12 
BULLETIN 1272, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
Table 19. — Amount of feed consumed for each pound of butterfat produced, in 
experiment reported in Table 18 1 
Group 
Grain 
mixture 
Alfalfa 
hay 
Corn 
silage 
Saw- 
dust 
Corn 
meal 
Pounds 
8.09 
8.10 
Pounds 
8.31 
7.60 
Pounds 
37.41 
34.55 
Pounds 
4.84 
Pounds 
1 51 
-.01 
.71 
2.86 
-.01 
.37 
.61 

i Comparing the two groups, 1.51 pounds of corn meal are equal to 1.04 pounds corn meal plus4.S4 pounds 
sawdust. Therefore, 0.47 pound corn meal equals 4.84 pounds sawdust, and 1 pound corn meal equals 
10 pounds sawdust. 
2 Excess nutrients received by sawdust groups, 0.87 pound, which is equivalent to 1.04 pounds corn meal. 
It will be noted in the foregoing tables that the sawdust fed to 
cows produced less of both milk and butterfat, and the result is much 
the same whether the groups containing Cow 416 or those containing 
Cow 441 are used in making the computation. 
In the statement of feed consumed for each pound of butterfat 
produced it will be seen that more than 3 pounds of sawdust were 
consumed for each pound of corn meal. 
Taking into consideration the excess of other ingredients consumed 
by the sawdust groups and assuming the digestible nutrients of these 
feeds to be as valuable as an equal weight of digestible nutrients in 
corn meal, the sawdust is shown to have a value from one-fourteenth 
to one-tenth as great as that of corn meal. It is thought, however, 
by some that the comparison of feeds on the basis of the content of 
digestible nutrients is not so accurate as by Armsby's energy values. 
While the energy values are not so commonly used as the other 
method, it is of interest to see what the results would be when calcu- 
lated according to Armsby. Using Cow 416 the excess energy con- 
sumed by the sawdust groups would be contained in 0.99 pound corn 
meal instead of 1.16, which would make 1 pound of corn meal equal 
to 8.24 pounds of sawdust. By using Cow 441 the excess is con- 
tained in 0.81 pound corn meal instead of 1.04, which would make 
1 pound of corn meal equal to 6.91 pounds of sawdust. By the 
Armsby method, therefore, the hydrolyzed sawdust is estimated to 
have a nutritive value about one-seventh or one-eighth that of corn 
meal. 
This experiment bears out preliminary work which showed the saw- 
dust to lack palatability and to contain a large proportion of material 
of no feeding value. Even figuring the sawdust at the maximum 
nutritive value as shown by this experiment, it is still too poor a feed 
to justify its transportation for any considerable distance, not to 
mention the cost of manufacture. 
While there is no doubt that this chemically treated sawdust can 
be used in Limited quantities as a feed for dairy cows, it possesses so 
Utile nutritive value that its use is inadvisable. 
CANE MOLASSES AS A SUPPLEMENTARY FEED 
In the feeding of cows on advanced-registry test, molasses is often 
used to make the ration more palatable and thus induce greater con- 
sumption, as well as for the nutriment in the molasses itself. Molas- 
