AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 47 



TURNIPS AS FOOD FOR SHEEP. 



The relative value of different cattle foods is a matter which is 

 very much discussed by farmers. Perhaps no foods have re- 

 ceived more attention during the last few years than have those 

 which are fed in a green condition such as ensilage and roots. 

 The Experiment Station receives very many inquiries in regard 

 to their value as compared with hay and the various grains. 



Whenever these inquiries have been answered by the writer, the 

 amount of digestible organic matter has been taken as a basis 

 for comparison. For instance, a food containing 60 per cent, of 

 digestible organic matter has been regarded as having five times 

 the capacity for nourishing an animal that one has containing 

 twelve per cent., especially if the two foods are not greatly unlike 

 in the composition of their dry matter. Experiments made by this 

 Station go to show that the digestible matter present in food is a 

 fairly safe standard for measuring its value. A feeding experi- 

 ment which was made in the winter and spring of 1889, the pur- 

 pose of which was to compare ensilage and hay, gave results 

 which seemed to warrant the following as part of the conclusions 

 reached. "The experiment furnished still further evidence that 

 the amount of digestible matter present may be regarded as a 

 safe basis for comparing the feeding value of foods of the same 

 class." (Report Maine Experiment Station, 1889, page 75.) 

 The comparison referred to above was made by feeding young 

 steers. In the previous spring of 1888, a similar comparison was 

 made, using milch cows as the experimental animals. This test 

 showed unmistakably that a pound of digestible material coming 

 from a mixture of hay and ensilage gave better results than a 

 pound coming from hay alone, but the difference was not great. 

 In summarizing this latter experiment the following statement 

 was made : "Nevertheless, the testimony of such results as this 

 experiment furnished sustains rather than destroys the general 

 practical utility of the rule in making rations, that fodders have 

 a relative value that is proportionate to their digestible material." 

 (Report Maine Experiment Station, 1889, page 69.) 



The results of a few feeding trials like these do not seem to be 

 considered by many to be a sufficient guide for directing their 



