I20 MAINE AGRICULTUR.\L EXPERIMENT STATION. I915. 



home at considerably less cost, which would give him practi- 

 cally as good results. 



For the most part, the feeds of this class are in accord with 

 their guarantees ; such variations as have been found, have 

 been usually a slight overrun in fiber. The only brand that fell 

 seriously below in protein, was guaranteed in good faith, — but 

 in error, — by the maker on the basis of a single analysis, with 

 no allowance for the inevitable variation in different lots. 



COMPOUNDED POULTRY FEEDS. 



The feeds coming under this heading are so varied in kind 

 and composition that a general discussion is not easy. They 

 may be roughly divided into scratch feeds, — of various degrees 

 of fineness, from those intended for baby chicks to those in- 

 tended for mature hens, — and "dry mashes" — for young chicks, 

 mature hens, etc. In the case of the scratching feeds for young 

 chicks, the difficulty of obtaining the ingredients and the 'bother 

 of mixing small lots may make their use advisable. In the case 

 of the other feeds, the remarks previously made concerning the 

 use of the miscellaneous compounded feeds apply. Figure the 

 cost of the ingredients and then of the mixed product in the 

 case of some of the dry mashes, and if you have never given 

 the subject consideration before, the results will be surprising. 



The scratch feeds all carry about the same guarantees and 

 run fairly well in accord with them. A careful study of the 

 list of ingredients and an examination of the feed with the 

 naked eye or a microscope is more profitable to the user than a 

 consideration of the analysis, although one with an analysis 

 much lower than the ordinary should be looked upon with sus- 

 picion. In the case of feeds containing grit the purchaser buys 

 rock at the price of grain. 



The dry mashes vary greatly in their composition and analy- 

 sis. The ingredients are stated on the labels (one or two lots 

 were found misbranded in this respect, and the cases taken up), 

 and the goods run, for the most part, pretty close to their guar- 

 anteed analyses, so that if the purchaser wishes, he can know 

 w^hat he is getting. IMany of the higher grade mashes, price 

 not taken into consideration, are excellent feeds ; some of the 

 lower grade ones are of little value unless reinforced by the 



