414 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 



of bean-hay and aftermath exercise upon the digestibility of 

 the latter. The effect of easily digestible materials, as grain 

 and root-fruits, upon the digestion of hay and straw by do- 

 mestic animals has been made the subject of a large number 

 of investigations in the German experiment stations. In the 

 series here referred to sheep were the animals, and young 

 succulent bean-hay, aftermath from a meadow, and beets or 

 turnips, the fodder employed. The animals were fed for a 

 certain period with the aftermath or bean-hay alone ; during 

 another period turnips were added. In each case the amounts 

 of the different ingredients of the hay or aftermath digested 

 by the animals were determined, and thus the effect of the 

 turnips upon the digestion became known. It was found 

 that when turnips were added in the proportion of 16 to 2S 

 pounds to 100 pounds of dry substance in the bean-hay, 3^ 

 to 5^ per cent, less organic substance of the hay was digested 

 than when this was fed alone. An addition of a like pro- 

 portion of turnips to the aftermath caused a decrease of 2-g- 

 to 5|- per cent, in the digestion of the dry substance of the 

 latter. It must be borne in mind that bean-hay is very rich, 

 and turnips are very poor in nitrogenous material, while the 

 aftermath, like ordinary hay, holds a medium position in this 

 respect. Since the nitrogenous material constitutes the most 

 valuable part of the food, its digestibility in a ration is of 

 very great importance. The decrease in digestion of nitrog- 

 enous material produced by the addition of turnips to the 

 ration was less with the bean-hay than with the aftermath. 

 These results accord with those of previous experiments per- 

 formed at Hohenheim and elsewhere, in indicating that the 

 digestibility of the nitrogenous material in fodder rich in 

 nitrogen is less depressed than that of fodder poor in nitro- 

 gen by the addition of easily digestible substances poor in 

 nitrogen. 



CD 



Some other results of considerable interest were gained 

 from the experiments of which we are speaking. It is an old 

 observation that hay kept stored for a considerable time 

 loses somewhat of its nutritive value. This may be attrib- 

 uted either to a loss of nitrogen or to a decrease in the di- 

 gestibility of the ingredients of the hay. It may be added 

 that in the handling, particularly of clover, there is apt to be 

 a loss of the leaves and other more digestible portions of the 



