360 AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY 



corn would also contain about 44,000 more calories. At 

 the prices given, corn rather than oats would more eco- 

 nomically form the larger portion of a grain ration for 

 work-horses, beef and dairy animals, and swine and sheep. 

 For growing animals, however, a large amount of corn 

 is not desirable. 



In deciding the comparative value of foods on the basis 

 of their nutrient content, preference should usually be 

 given to the protein, but when the difference in digestible 

 protein is small, the preference should be given to the 

 food containing the largest amount of available carbo- 

 hydrates and number of calories. Comparisons between 

 foods which are too unlike in character of nutrients can- 

 not safely be made. It is not possible to assign an abso- 

 lute value to any food upon the basis of any one or all 

 of its digestible nutrients, because the comparative value 

 of the different nutrients has not, as yet, been definitely 

 ascertained. In the selection of foods, it will frequently 

 be found that a given sum of money can best be invested 

 in the purchase of two foods, one nitrogenous and the 

 other non- nitrogenous, rather than in the purchase of 

 one. The results of actual feeding standards should also 

 be considered before definitely selecting foods. When 

 both the available nutrients and the results of feeding ex- 

 periments are considered, an accurate idea of the compara- 

 tive cost and value of grains and milled products can be 

 formed. 



Problem. Complete the following table and calculate the avail- 

 able nutrients and calories that can be procured for $i when the 

 various foods are at different prices. In making the calculations, 



