1899 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
85 
Foods and Feeding 
HOW TO BUY STOCK FEED. 
FIGURE ON THE PROTEIN. 
That’s the Key to the Situation. 
Buying Well. —There is an old adage 
of the merchant that “ goods well 
bought are half sold ” ; but the farmer 
might truthfully say that feeds intelli¬ 
gently bought are already sold, and at a 
good profit, provided he has the animals 
that will convert them into profitable 
products. If he hasn't that kind of 
animals, why is he dairying ? The trou¬ 
ble with a good many of us is that we 
don’t know how to buy feeds. We are 
too likely to take whatever the miller 
has to sell, and he will usually try to 
dispose of that which brings him the 
most profit. Or we may be buying the 
grain that our fathers or grandfathers 
bought just because they did. In the 
days of the fathers, however, there was 
not the multitude of feeds that are now 
on the market, and the farmer, if he 
bought grain at all, must take corn 
meal, wheat bran or middlings. If he 
didn’t like these, he could go without. 
But to-day, with the hundred more or 
less kinds or brands that fill our mar¬ 
kets, it is a perplexing question to 
know what to buy, and before we 
spend good money for, we know not 
what, it will pay us to study the feed 
question and, if possible, know what to 
buy, so that we shall get what we pay 
for and not simply pay for what we get. 
How Foods Are Sold. —In the first 
place, we must understand that to-day 
feeds are not sold on the basis of their 
real value, but their price is largely 
dependent upon the law of supply and 
demand. This fact we ought to fix 
firmly in our minds. We shall be nearer 
the real value basis when all our States 
have laws requiring feeds to have their 
analysis affixed to every sack ; that this 
will be an advantage (the real value 
basis) to the ignorant but not to the 
educated buyer, is a self-evident fact. 
If we burn a food, we shall have the ash 
left; that part which can be burned is 
called organic or dry matter, and is sub¬ 
divided by the chemist into protein, car¬ 
bohydrates and fat. The protein or 
muscle-maker goes to the production of 
milk, lean meat, hair, horn, etc. The 
carbohydrates (fat-formers) are the pri¬ 
mary source of sustaining animal heat, 
and furnish power to keep the machinery 
of the cow in operation. They are heat 
and fat producers. The fat (also fat- 
former) is used by the animal for main¬ 
taining its bodily temperature, and for 
this purpose, is about 2 % times as 
efficient as the carbohydrates. It is, also, 
an aid to digestion. Protein is the most 
costly and valuable element. It is the 
one that goes to the production of milk, 
and in our study of the intelligent way 
to buy feeds, it is the only element that 
should be considered ; that is, the most 
digestible protein that one can buy for 
the least money, the better off he is. 
Is This Fair ?—Is this a fair way to 
base the value of food stuffs, that is, 
upon the digestible protein only ? Prof. 
Haecker, of the Minnesota Experiment 
Station, has so well answered this ques¬ 
tion that I give his answer in full. 
“ I do not see what there can be unfair 
about it. We always find enough carbo¬ 
hydrates and fat in our feed stuffs, just 
as we find enough water and air and 
other conditions that are just as essential 
to animal nutrition as are the carbohy¬ 
drates and fat. We find them in abund¬ 
ance in stover, swale hay, or in anything 
we feed in our section. Modern methods 
of caring for stock do away with the 
need of so much carbohydrates. They 
are simply heat, tallow, lard and mutton 
producers ; that is, they lay fat on the 
body, not meat. Now, if we keep the 
animal warm by comfortable quarters, 
we need simply enough carbohydrates 
to give the animal bodily warmth, and 
simply enough oil or fat to keep the 
digestive tract in good working con¬ 
dition ; further than this we have no use 
for it, for the animal will not convert 
carbohydrates into dairy products. 
Therefore, the only item we need to take 
into account is the digestible protein, 
and the food is valuable in accordance 
with the amount of that material we 
can find in it.” 
What Analysis Shows. —Having this 
fact clearly established, we are ready to 
look into the analysis of some of the 
more common feeds now on the market. 
The following table has been compiled 
from various sources, and is believed to 
be fully reliable : 
Dig. Dig. 
protein, carbohyd. 
Dig. 
fat. 
Wheat bran. 
[44.1 
2.9 
Wheat shorts. 
...11.6 
*,45.4 
3.2 
Wheat middlings. 
l47 2 
2.9 
Corn meal. 
65.2 
i3.3 
Corn-and-cob meal. 
[56.3 
2.9 
Oats. 
44.7 
4.1 
Rye meal. 
... 8.3 
,65.5 
; 1.2 
Rye bran. 
(48.0 
1.6 
Brewers’ grains, dry... 
135.5 
5.3 
Malt sprouts. 
j 36.2 
i.1.7 
Buckwheat bran. 
... 7.4^ ; 
30.4 
1.9 
Buckwheat middlings.. 
...22.0 
:33.4 
5.4 
Gluten meal. 
...29.5 
139.6 
12.8 
Gluten feed. 
148 3 
11.1 
Cotton-seed hulls. 
.26.2 
1.8 
Cotton-seed meal. 
...36.9 
*18.1 
12.3 
Oil meal, old process... 
...28.3 
32.8 
7.1 
Oil meal, new process.. 
! 32.9 
2.7 
Cleveland oil meal. 
...32.1 
[25.1 
2.6 
Pea meal. 
[51.8 
0.7 
Hominy chop. 
55.2 
6.8 
Corn & oats (equal parts). 8.5 t < 
61.2 
3.7 
Oateana. 
48.34 
3.3 
Oat feed. 
46.90 
2.8 
Suppose we produce only hay and ensi¬ 
lage or corn fodder on the farm, and 
must buy all our grain. We find that, 
in our local market, we can buy wheat 
bran at $16 per ton, corn meal at $18, 
corn and oats $20, cotton-seed meal at 
$22, gluten feed at $18, and oateanaat$15. 
In order to make up a balanced or com¬ 
mon-sense ration, that will be approved 
by the animal’s digestive system, and by 
her product in the pail, we shall need 
two or three kinds of grain. The miller 
tells us that he is selling lots of oateana, 
and it’s giving great satisfaction; but 
let us find its value compared with bran. 
It is now simply a question of proportion 
taught us years ago in our arithmetic. 
How to Figure. —We find that oateana 
has 6.8 per cent digestible protein and 
bran 12.6 per cent, so that we state 
our proportion thus : 6.8 : $15 :: 12.6 : $X. 
Our arithmetic used to say that the 
product of the means is equal to the 
product of the extremes ; so to find the 
value of the bran offered at $16 per ton, 
we multiply 15 by 12.6, which equals 189; 
divided by 6.8 it equals $27.79. So the 
bran is worth $27.79 compared with the 
oateana at $15. I don’t think we shall 
want any of that. 
Still wanting something to complete 
our ration, we compare the corn and 
oats (provender) with the cotton-seed 
meal. We find that cotton-seed meal 
has 36.9 per cent digestible protein, and 
corn and oats 8.5 per cent, so our propor¬ 
tion this time is as 36.9:$22::8 5:$X; 22 
multiplied by 8.5 equals 187 ; divided by 
36.9 it equals $5.07, the value of our corn 
and oats. I rather think we shall buy 
all the cotton-seed meal the cows can 
healthfully use. 
This same method of comparison can 
be used with all feeds, also coarse fod¬ 
ders, always taking into consideration 
the healthfulness of our animals, and 
we cannot go far wrong. Another thing 
in our estimating feeds in the barn, 
where we often feed by measure and 
not by weight; we are quite likely to 
overlook the fact that there is a vast 
difference in the weight of a measure of 
different kinds of feed, as the following 
specimen table will show : 
WEIGHT OF ONE QUART EACH. 
Pounds. 
Wheat bran. 0.5 
Wheat middlings. 1.1 
Corn meal. 1.5 
Gluten feed. 1.2 
Oats. 1.2 
Cotton-seed meal. 1.5 
Moral: In buying feeds, get what you 
pay for. h. g. Manchester. 
Remember that B o w k e r ’ s Animal 
Meal is sold only in yellow bags and 
yellow packages. The original; richest 
in protein.— Adv. 
LIVE-STOCK FEEDERS 
should see that a guaranteed analysis 
accompanies every bag of 
Cotton-Seed Meal. 
It la the only safe way to avoid adulterated 
Meal. Every bag shipped by the American Cotton 
Oil Company contains a red tag guaranteeing 
not less than the following analysis: 
Ammonia..... 8.50 per cent. 
Nitrogen...7.00 “ 
Protein. 43.00 “ 
Crude Fat and Oil.9-00 “ 
See that the name of The American Cotton-Oh. 
Company is on the red tag attached to bag. 
Send your address for free Information about 
cotton-seed meal. 
THE AMERICAN COTTON OIL COMPANY, 
46 Cedar Street, New York City. 
THE BROOD SOW 
that gets plenty of fresh succulent fooil never 
eats her pigs. Hoots supply this succulence In 
the best obtainable form. The best way to 
prepare them is with a 
Banner Root Cutter. 
Cuts Easier and Faster than any other. 
Does not slice or cube the roots but leaves 
them in line ribbons —can’t choke anything. 
Shakes out all gravel and dirt and leaves only 
the clean feed. Four sizes, hand and power. 
Write for introduction price. 
O. E. THOMPSON Sc SONS. 
1? River Street, YpsIIuntl, Mich. 
'iniiiiiinuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiinimiiiiiuiiiiiiimiiiinimiiHW 
WOODWARD'S WATERING BASIN 
K STABLE NECESSITY. SEE WHAT OTHERS SAY OE II. 
ClrruUr. Ere?. J. S. WOODWARD A SON. LOCK PORT. N. \ 
i^ftKER DAIRY FEE 1 * 
n j? 0tiern Dairy Feed*' 1 # 
rnari - It ^tle book is written for the P ra ?^ hgh^ 
the best Gr 5 tJle su bject of milk production oS tvahi' 
a hle book an< ^ rnos ^ recent thought, and is practic^ 
dair ymar, ?? subject ever published. ^: eC t vhfb- 
dtle Teo- arr i the author handles his ^ aC tic e » 
a fl <3 bis f; actual value of his materia ^ saf e 
w °rkincr nd * n g s can be confidently accep 
^guides. The book is free. Send for ^ 
Quaker Dairy Feed 
Da' «» v ot oAts 
Co m bi ned f eetl is made entirely of grain—princip roC iucti° n 
° f milk an /? entific Proportions. It is complete tor the pr 
the proper maintenance of the anima . 
0/,i ° nf y in Sealed and Branded Sac s 
Umothv H 5PEC,MEN BALANCED RATION ^ ^ pounds 
Malt ay ’ “ 12 pounds Gluten Heal, - oounds 
‘ Sprou ‘s. - 3 pounds Quaker Dairy Feed, 8 P» u 
Calculated for a cow of i,ooo pounds live weight. 
. i-Vio until 
TESTED 
By THE 
MILK PAIL 
siblef We wish to come as close to the ^^J^ssisting 
in the solutin ^ °/ ier the personal services of our Feed * ^n a -, r y Feeding,’ 
which Z IIZ of feedin g problems. While our ‘‘ Mode ^ as ° t to r oughly as 
Possible farm end P ost paid on request, covers the S r ? un tion w iU often 
be Of i Im , " con '!itions vary so greatly that special ar e the 
best ' I alue - Our facilities for giviog such » £or f d a ‘“” s 
’ and we gladly invite your correspondence. 
SCItNCE DEPT., THE AMERICAN CEREAL CO., 
1339 Monad nock Bldg., Chicago, 
7 
THE 
PAIL TELLS 
THE TALE. 
CONSULT our science department 
r r*r »r?/c* avv'g ACE mcy, w.v 
