258 THE FEEDING EXPERIMENTS 



valuable as a food because of the carbohydrates and fat it 

 contains, has but a low manure value, since it is comparatively 

 poor in nitrogen and ash constituents. Thus the custom of 

 paying half the last year's cake bill would result in paying too 

 highly for linseed cake and maize and too little for cotton cake 

 consumed on the farm. 



As an appreciation of these facts gradually spread among 

 practical men in consequence of the Rothamsted pubhcations, 

 and as recently legislation rendered it imperative to put this 

 question of compensation due to the outgoing tenant on a sound 

 scientific basis, the matter has latterly received more attention 

 from farmers and professional valuers. More data have also 

 been accumulated as to the nature and extent of the inevitable 

 losses of nitrogen in manure making, so that it has been possible 

 to construct a modified version of the original compensation 

 table, which now seems to be generally accepted in principle by 

 the valuers chiefly concerned. 



VII. — Miscellaneous Feeding Experiments. 



The above summary by no means exhausts the many 

 experiments upon animal feeding which were carried on at 

 Rothamsted. One set of trials, for example, was arranged to 

 test the relative values of starch and sugar as foods, with the 

 result tliat they were found to l^e sensibly equal, as we should 

 nowadays expect in the light of the equal calorific value and 

 similar chemical composition of these foods. 



Other trials chiefly dealt with jDractical points, as for 

 example the long series of trials on the comparative fattening 

 qualities of different breeds of sheep — Hampshires, Southdowns, 

 Cots wolds, Leicesters, and crossbred Leicester- Southdowns 

 being selected for the purpose. 



Experiments on the use of condiments in cattle feeding 

 proved of great practical value, as they showed the exaggerated 

 nature of the claims which were being advanced by the 

 manufacturers of some of the patented cattle foods. 



Other feeding experiments dealt with the comparative value 



