374 POULTRY PRODUCTION 



Bushnell and Maurer' found that there was a marked in- 

 crease in the bacterial infection of eggs laid by hens when 

 fed a wet mash, as compared with a dry mash. 



Cost. — A very important factor in any ration is its cost. 

 The best ration, all things considered, is the one which gives 

 the greatest economic returns. This does not mean either the 

 greatest returns or the cheapest ration. The greatest returns 

 might be obtained only from a ration that cost more than the 

 product is worth, and the cheapest ration might result in 

 such limited production that it would be. as unprofitable 

 as the most expensive ration. To find the most profitable 

 means between these two unprofitable extremes is the nice 

 problein which confronts every practical feeder. 



It is customary to rate feeds on the basis of their digestible 

 protein content, because protein is an essential nutrient for 

 all rations and is the most expensive. This classification 

 holds only to a limited extent on the market. The feeds 

 containing the most digestible protein are ordinarily com- 

 paratively high in price, but the prices are not always in 

 exact proportion to the protein content. Therefore protein 

 may be cheaper from one soiu-ce than from another. 



Table XXXVI adapted from Jaffa^ shows tte comparative 

 cost of protein per pound from various sources when the 

 protein alone is considered. This table will be of most use 

 in seeking cheap sources of protein for formulating mashes 

 to supplement the whole-grain portion of the ration. In 

 doing this, the factors of palatability, nutritive effect, etc., 

 must not be overlooked. 



It frequently becomes advisable in practice to vary the 

 nutritive ratio of a ration in order to use larger amounts of 

 a cheap feed. While this may be done without serious, results, 

 care should be taken that too great a deviation is not made 

 from the accepted ratio, and a return to the correct ratio 

 should be made as soon as the prices of feeds will permit. 



On the basis of the feed prices given below. Philips' found 

 that Leghorn pullets laying 135 eggs in one year produced 



' Unpublished data, Kansas Experiment Station. 

 » California Bulletin No. 164. 

 » Purdue Bulletin No. 182. 



