PERNICIOUS EFFECTS OF MOLASSES FEEDING. 247 



Experiments seem to show that molasses will not take the 

 place of grain in feeding. However, the quality of the fat and 

 of the meat of the pigs increased very materially under molasses 

 feeding. 



As a general thing the animals increased in weight in a very 

 marked degree. Experiments furthermore appeared to show 

 that molasses contributed to the excellency and superiority of 

 the resulting hams. 



For a long time past it has been pointed out that molasses Pernicious effects 

 feeding was generally followed by miscarriage in the case of of molasses 

 pregnant cows, and the mortality among calves fed with 

 molasses was exceptionally high. Efforts were made to deter- 

 mine the reason, and Friske declared that it was. the outcome of 

 a special acidity that calves brought with them when borri. 

 Kopisch maintained that the milk soured in the stomach of 

 young calves, and was changed into cheese. He even went so 

 far as to feed the young animals with milk of lime to dissolve 

 this cheese. But Lachau showed that the death rate was 

 caused by the infection of the environment, and that it was 

 sufficient to change the locality in order to decrease this death 

 rate. It may, however, be attributed to a decrease in the per- 

 centage of molasses in the ration. It has been noticed that the 

 most difficult problem to overcome was to convince the breeder 

 that exaggerated quantities of molasses were harmful the 

 farmer always feeds this residuum in excess of what should be 

 given. Even 5 kilos per head, Ramm declares, is an exagger- 

 ated allowance for milch cows. Certain complications, such as 

 fever and tremblings, have followed when this amount has been 

 exceeded, and even when reaching this limit great care is neces- 

 sary, for several instances are on record where certain signs of 

 weakness were apparent; the bony structure underwent some 

 changes which were attributed to molasses, and which were 

 explained by the small percentage of phosphoric acid and lime 

 the residuum contains, and the formation of certain acids in the 

 digestive canal. 



It was suggested by Maercker that 50 grams of precipitated 

 phosphates per head and per diem be added to the ration, and 

 since the advice was put into practice there has never been a 



