104 EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. 



The nutritive ratio of the two hay and gluten-feed rations 

 with which the molasses was fed varied from 1: 5.5 to 1: 7.5, 

 hence the nutrients may be considered satisfactorily propor- 

 tioned. After the addition of the molasses the rations were 

 widened from 1:6 to 1 : 9.7 ; most of them could not be consid- 

 ered unduly wide. In two of the three experiments reported by 

 Lehmann the rations were quite narrow, due to the j)resence of 

 so much cottonseed meal. So far as one is able to judge, the 

 width of the ration did not bear any direct relation to the 

 depression observed. In all of the experiments reported mo- 

 lasses constituted from 6 per cent, to approximately 32 per cent, 

 of the dry matter of the total ration. 



It is noted that when molasses made up from 9 to IG per 

 cent, of the dry matter of the ration, the depression averaged 

 32.1 grams of organic matter per 100 grams of fresh molasses; 

 when molasses composed about 20 per cent, of the dry matter of 

 the ration, in case of eight single trials, it averaged approxi- 

 mately 15.5 grams of organic matter per 100 grams of molasses. 

 The average of all of our experiments, excepting the first, show 

 a depression of 21.8 grams of organic matter per 100 grams of 

 fresh molasses. Lehmann's experiments show that w^hen beet 

 molasses composed 18 per cent, of the dry matter of the ration, 

 the depression was 22.2 grams of organic matter per 100 grams 

 of molasses. This depression decreased to 7.4 grams of organic 

 matter per 100 grams of molasses when molasses composed some 

 30 per cent, of the dry matter of the ration. 



Results of a similar character are secured when one calculates 

 the depression on the basis of the percentage of the dry matter 

 of the molasses fed. When it composed 9 to 16 per cent, of the 

 dry matter of the total ration, the depression or loss was equiva- 

 lent to nearly 50 per cent, of the amount fed. When, however, 

 20 per cent, of the dry matter of the total ration consisted of 

 molasses, the depression equaled only 24 per cent. In case of 

 Lehmann's results, the depression decreased from 28.5 to 9.5 

 per cent. 



The percentage loss in digestibility of the feeds with which 

 the molasses was fed proved to be reasonably constant. The 

 average percentage loss in case of twelve experiments, including 

 nine of our own and three of Lehmann's, was 7.86. In most 



