212 DESCRIPTION OF FEEDING STUFFS 



by Isaachsen, of the Agricultural College of Norway. 4 It is essen- 

 tially a starchy feed, containing about 50 per cent nitrogen-free 

 extract, 42 per cent fiber, and only 3 per cent protein. 



III. Condimental Stock Feeds. Condimental stock feeds, 

 stock tonics, etc., are sold everywhere and in large quantities in 

 the aggregate. In so far as these materials claim to be feeds and 

 to possess actual nutritive properties, they can be dismissed at once, 

 as they are not fed in sufficient quantities to be of any importance 

 whatever as feeds, and are, furthermore, too expensive to be used 

 for this purpose. As regards their value as tonics and medicine, 

 on the other hand, the examinations made of the materials have 

 shown that they do not contain sufficient amounts of substances 

 possessing medicinal properties to have any influence on stock one 

 way or the other. A large bulk (one-half or more) of the stock 

 feeds are made up of some common feeding stuffs, like mill feeds, 

 corn meal, oil meal, ground screenings, etc., and the balance gen- 

 erally consists of salt, charcoal, or sulfur, with a small amount of 

 mild drugs or condiments, like gentian, fenugreek, sassafras, ginger, 

 pepper, etc. The doses of these condiments which an animal re- 

 ceives in an ounce or two of the stock feed, fed as directed, are too 

 small to have any medicinal effect whatever, as they make only a 

 small fraction of the dose recognized by veterinary science, on 

 account of the small proportions in which they are present in the 

 stock feeds. 



The preceding remarks are largely based on theoretical con- 

 siderations, which, however weighty they are, may not settle the 

 matter in the minds of many people. The stock feeds have, however, 

 been tried out at more than a dozen different experiment stations, 

 and the results obtained in the trials are given in the publications 

 of these stations and may be studied by all interested. The author 

 made an investigation of the main stock feeds on the American 

 market several years ago and compiled the results obtained on all 

 experiments that were conducted with them up to that time in 

 this and foreign countries. In these experiments 992 farm animals 

 were included in all, viz., 78 steers, 81 dairy cows, 604 sheep, 112 

 pigs, and 117 hens. Out of the 23 different trials compiled, only two 

 showed the stock feed to possess any merit, and the interpretation 

 of the results of the two exceptions is open to question. The evi- 

 dence is, therefore, practically unanimous against the use of con- 

 dimental stock feeds, and goes to show that, when fed under condi- 



4 Ber. Norges Landbrukshojsk, 1905-6, p. 202; Tidsskr. norske Landbr., 

 1910, No. 10. 



