Uses of the Potato 281 



Snyder found that potatoes, when fed with grains or 

 some milled products like oil meal, beans or good wheat 

 screenings, were very suitable for fattening purposes. 

 In experiments with sheep and cattle a ration composed 

 chiefly of potatoes afforded rapid gains in live weight, a 

 large percentage in dressed weight of the slaughtered 

 animals and flesh of excellent quality. 



Experiments in Minnesota have shown that potatoes 

 are very digestible; when 100 pounds are fed to pigs, 

 23.8 pounds dry matter are digested, while only 75 pounds 

 are indigestible. At the Hohenheim and Proskern sta- 

 tions, the results on this question showed that they may, 

 for practical purposes, be assumed to be completely diges- 

 tible. Snyder, at the Minnesota Station, found that 

 though cooked potatoes were eaten in greater quantities, 

 the digestibility was not increased. 



Thus, it can easily be seen that potatoes, especially 

 when abundant and low in price, may be fed to all kinds 

 of stock. In France, Girarde fed 55 to 66 pounds of 

 cooked potatoes a day to fattening steers and 4^ to ex- 

 pounds to sheep. Von Fanche found uncooked potatoes 

 good for all stock except pigs. He fed 60 pounds raw 

 potatoes, 6 pounds oil meal and 9 pounds clover hay with 

 salt to a 1000-pounds live weight a day to fattening steers. 

 For milch cows, 25 pounds daily to a 1000-pounds live 

 weight is the limit. For yearling ewes and wether sheep 

 25 pounds to a 1000-pounds live weight a day is advised, 

 and for fattening sheep 40 pounds. For horses about 

 12 pounds to a 1000-pounds live weight may be given 

 with other food. 



Stock should not be watered soon after feeding potatoes, 

 but preferably about i hour before feeding. Potatoes 

 are not valuable as a food for young animals as they are 



