126 SCIENCE PROGRESS 



While a German analysis showed 1 : 



io' 2,7 per cent, crude protein. 

 4'93 » n digestible protein. 

 1-36 „ „ fat. 



The collection of couch-grass rhizomes has been organised in Austria during 

 the war, a fair price being paid for the fodder when washed, air-dried, and made 

 up into bundles. 



Chicory is also valuable, as the dried roots contain a good deal of sugar, and 

 have been used instead of oats.* As, however, the root is so valuable as a coffee 

 substitute, its use as fodder has recently been prohibited abroad, especially in 

 Holland. The plant has often been cultivated in Italy, France, Switzerland and 

 elsewhere, the harvested crops usually being made into hay. 



A considerable use has been made of reeds as fodder in Central Europe during 

 the last four years. The reeds have been reaped green in the summer time and 

 fed to oxen, calves and milch cows in order to save the ordinary rough fodder for 

 winter time. They are supposed to be very nutritious, and in Germany have been 

 manufactured into "reed grass meal." 



Wild nuts have always been widely used for feeding purposes, especially for 

 pigs, which can easily be driven into the woods to forage for themselves. Beech- 

 nuts have recently been collected to some extent for oil, but it is recognised that 

 it is more profitable to use them for feeding pigs, as less labour is required and 

 a larger return is obtained. Reports have been made that sheep will not touch 

 beech-nuts, and that care must be taken never to feed them to horses, as the 

 "fagin" in the nuts is an active poison to them. Poultry and cattle, however, 

 do not seem to be affected by the poisonous constituent. 3 



Horse-chestnuts have generally been used in their natural state or roughly 

 crushed, but the Germans have been converting them into a concentrated food, 

 containing albumen, a large proportion of starch, and rather more than 8 per cent, 

 of fat. The horse-chestnuts are dried, peeled and powdered, the bitter flavour 

 being removed during the preparation, the process yielding about 8 per cent, 

 of saponin, which may be used as a soap substitute. 4 Horse-chestnuts are very 

 digestible, and do not appear to be poisonous, and practically all kinds of animals 

 can be fed on them. 5 



It has long been customary to collect acorns in England for pig feeding, and 

 to turn out cattle and pigs to pick them up for themselves. This is less done 

 nowadays, however, as many cattle have been lost by " acorn poisoning," which 

 does not seem to affect pigs or sheep. The chief feeding value of acorns lies 

 in the large amount of carbohydrates present, and the dried nuts are better than 

 the fresh in this respect. With care and proper precautions there seems to 

 be no reason why acorns should not be used for fattening livestock, especially pigs, 

 provided they are only used in moderate amounts. 6 



The green parts of various herbaceous wild plants have considerable value 

 as fodder, either in the fresh state or as hay, some of the commonest weeds being 

 among the number. Spurrey {Spergula arvensis) is rarely or never utilised 



1 Strecker, 1917. Summarised \n Journ. Board Agric. vol. xxv. pp. 330-31. 



2 See Jonrn. Board Agric. vol. xxiii. pp. 499-500. 



3 Journ. Board Agric. vol. xxi. pp. 527-8, 1914. 



4 See also Goris, A., C. R. de PAcadimie des Sciences, vol. clxv. No. 10, 

 pp. 345-8, 1917. 



5 Journ. Board Agric. vol. xxi. pp. 522-6, 1914. 



6 Journ. Board Agric. vol. xxi. 19 14, pp. 511-21. 



