308 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS 



meal is $27.82, while of corn it is but $6.56, or one- 

 fourth as much. To the man who is obliged to buy 

 either corn or cottonseed meal this should be con- 

 clusive that it is in his interest, both from the stand- 

 point of feed and of manure, to purchase the cotton- 

 seed meal. 



Value of Farm Manures. The character of the 

 food determines the value of manure. The animal 

 can add nothing. In the undigested portions the 

 fertilizing materials are voided, while of that ab- 

 sorbed into the system, such amounts are appropri- 

 ated as are needed. In case of animals neither gain- 

 ing nor losing in weight for instance, farm horses 

 that just hold their own as much fertilizer mate- 

 rials are returned in solid and liquid excrement as 

 are taken in the food from day to day. In this case, 

 if the manure is wholly returned to the land, the 

 entire food supply serves as fertilizing material. 



Young and growing animals and those furnishing 

 wool or milk, retain considerable amounts of the 

 nitrogen and the ash constituents. Fattening ani- 

 mals that are nearly mature retain but small 

 amounts of nitrogen and ash. These facts are in 

 dicated in the table by Warrington given on th< 

 next page. 



The amount of ash constituents of the food stored 

 up in the body is very small. As seen in the table, 

 fattening oxen retain but 2.3 per cent, fattening 

 sheep 3.8 per cent, and fattening pigs 4 per cent. 

 Milk cows retain more; this is to be found in the 

 milk. The young calf puts into bone and muscles 

 over one-half of the ash of its food. As for nitro- 



