324 POULTRY PRODUCTION 



become disarranged and fail to carry on the work of diges- 

 tion properly, in which case the digestive coefficient would 

 undoubtedly he lowered. 



Cochel and Jackson^ found that rations carrying 3.5 per 

 cent of total weight in crude fiber seemed to give better 

 results for laying hens than those with a higher or lower 

 per cent, and it is reasonable to suppose that at least a 

 part of the value of the fiber is to be found in its opening 

 up the ration so that the digestive juices may act more 

 readily and thoroughly. 



Palatability. — Experimental e^-idence showing that palata- 

 l)ility in and of itself increases the digestive coefficient of 

 feeds is kicking. It is popularly supposed to be the case, 

 ho\ve\er, and the supposition does no harm. As Brown^ 

 points out in discussing the comparative digestibility of 

 oats and corn, palatability and good digestibility are likely 

 to go together. Ijartlett^ calls attention to the fact that of 

 two mixtures he was feeding in digestion trials, the mixture 

 which was the least palatable was also the lowest in 

 digestibility. 



The relati\'(' ])alatabihty of dilferi'Ut feedstufl's is sonie- 

 wliat de])en(lent uinni the individual idiosyncrasies of the 

 stock. J\em]ister allowed 15 hens to choose their own ration. 

 Eight consumed more wheat than any other feed-stuff. Eive 

 consumed more kafir, 1 more middlings and 1 morecornmeal. 

 The relative digestibility of the nutrients of these feedstutTs 

 was not giA'en. 



Cooking and Wetting Feed. — The cooking and wetting of 

 feeds have little if any effect upon their digestibility, directly, 

 though either may increase the palatability of a ration. 



Rice^ found as a result of a year's test with forty Single 

 Comb White Leghorn pullets, to twenty of which the ground 

 or mash portion of the ration was fed wet and to twenty it 

 was hopper fed dry, that the dry mash ga\e better results 

 in gain in weight, production of eggs, gain in weight of e"gs, 

 hatching power of eggs, days lost in molting, mortality 



' Pennsylvania Bulletin No. 120. 



2 Bureau of Animal Industry, Bulletin No. 50. 



' Maine Bulletin No. 184. •> Cornell Bulletin No. 249. 



