46 AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. 



value is involved ; for it is an undeniable fact that the rela- 

 tive commercial value of fodder articles does not necessarily 

 coincide with their relative feeding value ; it rarely does. 

 This circumstance arises from the tact that both are deter- 

 mined by different standards. The commercial or money 

 value oi fodder articles, as far as they enter the general 

 market, is regulated like that of other articles of merchan- 

 dise, by supply and demand ; the greater the former and the 

 less the latter, the lower is the market price, etc. ; the 

 relative money value of a given quantity can l)e expressed 

 for the same locality by one definite sum. 



The feeding value or nutritive value of a fodder article 

 refers especially to its feeding effect ; it depends usually 

 on the co-operation of a series of varying conditions, some- 

 times more or less beyond our control. Foremost among 

 these are : — 



1. A higher degree of adaptation with reference to par- 

 ticular kind and organization of the animal under consider- 

 ation ; its age and functions, etc. 



2. The chemical composition and the general physical 

 conditions, depending on stage of growth, mechanical prepa- 

 ration, etc., of the fodder ingredients to be used. 



3. Whether the article constitutes the sole diet, or 

 serves as a more or less prominent part of the daily diet. 

 The feeding effect of most fodder articles is more or less 

 modified by, and thus in a controlling degree dependent on, 

 the character of the associated ingredients in the daily diet. 



These few remarks suffice to show that the comparative 

 feeding value of one and the same fodder article, even when 

 of a stable composition, cannot be fully expressed by one 

 numerical value. The practice of stating the comparative 

 feeding value of current fodder articles with reference to that 

 of good English hay equal to 100, has been for years aban- 

 doned, as devoid of any substantial support. There is no 

 single fodder article on record which furnishes the best diet — 

 i. e., the cheapest and at the same time most nutritive 

 food — for even the same class of animals, under differ- 

 ent circumstances. Both net cost of feed and its relative 

 nutritive or feeding effect under existing circumstances, have 

 to be consulted when aimins: at an economical diet for farm 



