1920.] Fish Meal as Food for Live Stock. 



415 



Albuminoids 

 Phosphate of Lime 



Not less than 55 per cent. 



Oil - 

 Salt - 



Such a meal should be Hght brownish in colour, well ground, 

 and free from large pieces of bone. It should be free, also, from 

 the offensive smell of decayed fish. If its moisture content is 

 not above 13 per cent., or thereabouts, the meal should keep well 

 for a considerable period in a dry store, fitted preferably with a 

 wooden floor. 



In Scandinavia and elsewhere on the Continent, fish meal has 

 been found very useful for all kinds of stock. The use in this 

 country for pigs and poultry is large and still increasing. Recent 

 experiments at Reading College proved its value as a supple- 

 mentary food in rearing calves on whey. In this experiment, 

 however, it should be noted that fish meal formed from cod liver 

 was invariably rejected by the animals. Other fish meals, how- 

 ever, gave most satisfactory results. Scottish cattle feeders 

 have found that it succeeds well to the extent of 2 to 3 lb. per 

 head per day. Scandinavian farmers have demonstrated that 

 4 lb. or even more per head can be fed to dairy cows w^ithout 

 imparting a fishy taint to the milk. Here, albuminoids are 

 specially required, and it would appear, therefore, that fish meal 

 has an especial usefulness in milk production. There is, how- 

 ever, a risk of direct contamination of the milk through the 

 agency of the milker if he, or she, has happened to handle th'^ 

 foods before milking. Only where the greatest care is exercised 

 can the use of fish meal for milch cows be recommended, but 

 where due precautions are observed, and the proportion of the 

 richer cakes, such as decorticated cotton and earthnut cake, 

 is small, fish meal up to 3 lb. per head per day may be given 

 without ill effects. In the rearing of calves fish meal is satis- 

 factory because of its richness in albuminoids and bone 

 phosphate. Experiments at Kilmarnock demonstrated the 

 usefulness of the following mixtures : — 



(1) Oatmeal - 2 parts. (2) Fine Thirds - 2 parts. 



Fish Meal - 1 part. Fisli Meal - 1 part. 



These ingredients were mixed with boiling water into a kind 

 of porridge and fed with whey. The whey and meals were intro- 

 duced gradually when the calves were three weeks old. imtil at 

 six weeks the supply of whole milk was entirely stopped, 1 gallon 

 of whey and J lb. of meals constituting the daily ration. This 

 was increased gradually to 1\ gallons of whey and 1 lb. of meals. 

 Hay was introduced when the calves were five weeks old, and 

 linseed cake three weeks later, fed in increasing quantity. 



