296 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION 



the total contents of protein and fat in the feeding stuffs and 

 not for digestible components; and that the amount of woody 

 fiber (crude iiher or fiber) which a feeding stuff contains, will 

 determine to a large extent what proportion of the protein as 

 well as other food materials found therein the animal can di- 

 gest; the more crude fiber a feeding stuff contains, the greater 

 proportion of the valuable food components will be consumed 

 in the work of digestion. Refuse- feeds containing large 

 amounts of hulls of chaff are therefore less valuable than would 

 be supposed from their protein contents alone. 



It is doubtful whether it will ordinarily pay a farmer to 

 buy concentrated feeds containing less than seven or eight 

 per cent of protein; aside from the low protein content and 

 the large per cent of crude fiber which such feeds generally 

 contain, the group of components known as nitrogen-free ex- 

 tract (starch, sugar, pentosans, gums, etc.) in these feeds is of 

 inferior value compared with the nitrogen-free extract of the 

 cereals, e. g., which is largely made up of the first two kinds 

 of substances mentioned. The nitrogen-free extract of hominy 

 feed and many of the poultry foods, like that of the cereals, 

 consist mainly of starch, and that of molasses feeds is made 

 up of sugar to a large extent; as these feeds are moreover rel- 

 atively low in crude fiber, they possess a greater feeding value 

 compared with refuse feeds which consist largely of the hulls 

 and chaff of grains, than would appear from a statement of 

 their protein and fat contents alone. 



The samples of mixed feeds collected by our feed inspectors 

 during the present year under the state feeding stuff law are 

 analyzed for their contents of crude fiber, in addition to those 

 of protein and fat; the results of the analyses are reported 

 to manufacturers and dealers as completed, and will be given 

 in full in the next annual feed bulletin. , This will also contain 

 a more detailed discussion of the composition of feeding stuffs 

 and of the value of different kinds of concentrated feeds offered 

 for sale in our state. Copies of our bulletin No. 143 giving 

 the results of all analyses of samples of concentrated feeding 

 stuffs collected during 1906, with general information as to 



