FODDERS AND FEEDS. 167 



it is used directly as a manure, and even in the Northern 

 States it is one of the cheapest sources of organic nitro- 

 gen. Linseed meal, malt sprouts, dried brewers' grains, 

 and a number of others, are much richer in nitrogen than 

 the average commercial fertilizer, though their higher rela- 

 tive cost forbids their direct use as nitrogenous manures. 



Refuse Feeds are Rich in Fertility. Feeds, there- 

 fore, in addition to their food value, possess an actual and 

 sometimes a considerable value as a fertilizer. This point 

 should be carefully regarded in their purchase, and espe- 

 cially as bearing upon the point already emphasized : viz., 

 the exchange of home-grown produce for them; for it is 

 an important fact that the crops grown which contain the 

 highest amount of carbohydrates, and thus in many cases 

 the most desirable to dispose of from the standpoint of 

 economical feeding, are those which contain the smallest 

 amounts of the fertilizing constituents ; while those com- 

 mercial feeds containing protein in large amounts the 

 substance usually deficient in home-grown produce are 

 rich in nitrogen, and often richer also in ash constituents. 

 Hence it is that on farms where stock is kept, a judicious 

 exchange of farm products for concentrated feeds may 

 result in soil improvement, rather than soil exhaustion, 

 even with the continuous sale of crops. It is a' fact, too 

 that the prices of feeds, as well as the crops sold, are 

 governed entirely by market conditions ; that is, no ac- 

 count is made of the fertility value, hence the fertilizer 

 constituents gained by this exchange are a clear gain to 

 the farmer. 



A good example of the advantages of a careful obser- 

 vation of these points is shown by a comparison of corn 



