agricultural chemist, b. Northbridge, Mass. He graduated from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (1871) and Yale Univ. (Ph.D., 1879). During his studies he became interested in European attempts to devise scientific principles for animal feeding, and incorporated much of the knowledge gained from these sources in his Manual of Cattle Feeding (1880), the first summary of existing knowledge on animal nutrition in the English language. The book had a widespread influence and was used as a text for many years. In 1883 Armsby came to the Univ. of Wisconsin as a professor of agricultural chemistry and to work with the Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station. Convinced that chemical analysis alone was not a sufficient test of nutritional value, Armsby began testing the digestibility of fodders by using both chemical and practical tests. In 1887 he left Wisconsin and went to Pennsylvania State College to organize an experiment station. He became one of the leading authorities on animal nutrition. The results of his study are embodied in his two major books, The Principles of Animal Nutrition (1903) and The Nutrition of Farm Animals (1917). Armsby was president (1898-1899) of the Association of Agricultural Colleges and Experimental Stations. Dict. Amer. Biog.; Experiment Station Record, 45 (1921); W. H. Glover, Farm and College (Madison, 1952); Who's Who in Amer.; 11 (1920).Learn More
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[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]
