If you cannot find the germ in these, soak them in water for several days and then observe. The following publications may be had from the Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C., on application: Circular No. 46, Revised--The Functions and Uses of Food. By C. F. Langworthy. Circular No. 43, Revised--Food-Nutrients-Food Economy. The Cost of Food as Related to its Nutritive Value. By R. D. Milner. A PROBLEM IN FEEDING. As our knowledge increases, we give greater attention to the economical and efficient use of all feeds for live-stock. We cannot afford to feed even the corn stalks carelessly, either for the immediate concern of the pocket-book or for the good of the animal. The results of many experiments in feeding lead to the conclusion that a suitable daily ration for a cow giving milk and weighing 1,000 pounds should contain 24 pounds of dry matter, of which 2.5 pounds is digestible protein; .4 pounds digestible fat; and 12.5 pounds digestible carbohydrates. In such a ration, the ratio of digestible protein to digestible carbohydrates in the ration will be as 1 is to 5.4. In computing this ratio the amount of fat, multiplied by 2.4, is added to the carbohydrates. The fiber and the nitrogen-free extract constitute the carbohydrates. Individual animals vary so much in digestive capacity and in other respects that the foregoing standards may be frequently widely departed from to advantage. Thus many animals will profitably use more than 24 pounds of dry matter in a day and the ratio of protein to carbohydrates may vary from 1:5 to 1:6.5 without materially affecting the amount or character of the product. Standards are useful as guides. The art of feeding and the skill of the feeder consist in determining in how far the standard should be conformed to or departed from in each individual case. Suppose a farmer has corn silage and timothy hay, and may purchase cotton seed meal, wheat bran and buckwheat middlings, how may they be combined so that the ration shall contain 24 pounds dry matter, and the ratio of protein to the carbohydrates shall be approximately 1:5.4? The following table gives the data: Water. Protein. Fiber. Nitrogen-free Fat. extract. In 100 pounds of silage[60]. 79.1 1.2 4.3 7.4 .6 Timothy hay 13.2 3.4 16.8 28.4 1.2 Cotton seed meal 8.2 31.3 1.3 10.9 11.9 Wheat bran 11.9 13.6 1.8 43.1 3.2 Buckwheat middlings 13.2 22. [61] 33.4 5.4 [60] Silage is often put up when the corn is more mature, and then the water content is less than here given. [61] Included with nitrogen-free extract. LEAFLET XLV. THE LIFE HISTORY OF A BEET.[62] BY MARY ROGERS MILLER. [62] Home Nature-Study Course, Vol. IV, No. 29, February, 1903. [Illustration]