90 AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. 



value, of the article cannot be expressed by a definite sum ; 

 it varies with a more or less judicious application, and de- 

 pends also, to a considerable degree, on its adaptation under 

 varying circumstances. 



To secure the most satisfactory returns from feeding our 

 home-raised fodder crops, is as important a question as that 

 of raising them in an economical manner. The question 

 whether one or the other fodder mixture will prove, ulti- 

 mately, under otherwise corresponding circumstances, the 

 cheapest one, can only be answered intelligently when both 

 the original cost of the feed consumed, and the value of the 

 manurial residue subsequently obtained, are duly considered. 



The composition of the various articles of food used in 

 farm practice exerts a decided influence on the manurial 

 value of the animal excretions, resulting from their use in 

 the diet of different kinds of farm live-stock. The more 

 potash, phosphoric acid, and, in particular, nitrogen, a fod- 

 der contains, the more valuable will be, under otherwise 

 corresponding circumstances, the manurial residue left 

 behind, after it has served its purpose as a constituent of the 

 food consumed. 



As the financial success in most farm management depends, 

 in a considerable degree, on the amount, the character and 

 the cost of the manurial refuse material secured in connec- 

 tion With the special farm industry carried on, it needs no 

 further argument to prove that the relations which exist 

 between the composition of the fodder and the value of the 

 manure resulting deserves the careful consideration of the 

 farmer, when devising an efficient and at the same time an 

 economical diet for his live-stock. 



Fodder Corn and Corn Ensilage. 



In the fourth annual report on the work of the Experiment 

 Station, it was stated that a series of tests carried out Avith 

 plants taken from our fields had demonstrated the fact that 

 the vegetable matter in the variety of corn on trial (Clark) 

 had increased from fifty to one hundred per cent, in actual 

 weight between the time of the first appearance of the tassel 

 .and the beginning of the kernels to glaze. It was found 



