New YorK AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 89 
As the birds approached maturity a less expensive gain was 
made by birds of equal age under whole grain, but birds of equal 
size had made cheaper gains under the ground grain ration. The 
average weight of ten pounds was attained by the capons fed 
ground grain when 6.5 months old, at which age the contrasted lot 
averaged but 9.5 pounds in weight, although the total cost per fowl 
for food from hatching was slightly less. At nine months of age the 
ground grain lot averaged 11.5 pounds in weight, which average 
was not reached by the whole grain lot until ten months of age. 
At equal weights the total food cost from hatching was in favor 
of the lot having ground grain. 
In the other feeding trial two lots of capons, similar in every 
way, were used. ‘These were not fed the contrasted rations until 
caponized, and had been grown together on a common ration. 
For the whole time that these capons were fed as well as during 
the earlier periods of most rapid growth more food was consumed 
under the ground grain ration. The growth was also enough faster 
to make the ratio of gain in weight to the dry matter in the food 
slightly in favor of the ground grain, as well as the cost of added 
weight. 
The results from these feeding trials were on thé whole some- 
what in favor of the rations of ground foods; for faster growth 
was made, and at the prices then prevailing, at less cost. In the 
matter of healthfulness no difference appeared. 
ANIMAL FOOD FOR POULTRY — THE IMPORTANCE AND ECONOMY OF 
IDSs wok. 
The necessity of having enough nitrogenous matter in the food 
to supply material for the growing body was known and the fact 
was becoming more generally recognized that this must be derived 
from a limited bulk of food. To make up for the small proportion 
of protein existing in the foods that must be utilized, products of 
various kinds rich in nitrogenous constituents were used to im- 
prove the ration. Different results with rations of similar “ com- 
position,’ so far as proportions of ordinary groups of constituents 
went, seemed often due to varying palatability of the foods used, 
but not always. 
To get some suggestion as to the relative efficiency of the con- 
stituents grouped as total protein in the grains and animal products, 
a number of feeding experiments?! were made. In the first series 


* Buls. 149 and 171; also in Rpts. 17:45-63 (1898) and 18:75-124 (1899). 
