2 BULLETIN 610, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Fish meal and fish scrap, or " pomace," are similar in composition, 

 the former, however, being prepared for use as a feeding stuff and the 

 latter as a fertilizer. In the manufacture of fertilizer the object is 

 merely to produce a material that contains one or more of the follow- 

 ing necessary constituents: Nitrogen, phosphate, or potash. In the 

 case of fish meal, being a feed stuff, the material from which it is 

 made must be fresh, wholesome, and nutritious, and greater care must 

 be taken in the manufacture. 



The Norwegian Government in 1892 conducted a series of feeding 

 experiments with fish meal and obtained very favorable results. 

 Since then the merits of fish meal have been more and more appreci- 

 ated in Germany, especially as a feeding stuff for pigs. For some 

 years prior to the present war Germany not only used up all it could 

 produce, but took all that England and Norway had to offer. In the 

 United States fish meal as a feeding stuff has been neglected in spite 

 of the proof of its value. 



USE OF FISH MEAL IN THE UNITED STATES. 



The amount of fish meal used for feeding purposes in this country 

 is so small compared with other materials, used as feeding stuff 

 that it is hardly worth mentioning. Although of great use as a 

 fertilizer, the product is clearly of more value to the country as 

 a feeding stuff. English experiments have shown that the oil, which 

 in many samples of fish meal ranges from 7 to 10 per cent, is 

 distinctly disadvantageous in preventing the manure from rotting 

 in the soil and yielding up its nitrogen to the crop. The oil itself 

 contributes nothing to the value of the manure and is simply wasted 

 when applied to the land. There is every reason to favor the view 

 that fish meal should not be spread on the land until it has been 

 passed through the digestive apparatus of farm stock. 



Very little has been done to bring the value of fish meal before the 

 agriculturist in this country. It is to be regretted that the American 

 farmer has not been brought to appreciate the true value of fish meal. 



Probably one of the reasons for fish meal having been thus neg- 

 lected is the impression that if it is used in the feeding of animals, 

 their flesh will become tainted. This belief is entirely unwarranted, 

 as shown by German, English, and American experiments, and will 

 be pointed out later in connection with our own experiments. If, as 

 reported, some farmers who have tried it have not found fish meal 

 satisfactory as a feeding stuff, it is because they have not used it 

 with understanding. Fish meal is very similar to packing-house 

 tankage in composition and can be fed in exactly the same propor- 

 tions. If moderate proportions are fed in combination with carbo- 

 naceous feeds, its efficiency as a feeding stuff soon will become 

 apparent. 



