however, that the addition of considerable quantities of starch, 

 sugar, and similar substances causes a distinct depression in the 

 digestibility of the materials with which they are fed. By digestion 

 depression is meant the checking of the digestion and assimilation 

 of the other feeds. 



A number of experiments have been made to study the influence 

 of Porto Rico molasses upon the digestibility of the other ingredients 

 of the ration. The results thus far secured may be stated briefly.* 



1. When molasses fed together with hay constituted from lo to 

 15 per cent of the total dry matter of the ration, little if any depres- 

 sion was noted. 



2. With molasses composing some 20 per cent of the dry matter 

 of the hay ration, a depression of 4.5 per cent was noted in the 

 digestibility of the hay, the digestibility of the dry matter of the 

 latter being 58 per cent without the molasses and 55.4 per cent 

 with the molasses. 



3. Molasses and hay would not make a satisfactory combination 

 for any kind of farm stock. A more suitable ration would consist 

 of hay, together with one or more protein concentrates and molasses. 

 Consequently the effect of molasses was tested upon a combination 

 of hay and gluten feed. The results of six single trials in which 

 molasses composed from 17 to 24 per cent of the dry matter of the 

 ration (average 20 per cent) show that the dry matter of the combi- 

 nation of hay and gluten without molasses was 72.3 per cent diges- 

 tible and 66.5 per cent digestible when fed with the molasses, hence 

 the molasses caused a depression of 8 per cent in the digestibility of 

 the hay and gluten. 



4. Stated in terms of molasses it may be said that with molasses 

 composing some 20 per cent of the dry matter of the hay-molasses 

 ration, for every 100 grams fed the depression noted was equivalent 



' to 7 per cent of dry matter and 4 per cent of organic matter. 



5. When molasses composed from 17 to 24 per cent of the dry 

 matter of the hay-gluten-molasses ration, for every 100 grams fed the 

 depression noted was equivalent to 17 per cent dry matter and 15 

 per cent organic matter. 



By deducting 15 per cent from the 68 per cent of total organic 



* Nineteenth report of the Massachusetts Experiment Station pages i44-i49- Also unpub- 

 lished data. 



