157 



crops as food for cattle, I have been requested to present 

 the subject to the society, in the form of an essay or report. 



The reason why our farmers do not make practical tests 

 and present the results to the society, is not for lack of in- 

 terest in this subject, but because of the difficulty in ob- 

 taining satisfactory data upon which to base an opinion that 

 would become authority under different conditions and 

 localities. Even our experiment stations caution our far- 

 mers against taking their statements as authority under all 

 conditions, for the value of any crop as food for cattle 

 depends as much upon the cost of producing it, as upon its 

 intrinsic value of nutrition, and the cost of producing a 

 crop, depends upon the quality of the soil, and its adapta- 

 tion to certain crops, and its entire unfitness for other 

 crops. And then the location of the land is an important 

 factor of expense in the production of a crop. Land that 

 is located so near the city or village, as to be worth from 

 five to ten hundred dollars per acre, could not be used for 

 pasturing, or for a corn crop, no matter how nutritious the 

 crop produced might be. A crop that might be produced 

 with but little expense for labor, manure and land cost, 

 would be of great value to the poor farmer, even though its 

 intrinsic value, judged by its per cent, of nutrition, might 

 not be as great as some other crops, that it would be impos- 

 sible for him to produce under his conditions and environ- 

 ments. And then the value of any crop is increased or 

 diminished by the results to be realized. One kind of food 

 may be of great value in producing milk, while quite a 

 different crop would be requisite in producing beef, and 

 still another crop entirely different, would be valuable as 

 food for growing stock, such as colts, and calves, and lambs. 

 So it will be seen, that the value of any crop aa food for 

 cattle, depends upon the results to be realized. 



And still further, the value of any crop as food for cattle 

 depends upon the condition of the animal to be fed, as to 

 its healthfulness or its unhealthfulness. It would be more 

 than waste to give a heavy, nutritious food to a dyspeptic 



