FEEDING 
In practice the whole subject simmers down to the proposi- 
tion of finding out by direct experiment whether the hen will 
do the work best on this or that food, irregardless of its nitro- 
gen content as determined in the laboratory. 
The results of many experiments and much experience has 
shown that lean meat protein will make egg protein and 
chicken flesh protein and that vegetable protein pound for 
pound is not its equal. I know of no results that have proven 
that the high priced vegetable foods such as linseed meal, 
gluten feed, etc., have proven a more valuable chicken food 
than the cheapest grains. 
With cows and pigeons this is not the case, but the hen is 
not a vegetarian by nature and high priced vegetable protein 
doesn’t seem to be in her line. Of the three standard grains 
there is some indication of the value of the proteids for chick- 
ens and of the following ranks, 1st oats, 2d corn, 3d wheat. 
The false conceptions of the value of wheat proteids has 
been specially the cause of much waste of money. Digestive 
trials and direct experiments both show that, as chicken 
foods, wheat is worth less, pound for pound, than corn and yet, 
though much higher in price, it is still used not only as a 
variety grain, but by many poultrymen as the chief article of 
diet. Wheat contains only 3 per cent. more proteid than corn. 
The man who substitutes wheat at one and one-half cents a 
pound for corn worth one cent a pound pays 17 cents a pound 
for his added protein. In beef scrap he could get the protein 
for 5 cents a pound and have a very superior article besides. 
Milk as a source of protein ranks between the vegetable 
proteids and those of meat. It is preferably fed clabbered. 
The dried casein recently put on the market is a valuable food 
but is not worth as much as meat food and will not be ex- 
tensively utilized until the demand for meat scrap forces up 
the price to a point where the casein can be sold more cheap- 
ly. Meat scrap, to be relished by the chickens, must not be a 
fine meal, but should consist of particles the size of wheat 
kernels or larger. The fine scrap gives the manufacturer a 
chance to utilize dried blood and tankage which is cheaper 
in quality and price than particles of real meat. 
The last and least understood of the groups of food sub- 
stances is mineral substance or ash. Now, the chemist de- 
termines mineral substance by burning the food and analyzing 
the residue. In the intense heat numerous chemical changes 
take place and the substances that come out of the furnace 
are entirely different from those contained in the fresh food. 
The lay reader will probably ask why the chemist does not 
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