1920.] 



Notes on Feeding Stuffs. 



1117 



First ascertain the price at which several suitable feeding stuffs 

 can be purchased locally. To these figures add the estimated 

 cost of railway carriage, cartage, grinding or other method of 

 preparation. This will give the cost of the feeding stuffs as 

 fed to the animals. Next look up in the table the number of 

 digestible food units contained in a ton of the feeding stuffs, 

 and divide the cost per ton of the feeding stuff as fed to the animals 

 by this figure. A few instances will make this plain. The 

 price of bran at the present time is about £12 los. per ton at 

 the mill ; to this must be added, say, 10 s. per ton for carriage 

 and other expenses, so that the cost of bran as fed to the 

 animals would be, say, £13 per ton. Looking up bran in the 

 table, Column (6) states that it contains 78 food units per ton. 

 The price per food unit is therefore £13 divided by 78, or 3s. ^d. 

 per food unit. Dried grains at the present time cost about 

 /14 10 s. per ton at the factory or wharf. Again, adding, say 

 los. per ton for railway and other expenses, the cost of dried 

 grains as fed to the animals would be £15 per ton. According 

 to Column (6) of the table, dried brewers' grains contain 85 

 food units per ton. Dividing £15 by 85 the cost per food unit 

 is 3s. 6d. Bran and dried grains are quite similar feeding stuffs 

 suitable to replace each other. At present prices bran is 

 cheaper than dried grains by about 2d. per food unit. Cal- 

 culated in the same way, palm kernel cake at about £12 10 s. 

 per ton at the mill would cost as fed to the animals about 

 2s. (^d. per food unit, and linseed cake at £25 per ton at the mill 

 about 4s. 3^f. per food unit. 



As soon as prices have settled down it will be possible to give 

 comparative tables of costs per food unit worked out from the 

 standard prices by this method. In the meantime, while 

 prices are so variable, it is hoped that purchasei"s may be able 

 to determine the price per food unit for themselves as indicated 

 above. 



The table is also useful as an indicator of the relative feeding 

 value of different feeding stuffs. The number of digestible 

 food units per ton is not an exact measure of the feeding value, 

 because it includes an allowance for the manurial value of the 

 feeding stuff. Columns (7) and (8) give a much more rehable 

 estimate of the relative feeding value. Column (7) gives the 

 number of pounds of starch which has the same feeding value 

 as 100 lb. of the feeding stuff ; similarly Column (8) gives the 

 number of pounds of linseed cake equivalent in feeding value 

 to 100 lb. of the feeding stuff. Live-stock owners should buy 

 according to the number of digestible food units given in 



