AGRICULTURAL EXPKJM.MKNT SlA'l'ION. 27 



advertised claims of this food exceed the credible and pass into 

 the absurd. 



This becomes all the more evident when we consider what the 

 food is. It has received a careful examination at this Station, 

 and while we are not prepared to say that it does not contain 

 minute quantities of substances which we have not discovered, we 

 have become convinced that its composition does not warrant its 

 purchase at any unusual price. The results of our examination 

 are as follows : 



(1) The food has the appearance of being chiefly ground bran 

 or shorts and is undoubtedly what it appears to be. 



(2) The food contains a small amount of fenugreek, an aro- 

 matic seed supposed to have mild medicinal properties. 



(3) It contains something less than three per cent, of common 

 salt. 



(4) The quantities of any other substances which it may con- 

 tain are so small as to not be easily discovered. It is the opinion 

 of those examining the food that no other compounds exists in it 

 save those which are the proper constituents of any food. 



(5) The analysis of the food gives about the same figures that 

 we should expect from bran or shorts, with a somewhat smaller 

 percentage of protein than these milling products now contain. 



Even if it were found that this food is so compounded as to 

 have, under certain circumstances, a positive medicinal effect, this 

 fact would not constitute a good reason vrhy farmers should pur- 

 chase and feed it indiscriminatel}'. We no longer believe in 

 quack nostrums that will cure all troubles. The course which the 

 intelligent farmer takes to-day in the treatment of diseased animals 

 is to secure the attendance and advice of a competent veterinarian 

 who will administer remedies suitable to the case in Land. As for 

 the prevention of disease it is a common experience that all that 

 is ordinarily necessary is cleanliness, good care and proper and 

 sufficient food. If these conditions do not prevail it is useless 

 for the farmer to attempt to remedy the faults in his management 

 b}' the use of any advertised cure-all, such as the one under con- 

 sideration. This food may not possess any injurious properties 

 because of the small amount of unusual constituents which it con- 

 tains, but in the opinion of the writer its purchase at a price 

 exceeding the ordinary cost of commercial cattle foods is a waste 

 of money. 



