 cine. 



"Dr. Paige, very pointedly expresses the most advanced views 

 of the veterinary profession when he says, animals in a state of 

 health do not need condition powders or tonic foods. There is in 

 the body of a healthy animal a condition of equilibrium of all 

 body functions. The processes of digestion and assimilation are 

 at their best. All that is required to maintain this condition of 

 balance, is that the animal be kept under sanitary conditions and 

 receive a sufficient supply of healthful nutritive food and pure 

 water. While tonics may improve the appetite so that the animal 

 will temporarily consume and digest more food, should this in- 

 creased quantity of nutrients consumed not be appropriated by 

 the tissues of the body, harm may result from thus over-loading 



