it was found that feeding skim milk or creamery buttermilk and corn- 

 meal in connection witli wheat liran and gluten meal, as described in the 

 Fifth Annual Report experiments III, IV, V, VI. VII. had lessened the 

 net cost of production of dressed pork. This reduction appeared, how- 

 ever, to be due in the majority of experiments (III, IV, V. and VI) 

 rather to a higher commercial value of the manurial refuse resulting, 

 than to a higher nutritive effect of the stated change in the charac- 

 ter of the diet. Tlie results obtained in the seventh experiment, alone, 

 furnished an exception to this circumstance ; for in this case the 

 smallest quantity of the total weight of the dry feed consumed 

 showed not only a liigh commercial value of the manurial refuse result- 

 ing, hut also the highest, mitritive effect. The sulisequent reprinted 

 summary of the seven experiments may serve as a further illustration 

 of the previous discusson. 



Summary of ExPEraMENTS II, III, IV, V, VI, VII. 



From the above summary it is apparent that the course of feeding 

 adopted in the seventh ex[)eriment has given the most satisfactory 

 pecuniary results ; for the net cost of feed consumed amounted to 

 3.39 cents i)er pound of dressed pork produced, after allowing a loss 

 of thirty per cent, of the manurial value of the feed, in consequence 

 of the growth of the animal. As we sold our dressed pork for from 

 5i to 7^ cents per i)ouud, we received from 1.5 to 3.5 cents for labor, 

 housing, etc. 



The statement, that an addition ofgluten meal, or of wheat bran, or 

 of both, to a diet, which i)reviously consisted only of skim milk and 

 corn meal tends to increase the commercial value of the manurial 

 refuse resulting, is based on the following considerations: First, the 

 principal fertilizing elements contained in a mixture of equal parts of 

 gluten meal and wheat bran have a higher market value, than those 

 contained in an equal weight of corn meal. Second, it is admissible 

 for mere practical purposes to assume that in raising one and the 

 same kind of animals to a corresponding weight, a corresponding 

 amount of nitrogen, of |)hosphoiic acid, of potash, a. s. f. will be 

 retained and stored up in the growing animal. An excess, therefore, 



