ENERGY VALUES OF RATIONS FOR FARM ANIMALS. 



27 



It is evident, however, without going through the labor of compu- 

 tation, that while corn meal and wheat middlings may be used in the 

 ration, neither will supply enough protein if used exclusively. Of 

 the available feeding stuffs which are rich in protein and which may 

 therefore serve to balance the deficiency of this ingredient, gluten 

 meal is relatively the cheapest, and cottonseed meal comes next. 

 While the difference between the two is not great, we shall naturally 

 try the cheaper one. It is not difficult to determine by a few trials 

 that 2\ pounds of corn meal and 3^ pounds of gluten meal, in addi- 

 tion to the coarse fodder available, will give a ration corresponding 

 very closely to the requirements, as the following table shows: 



Kind and amount of feed. 



Corn silage, 32 pounds. 

 Clover hay, 8 pounds. . 

 Corn meal, 2J pounds. . 

 Gluten feed, 3 \ pounds 



Total 



Total dry 

 matter. 



Pounds. 

 8.42 

 6.97 

 2.22 

 3.18 



20.79 



Digestible 

 protein. 



Pounds. 

 0.19 

 .39 

 .16 



Net 

 energy 

 value. 



Therms. 

 5.09 

 3.09 

 2.22 

 2.95 



13.35 



This ration shows as close an agreement with the computed protein 

 requirement as could be desired, but contains a slight surplus of energy. 

 The comparatively low figure for dry matter indicates that more 

 coarse fodder might have been used had it been available, with the 

 probable effect of cheapening the ration. As it is, we have used the 

 feeds relatively lowest in price and apparently have a very economical 

 ration. 



Cottonseed meal, however, is nearly as cheap as a source of energy 

 as gluten meal, while it contains considerably more protein. It 

 seems worth while, therefore, to see whether it may not be possible 

 to secure the necessary protein more cheaply by using a smaller 

 amount of the former feed in place of the gluten meal. Three pounds 

 of cottonseed meal will supply almost exactly the same amount of 

 protein as 3 J pounds of gluten meal. Making this substitution, the 

 ration stands as follows : 



Kind and amount of feed. 



Total dry 

 matter. 



Digestible 

 protein. 



Net 

 energy 

 value. 



Corn silage, 32 pounds 



Clover hay, 8 pounds 



Corn meal, 2% pounds 



Cottonseed meal, 3 pounds 



Total :... 



Pounds. 

 8.42 

 6.97 

 2.22 

 2.77 



Pounds. 



0.19 



.39 



.16 



.96 



20.38 



1.70 



Therms. 

 5.09 

 3.09 

 2.22 

 2.70 



13.10 



