80 MAINE STATE COLLEGE 



cally the same work as a pound of digestible material from Timo- 

 thy hay with its water nearly all dried out. There is a small dif- 

 ference in favor of the ensilage, to be sure, and an absolutely hard 

 and fast equivalauce, pound for pound, is not claimed in compar- 

 ing even foods of the same class, because one food may be supe- 

 rior to another in the amount of the more valuable carbohydrates 

 found in the digested portions. But after making an allowance 

 for these minor points which cannot be expressed or even recog- 

 nized in a general rule, there is still room for the assertion that 

 Science has given Practice no safer or more useful conclusion than 

 this : Cattle foods have nutritive value in proportion to the diges- 

 tible dry matter tvhich they contain. If farmers will apply this rule 

 in studying feeding stuffs, especially in comparing fodders 

 with fodders, and grains with grains, they will avoid mistakes 

 of a serious nature. But after this is done, there is still a chance for 

 the exercise of good judgment in combining foods. 



An Experiment in Feeding Early and Late Cut Timothy Hay, 



FOR Growth. 



On pages 44 and 45 of this report are given the composition and 

 digestibility of two lots of Timothy hay, cut on July 9th and July 

 24th. One lot was cut while in bloom, and the other after the 

 seeds were quite fully formed. 



Over a ton of hay was harvested from each cutting, or enough 

 for a feeding experiment. Six steers from six to nine months old 

 were used to test the relative value of the hay. The experiment 

 covered two periods of time, one from Dec. 7th to Jan. 3d, inclu- 

 sive, and the other from Jan. 4th, to Feb. 13th inclusive. Late- 

 cut hay was fed during the first and Early-cut during the second 

 period. Three pounds of grain were fed each day to each aniaaal, 

 during both periods. The hay was readily and entirely consumed 

 throughout the experiment and the animals maintained a very sat- 

 isfactory condition, also. 



The figures which show the result of the experiment follow. 



