BREEDS OF BEEF CATTLE 331 



able quantities of mustard hulls, cocoa shells and weed seeds are 

 noted, used evidently as a filler. 



The poultry foods more frequently reveal the presence of from 

 10 to 50 per cent of ground oyster shells or noticeable quantities of 

 ground bone, which accounts for the exceptionally high ash per- 

 centage. 



Nutritive and Commercial Values of the Food Ingredients. It 

 having been shown that the bulk of these foods is made up of or- 

 dinary ground grains and by-products, it must be evident to all that 

 they cannot have a greater nutritive value than is to 'be found in the 

 materials of which they are composed. The extravagant claims 

 made by the manufacturers concerning their wonderful nutritive 

 properties is in no way substantiated by the analytical results. It 

 also must be clear that their commercial value from a nutritive 

 standpoint cannot exceed 1 to 1% cents a pound. Certainly no one 

 would entertain the idea of purchasing these mixtures, at the prices 

 asked, because of any particular nutritive value they may possess. 



Character of Medicinal Ingredients. In addition to the various 

 cereals and by-products, these foods contain small quantities of a 

 variety of substances, most of which possess simple medicinal qual- 

 ities, to which it is understood is attributed the wonderful nutntive 

 and curative properties claimed for them. The condition powders, 

 so called, generally contain larger quantities of these medicines than 

 the stock and poultry mixtures. The medicinal substances are de- 

 scribed as follows: 



Fenugreek and fennel are the ground seeds of plants grown in 

 southern Europe, known botanically as Trigonclla Fanum Groecum 

 and Fceniculum vulgare. They are aromatic substances, used to ex- 

 cite the action of the stomach, thereby relieving indigestion and gas, 

 and also to impart an agreeable flavor. The quantity used is com- 

 paratively small. 



Anise or Aniseed (Pimpenella Anisum) is the seed of a plant 

 cultivated in Spain and Malta. It has a pleasant warm taste and an 

 agreeable odor, and is used for much the same purpose as fenugreek. 



Gentian, occasionally recognized, is the dried root of the plant 

 known as Gentiana lutia, and is grown in central and southern 

 Europe. It is very bitter, and is used as a stomach tonic, promoting 

 an increased secretion of the gastric juice. 



Ginger is the powdered underground stem of Zingiber officinale, 

 grown principally in India and the West Indies. It stimulates the 

 various membranes with which it comes in contact, and is used as an 

 appetizer and to reduce the griping effects of purgatives. 



Pepper, the common black form, is obtained from the brown 

 berries of an East India climbing plant, Piper nigrum. Cayenne 

 pepper consists of the dried ripe fruit of Capsicum fastigiatum and 

 (tit a mn. Both kinds are used as a stomachic and to increase the ac- 

 tivity of the reproductive organs. Salt, of which many of the mix- 

 tures contained from 2 to 20 per cent, was used as an appetizer. 

 8ul fates of magnesia and soda, in the form of Epsom and Glauber's 

 salts, are purgatives, and are frequently spoken of as salts. Saltpeter, 



