BULLETIN 147 



THE INSPECTION OF FEEDING-STUFFS 



The inspection of eoniinereial feeding-stuffs is becoming 

 fully as important as the inspection of commercial fertili- 

 zers, and more difficult to execute. While the fertilizer 

 trade is limited to about two months in the year and the 

 number of different brands is nearly the same every year, 

 the feeding-stuffs are being shipped into the state through- 

 out the twelve months and new brands are appearing with 

 almost every shipment. 



This year there were found eighty-four brands duly 

 licensed according to law, and twenty-nine brands unmen- 

 tioned in the lists filed by the manufacturers and jobbers 

 Avith the Secretary of the Board of Agriculture. 



Our present law controlling the sale of feeding-stuff's is 

 defective in several points as shown by experience with its 

 workings. The most prominent defects are its provision for 

 a license fee and its requirements regarding guarantees. 



The provision for a license fee now in effect is unjust to 

 the small manufacturer and yields too little revenue with 

 which to conduct the inspection. xVll manufacturers pay a 

 license fee, which is as large for the miller with one brand 

 of mixed feed, as it is for the jobber who is putting forth 

 ten brands or even more. If the money for the enforcement 

 of the law is to be raised by license fees, there should be 

 one for every brand, but no larger than is necessary to pay 

 the cost of the inspection. 



It has been found by experience that guarantees of pro- 

 tein and fat are not sufficient to insure good materials, 

 since much cheap roughage may ])e mixed with a moderate 

 amount of a concentrated by-product as cottonseed meal, 

 and the percentages of protein and fat will compare favora- 

 bly with those for wheat bran, while the price is usually a 

 little lower. Analysis will show a high percentage of fibre, 

 however, which means a . lower rate of digestibility than 

 that of the standard well known cattle-foods. For example, 

 some of the molasses feeds have been found to contain four- 

 teen per cent, of crude fibre, and though this is an im- 

 provement, because they formerly carried as much as 



