—Means should be provided and arrangements made to keep all raw or fluid blood free from water and manure. Frequently cattle that are hay or grass fed, have a draining from the stomach via the mouth when hung, and comparatively large quantities of undigested food are spilled. This should be collected before the animal is stuck and prevented from mixing with the blood.
Storing.
—After drying, blood should be cooled and stored in piles on the floor in dry rooms to be put in bags at the time of shipment. It is usually unnecessary to grind or screen it. It should be dried to 8% moisture.
Quick Handling.
—Blood is so highly susceptible to decay that it should be handled quickly and with as little contact with air as possible.
Tankage.
—This name embodies the dried material from the residue in the tanks after cooking in digesters, and pressing. It is classified into several grades. Digester tankage, is usually sold for stock foods. No. 1 tankage of commerce, has a high nitrogen content and low percentage of bone, it is usually produced from beef tanks; No. 2 tankage is low in nitrogen or ammonia, as it is known to the lay-mind, and high in bone. The usual comparative analysis is:
| Blood | No. 1 | No. 2 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bone Phosphate | ... | 10% | 28% |
| Ammonia | 16-17% | 10-12% | 6-8% |
Quotations and Values.
—Tankage and blood is usually sold on its value per unit of ammonia. That is to say, if blood be quoted at $3.00 per unit of ammonia and analyzes sixteen per cent, it sells for $48.00 per ton. Tankage may contain eleven per cent ammonia and twelve per cent bone phosphate, quoted at $2.75 per unit, and 10c per unit respectively, which would make the relative market $31.45 per ton.