72 AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. 



The above-stated market cost is subject to periodical 

 changes, and the commercial value of their fertilizing con- 

 stituents varies more or less with the quality of each kind. 

 This feature does not affect materially the force of the point 

 made. 



A due appreciation of the previously pointed out favorable 

 features regarding the peculiar character of a numerous class 

 of commercial feed stuifs has caused a steady increase in 

 their consumption on the farm and elsewhere. The money 

 invested hy farmers for securing commercial feed stuffs as an 

 additional food supply for home consumption exceeds to-day 

 many times the amount spent for cojnynercial fertilizers. 



As no single commercial feed stuff can be expected to meet 

 our present demand for these articles, nor can claim to be 

 the most economical one under varying market conditions, and 

 with due appreciation of the varying character of our home- 

 raised fodder supply, it is but proper that every new addi- 

 tion in suitable kinds should receive a deserved attention, 

 and subsequently an actual trial to ascertain its individual 

 merits. 



A considerable number of these feed stuffs has already 

 been tried at this station during past years, in connection 

 with our feeding experiments with milch cows, growing 

 steers, lambs and pigs, as may have been noticed in our 

 periodical reports ; others are at present on trial. The ar- 

 ticles used on those occasions were as a rule bought in the 

 ofeneral market. A still larger number of different kinds 

 have been analyzed by us at the request of farmers and 

 dealers in feed stuffs ; the samples were usually sent on for 

 that })urpose. In regard to the former, there can be no 

 reasonable doubt about their identity ; as far as the latter are 

 concerned, the responsibility of furnishing fair representa- 

 tive samples rests in some instances with the parties asking 

 for the analyses. 



The results of our analyses of commercial feed stufis are 

 embodied in the subsequent tabular statement. The record 

 of the analyses is here purposely confined to the extremes 

 noticed, as far as the percentage o(fat and nitrogen-contain- 

 ing organic matter or crude protein are concerned, to engage 

 a special attention in that direction : — 



