HYGIENIC EXAMINATION 133 



If the total sample material greatly exceeds four pounds in weight, it should be 

 spread out on a large, clean sheet of paper and carefully and thoroughly mixed. 

 The mass should then be spread out into a layer about one inch thick and four 

 pounds of the same removed for a sample. The entire thickness of the layer should 

 be used in making the sample. This is necessary in order to include the finer par- 

 ticles, like sand, etc., which are apt to be found in the lower portions of the layer 

 or next to the paper. Lumpy portions appearing in the samples should not be 

 crushed. 



Wet or spoiled sacks should not be included in the general sample, but should be 

 sampled separately. It is also permissible to take the required number of sacks, 

 empty them on a clean floor and mix the entire mass thoroughly, .level off in a layer 

 about one foot in thickness and then by means of a scoop, as described above, take 

 a mixed sample from at least twenty different places, but not from the edges of the 

 mass. When the suspected error is of especial importance this method is preferable 

 to the one first described. 



If the material is delivered in bulk, on a pile, the latter should be reduced to a 

 level mass, about one foot thick, and samples taken in the same manner. 



c. The samples thus procured should be divided into three sub-samples of at 

 least one-half pound each. The latter are then placed into dry nonporous containers, 

 preferably of tin or glass, hermetically closed, sealed and marked with the char- 

 acter of the contents. One sample is sent to the experiment station, the second is 

 kept by the consignee, in a dry place, for possible future use, and the third sample 

 is held at the disposal of the seller or shipper. 



d. A copy of the foregoing instructions for taking the sample shall be furnished 

 by the seller to accompany the shipment of a feeding stuff, in addition to an affidavit 

 by the seller, in which is indicated the brand, sack number, weight and guaranty of 

 contents, as well as car number (or name of ship or boit) and name of shipper. In 

 disputed cases, samples are not recognized as valid without such affidavit. 



Agreements As to Classification for Quality or Grade 



1. Qualitative tests of all feeding stuffs shall be required when they contain more 

 than normal percentages of sand or mineral admixtures. When these exceed 1 per 

 cent, quantitative determinations shall be made by incineration and extracting with 

 hydrochloric acid, and the results reported to the sender of the sample. 



2. The Standing Committee on Feeding Stuffs recommends that, in the analysis 

 of all brans, the presence or absence of apparently rninjured weed seeds, be re- 

 ported. When these are present, attention should be directed to the fact that they 

 are indications of adulteration with screenings. The determination of the number 

 of seeds per kilogram and their l;otanical identification shall be a matter of choice 

 or judgment. 



3. If smut spores are present in excessive numbers, attention should be called to 

 this fact. 



Hygienic Examination 



In detennining the hygienic condition^^ of feeding stuffs, greatest stress should 

 be placed on purity and soundness. The only occasion offered the veterinarian to 

 express an opinion in regard lo the hygienic condition of feeding stuffs is when 

 disease or illness follows its ingestion. In such cases the samples examined are 

 chosen as far as possible from those parts of the feed that have caused the injury. 

 In such cases there is no object in taking general samples, or "average" samples. 

 This is a different matter from the selection of a sample of feeding stuff proposed 

 for purchase. In the latter case an "average'' sample would be sought. 



For examining concentrates for the purposes here in view we resort to (1) chem- 

 ical, (2) biological (serological). (3) above all, microscopical methods and (4) 

 animal inoculation. 



It would be necessary to go far beyond the scope of this work if we should un- 

 dertake to treat this subject with any degree of completeness. We shall therefore 

 limit ourselves to the giving of a few hints and refer the reader to the text books 

 or handbooks of Beyhien, Hartwich and Klimmer, Koenig, and Boehmer. 



iSExaminations or analyses of this character are made by all hygienic institutes of veterinary 

 colleges as well as by the agricultural experiment stations (in Germany). 



