44 AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. 



He claims that about 2.5 pounds of digestible protein 

 should be contained in the ration fed in order to keep the 

 animal in good condition and to keep up the quantity of 

 milk for the longest possible time. 



Marcker and Morgen,* as a result of their experiments 

 with five difierent herds of cows, claim that more protein 

 than the current usa<je and feedinfic standards call for can 

 be economically fed, thus : — 



Digestible protein ('pounds) , 

 Digestible fat (pounds ^ 

 Digestible carbohydrates (pounds), 

 Nutritive ratio, .... 



3.42 



0.50 

 13.84 

 1:4.4 



While this might be economically true in sections of Ger- 

 many, it does not necessarily hold that it is economically 

 true in Massachusetts. 



Woll f has made quite a thorough inquiry into the rations 

 fed by successful dairymen in different sections of the 

 United States, and calls the average of his results the 

 American standard ration, which he believes to be correct 

 for the larger part of the United States. It is as follows : — 



Digestible protein, . 

 Digestible fat, 

 Digestible carbohydrates, 

 Nutritive ratio, 



2.15 lbs. 

 0.74 " 

 13.27 " 

 1:6.9 



He furnishes no results of experiments to prove this to be 

 the case, simply basing his conclusion upon the opinion of 

 dairy farmers. Whether the judgment of dairy farmers is 

 correct or not we will not at this point express an opinion, 

 ])ut it seems to the writer a rather peculiar position for a 

 scientific inquirer to take. 



During the winters of 1892-93 and 1893-94 Messrs. 

 Woods and Phelps | made investigations concerning the 



* Il(5sum6 in Experiment Station Record, March, 1892. 

 t Bulletin No. 38, Wisconsin Experiment Station. 

 J Bulletin No. 13, Storr's Experiment Station. 



