110 THE SCIENTIFIC FEEDING OF ANIMALS 



molasses, but in this respect peat has no advantage over easily procurable 

 digestible absorbents. Peat has a tendency to increase the keeping qual- 

 ities of molasses, but oil cake, malt sprouts, brewers' grains, etc., have 

 the same advantages. Ground straw and molasses (in the proportion of 

 1 to 3) also has good keeping qualities. Peat-meal molasses contains 80 

 per cent of molasses and has proved suitable or wholesome for horses, 

 cattle, swine and calves. 



The objection to peat-molasses which have just been enumerated apply 

 also to the commercial "Klimaxmelasse," which is a compound of horse- 

 chestnut meal, twig meal and molasses. So-called pepton feed, which 

 contains no peptone, is not much better. It consists of molasses, blood 

 and the stomach contents of slaughtered animals. So-called milk-mo- 

 lasses contains about 50 per cent of molasses and the curd of skim milk, 

 peanut shells, oat hulls, potato pulp and sometimes a little inferior bran. 

 Blood-molasses consists of molasses, small amounts of dried blood, and 

 peanut shells, millet-seed hulls, rice and oat hulls, which latter are all 

 more or less indigestible. 



So-called Hansa-blood-molasses contains, according to Zellner, 18 per 

 cent protein and fat and 20 per cent sugar. "Cibus" is the trade name 

 of a mixture of molasses and converted cellulose. "Tumelin" is a mix- 

 ture of beet-sugar molasses and cornstalks with an addition of linseed 

 meal and phosphate of lime. "Tutolin" contains cornstalks, salt, phos- 

 phate of lime and, for the greater part, molasses. Molasses cakes con- 

 sist of potato pulp, rye bran and molasses. 



Valuation. — In feeding molasses mixtures the molasses content and the 

 character and wholesomeness of the absorbents must be taken into con- 

 sideration. Compounds of which the absorbents are unknown should 

 be avoided. Their cost is frequently out of all proportion to their real 

 value. Very frequently good money is expended for peanut and millet 

 hulls, potato peelings, rice chaff, ground fruit pits, sawdust, etc.; in a 

 word, refuse, that no one with good sense would pick up from the street 

 to use as feed for his cattle (Kellner). Not only entirely worthless but 

 very frequently spoiled and injurious substances are mixed with mo- 

 lasses and sold to the unsuspecting consumer. It is necessary that every 

 purchase of mixtures of this character be examined as to the nature of 

 its contents and that a guaranty of the composition, protein, fat, sugar 

 and water accompany the same. The water content is of importance 

 because upon it depend the keeping qualities of the mixture. In peat- 

 molasses the water content should not exceed 25 per cent and in other 

 molasses mixtures 20 per cent. The objectionable features of these mix- 

 tures may be overcome by purchasing the pure molasses and making 

 home mixtures, or by various club arrangements. A saving of actual 

 money is also accomplished by such procedure. 



"Roborin concentrate feed" is another molasses mixture that should 

 be mentioned here. It contains, besides 9 per cent of sugar, a lime- 

 blood-albumen preparation (47 per cent albumen, 12 per cent mineral 



