24 Director’s REPORT OF THE 
THE QUALITY OF THE COMPOUNDED FEEDS. 
It is unfortunate for the feeding stuff trade and especially for 
the consumer that inferior materials have come into such extensive 
use in compounding commercial feeds. The substances chiefly in 
evidence in this connection are oat hulls and ground corn cobs; al- 
though other materials like ground alfalfa are associated with grain 
products in order to sell at grain prices what is really a coarse 
fodder. 
The presence of low grade materials in a mixture may be dis- 
covered in many cases either by microscopical examination or by 
chemical analysis. For instance, several brands of feeds have been 
offered for sale that consist of mixed wheat offals adulterated with 
ground corn cobs. With these mixtures the microscope reveals the 
corn cob tissues and chemical analysis shows a protein content too 
low and a fibre content too high for pure mixed wheat offals. In 
the case of many other feeds their low percentage of protein and 
high percentage of fibre characterizes them as made up in part of 
inferior ingredients.. Any supposed grain mixture with only 8% 
per ct. of protein or less, with 12 per ct. of fibre or more, may 
safely be considered as made up in part of some low grade by- 
product. No mixture of straight farm grains would have so little 
protein or so much fibre. Indeed a grain feed with protein as low 
as 9 per ct. should be regarded with suspicion. 
A careful survey of the results of the inspection herewith re- 
ported shows that approximately eighty, or 70 per ct., of the 114 
brands of compounded feeds contain low-grade products. In many 
instances these mixtures bear names that to the ordinary mind are 
deceptive and to all intents and purposes are dishonest. 
It will be well for prospective buyers of feeds to study carefully 
the published analyses of compounded feeds and avoid the purchase 
at grain prices of any feed carrying 8% per ct. of protein or less 
or over 12 per ct. of fibre. A feed is especially to be avoided 
if the protein is low and the fibre high. 
In view of the character of a majority of the compounded feeds 
now offered in our markets and the ease with which, by ingenious 
methods of mixing, purchasers of feeds may be deceived as to the 
quality of what they are buying, wise consumers will avoid com- 
pounded feeds and mix their own rations from such standard feeds 
as the oil meals, distillers’ and brewers’ by-products, gluten meal 
and gluten feed, wheat-offals, hominy feed, farm grains and other - 
feeds having characteristic composition and quality. It is the 
