CATTLE FEEDING. I35 



cent, being voided by the urine, 20 to 30 per cent of the magnesia 

 is eliminated in the same wa}', lime only 2 to 5 per cent., and nearly 

 all of the sulphuric acid and chlorine. 



Having studied the digestibilitj' of the various proximate con- 

 stituents of the fodder, we may now see what effect an increase or 

 a decrease of one of them will exert upon the digestibility of the 

 others contained in the ration. The digestibility of the coarser 

 kinds of fodder, such as the varieties of hay and straw, is deter- 

 mined more by the ph3'sical condition of the dry substance which is 

 more or less due to the climate, the manure used, etc., while the 

 effect of the wei^it of the ration, the race, the kind and age of the 

 animals seems to exert less influence upon the digestibility of 

 the food offered. 



The addition of albuminoids to the coarse fodders does not exer- 

 cise a depressive influence upon their digestion. At the agricultural 

 station of Weende, sheep fed with one kilogramme (2 1-5 lbs.) of 

 meadow lia}^ per da}-, received in addition 120 grammes (4 1-5 

 ounces about) of gluten ; this was subsequently increased to 262 

 grammes, (about 9 1-5 ounces). The dr}' gluten contained 78 per 

 cent, of albuminoids. No depression in the rate of digestibilit\- of 

 the proximate principles of the mixture was noticed. Numerous 

 experiments at Hohenheim, Mockern, Halle, and elsewhere, have 

 put the same fact in evidence, that the addition of highly- uitro- 

 genized substances to the ration of animals does not act prejudieialh' 

 upon the digestibility of the fodder. It must, however, be remembered 

 that the digestibilit}' of the albuminoids in these (nitrogenized) con- 

 dimental foods differs considerably, as for example : about 90 per 

 cent, of the albuminoids iu the fruit of the leguminious plants is 

 digestible, 85 per cent, of those contained in linseed cake, 78 per 

 cent, of those in rape seed cake and wheat bran, 74 per cent, of 

 those in cotton seed cake. The addition of cereal grains having a 

 mean coefficient of digestilMlity of from 1 : 5 to 1 : 8 does not have 

 a depressing effect upon the digestion of coarse fodder. 



At Hohenheim experiments were made in the alimentation of sheep 

 with a mixture of meadow ha}^ and oats ; the proportion of the food 

 being the following: 1 to 1.7G in one experiment, 1 to 3.09 in 

 another, and 1 to 3.30 in a third experiment; these experiments 

 showed that the amount of albuminoids of the oats digested was 

 78 per cent. — 78.4 per cent. — 77.5 per cent, respectively in the 

 above experiments. The same experiment was tried at Dresden, 



