ANIMAL FEEDS 205 



Digester tankage, meat meal, beef scraps, and similar feeds vary 

 considerably in composition, according to their origin and the 

 amount of bone which they contain. They should always be bought 

 on definite guarantees of protein and fat contents. 



An important use of meat (meal and similar feeds is in poultry 

 feeding. Experiments at Geneva (N. Y.) and other stations have 

 established the superior value of animal proteins in feeding poultry, 

 especially ducks. It is likely that this value depends, to a large 

 extent, on the mineral matter supplied in these feeds, and not 

 especially on the protein which they contain; better results are 

 generally obtained, however, by feeding both classes of nutrients 

 combined in the same feeding stuff rather than separately, as, e.g., 

 grain feeds with ashes or bone meal. 



Fish meal, or fish meat meal, contains amounts of protein, fat 

 and mineral matter similar to good grades of meat meal, and may 

 be considered of about equal value to this feed, pound for pound, 

 for feeding poultry or swine, when manufactured from fresh fish 

 refuse by modern sanitary methods. Besides being a valuable 

 poultry feed, fish meal may be fed to swine and cattle in a limited 

 way where an extra supply of protein in the rations seems desirable. 

 In northern Europe it is occasionally fed to dairy cows in amounts 

 of one to two pounds per head daily, mixed with other concentrates, 

 and is considered an economical feed, well adapted for this purpose, 

 although the cows at first object to its peculiar odor. 



Liver meal is a by-product in the manufacture of cod-liver oil; it 

 contains about 50 per cent protein, 30 per cent fat, and 2.5 per cent ash, 

 and is used for stock feeding in a similar way as fish meal. 



Bone meal or ground bone is likewise used for feeding poultry, 

 and, in a small way, with Indian corn for pigs, in order to correct 

 the lack of ash materials in this cereal (p. 300). It is composed of 

 about 60 per cent calcium phosphate and other inorganic substances, 

 30 per cent organic matter (fat and ossein), and the balance water. 

 One-half ounce ground phosphate rock (floats) may be given daily 

 to calves or pigs for the same purpose as bone meal. 1 



II. DAIRY FEEDS 



The dairy products form a most important group of feeds for 

 livestock. Owing to the value of whole cows milk as a human food, 

 and as the raw material for the manufacture of cream, butter, 



1 Wisconsin Research Bulletin I. 



