The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-09-10
FISH PACKERS TURN TO
MAKING POULTRY FOOD
Nearly 100, 900 Tons of Food Gan BE
Made Annually From Fish
Wastes.
COWS AND PIGS PATTERNED,
Experiments Made BY Department of
Agriculture Show How Virginia
Fish Factories May Increase Value
of Products.

ly 40, 900 tons of valuable stock and
poultry food high in protein can be
produced annually from the wastes
OF the salmon and sardine packing in
/ dustries, and of the menhaden fish,
OIL and fsh-scrap factories on the
coasts. This Is exclusive Of addition
al wastes from the tuna packing COM
panies and does not include a large
additional tonnage of valuable stock
food that could be made from dog Ash,
now the bane OF the market fisher
man. This statement Is made in u. 8.
Department of Agriculture Profession
al Paper No. 378. Fish Meal: It's Use
as Stock and Poultry Food, which
was issued Jointly by the Bureaus Of
Chemistry and Animal Industry af-
ter they had completed experiments
in making a stock feed from fish
waste and had tested it at the govern
ment farm at Beltsville. Md, as a
food for dairy cattle. pigs and chick
ems
According to the conclusions reach
ed by the investigators. a vast amount
OF fish waste, which now lis being
used wholly for fertilizer and Ash oil.
can readily be made to yield a better
quality of fish oil and a vast tonnage
of a highly concentrated feedstuff.
They point out that there will be lit
tie loss Of fertflizing resources. be-
cause most Of the valuable fertilizing
elements in FISH. which are retained
in the Ash meal. will be available in
the manure OF the animals fed on this
( form OF concentrate.
The investigation was prompted by
the large amount of waste. some 2 600
TO 1000 tons per season. resulting
d ~ ~ A
large percentage OF each sardine, in
Guiding the head and some OF the
body was cut Off before the .ardine
was packed and this refuse was either
thrown away or turned into fertilizer
as fsh scrap.
The chemists thereupon conducted
; some large-scale experiments and
found that after pressing out an I'M
, usually high grade oil. the fish resi-
due could economically and easily be
/ turned into fish meal. which cattle.
/ pigs and poultry would eat readily
and which, in addition. kept as well
as meat scrap. meat meal or other
high protein concentrates The only
requirement was that the fish residue
should he made into meal while still
tflizer was 20 be made. spelling or
rotttnE Ash IN no way 1essened the
value OF the fish scrap. "pomace," or
guano
Tests With Fish Meal.
A ton OF this fish meal. made IN
this way from sardine waste. after
being stored about Ave months. was
shipped 10 Washington and used In
cooperation with the Animal Hus-
bandry and Dairy Divisions In feed
ing dairy cows. growing pigs and poul-
try Analysis Of the meal, which show
ed II TO have a high protein and a
desirable fat content was as fol-
lows:
Per Cent
"a'er .'''''-'.' '--...''-'.' -
Ash ......-.......... $500. 1865
Total nitrogen ............ a.ss
Protein IN s.25) .....sos 50
rat ...'.... ......... .. 30
Crude fiber 0.61
Salt (NaCD SITS
Results With Dairy Cows.
The preliminary results obtained by
the Dairy Division OF the Bureau OF
Animal Industry by feeding the fish
meal described above to dairy COWS,
were sufficiently satisfactory to war
rant a more extended study OF its
value as dairy feed This work is
TO be undertaken during the COM
INK WINTER. ne preliminary eX-
periments showed that the cows
fed on ration containing f,sh
meal gave greater yield Of milk than
cows fed on similar basal ration
containing no fsh meal. hut con-
tanning cottonseei meal. The milk
| from the cows which were fed Ash
meal contained a lower percentage OF
butter fat but the total WELD OF fat
obtained was approximately the SAM
for the two groups.
There was some variation in the
readiness with which the animals ate
the ration containing the fish meal.
As a rule cows which have not been
| highly fed on feeds for which they
have fondness, will eat fish-meal
ration readily and are eager for It
had no detrimental effect on either
milk or butter.
Pigs Are Fattened.
| In the experiments to test the value
! OF fish meal for growing and fatten.
| ing pigs, fish meal was compared with
tankage as supplementary feedine
STUFF. The growing pigs, which were
| all In good thrifty condition. were
about three months Of age at the be-
ginning of the experiment and were
| fed for sixteen weeks, The following
rations were fed:
Lot Eight pigs were fed four
parts corn meal four parts middlings
one part tankage.
Lot -Four pigs were fed four
parts corn meal four parts middlinss,
one part Ash meal.
The digester tankage was figured
at $50 ton and fish meal at $35 a
ton. an estimate based upon the cur
rent prices of Ash fertilizer at the
time these experiments were made
During the growing period the lot
fed corn meal. middlings. and fish
meal made a greater daily gain and a
cheaper gain than the lot receiving
the tankage supplement. The lot re-
ceivinx the nsh-meal supplement con-
sumed 1928 pounds more feed. gain
ed total Of ass pounds more. and
cost Is cents less per 100 pounds OF
gain. than did the lot to which tank
age was fed. At the close Of the
growing period the average weight of
the pigs fed fsh meal was 201. S
CONTINUED on Eighth EaEeA