New YorK AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. ~ 89 
Much stress has been laid in the past upon the necessity of 
avoiding too wide a nutritive ratio, that is, too large a propor- 
tion of carbohydrates, because of a depression of the digestibil- 
ity of the ration, especially of the protein. In the case under 
consideration there appears to be a gradual decrease in the pro- 
portion of total organic matter digested from the first to the 
third periods, and it is logical to conclude that this was caused 
by a widening of the nutritive ratio, because other conditions 
remained the same. The protein is also apparently consider- 
ably less digestible after the withdrawal of the wheat gluten. 
This is due in part at least to the high rate of digestibility of 
the protein in wheat gluten as compared with that in other parts 
of the ration. Moreover, under these conditions the presence 
of certain metabolic products would cause an apparent rather 
than a real decrease in digestibility. The extent of the influence 
of an increase in the proportion of carbohydrates cannot be 
seen clearly in this instance, although the evidence in favor of 
a depression of digestibility is as valid as that from which 
former conclusions have been drawn. 
The foregoing figures make it plain that the several rations 
furnished abundant and not unusual nutrition to the cows eat- 
ing them, excepting, of course, the very small amount of fat 
supplied to Cow 12 and the abnormal supply of fat in the ration 
of Cow 10 for a short period. 
THE INFLUENCE OF THE COMPOSITION OF THD RATION UPON THE 
QUANTITY AND COMPOSITION OF THE MILK AND MILK FAT. 
Before discussing the questions to which these investigations 
have more especial reference, it is important to inquire whether 
the quantity and character of the cow’s product were in any- 
way modified by the unusual character or variations of the 
rations. | 
This inquiry is all the more pertinent because of the prevail- 
ing notion, not yet justified by any researches whatever, that 
the composition of the ration determines to a large extent the 
character and composition of the milk. 
