140 BOAKD OF AGRICULTURE. 



Corn. Green corn is rather poor in albiiu)inoids, and in order to 

 obtain the completest digestion of its constituents it is well to add 

 some fodder richer in albuminoids, and thus have a better digestive 

 relation. 



Beet Tops — Though quite watery, are comparatively rich in 

 albuminoids. Their use must be restricted, as the}' are liable to 

 occasion diarrhoea. The same may be said of carrot and rutabaga 

 tops. Cabbage leaves are good fodder, especiall}- for milk cows. 



Cereal Straivs. As a general rule, the straw of summer cereals 

 is poorer in cellulose and richer in albuminoids than that of winter 

 varieties. Experiments upon the digestibilit}' of the constituents of 

 these straws are not ver\' numerous. 



Leginninotis St7'atvs, contain a larger per cent, of albuminoids 

 than do cereal straws. The crude fibre of leguminous straws is dif- 

 ficult to digest, while the extractive carboh^^drates have a relatively 

 high digestibihty. 



Cereal Grains. Their composition is variable. The influence of 

 the conditions of vegetation is ver^^ great, especial]}' in the quantity 

 of albuminoids which the grains may contain. Wheat and oats 

 seem to be more easily influenced by the conditions of vegetation 

 than barley or rye. 



The influence of manuring is well illustrated by the following 

 experiment tried at PoppelsdortF. The per cent, of albuminoids in 

 wheat cultivated without manure was 16.3 per cent. ; by a manuring 

 with superphosphates it was increased to 17.6 per cent. ; by the ap- 

 plication of a highly nitrogenized manure, such as salts of ammonia 

 and nitrates, the per cent, of albuminoids was raised to 21 .4 per cent. 

 By the use of a manure containing the above compounds of nitrogen 

 together with phosphates, 22.4 per ct. of albuminoids was obtained. 

 The straw gave the following per centages of albuminoids : 3.4 per 

 cent., 3.7 and 5.2 per cent. 



It is probable that about 90 to 95 per cent, of the albuminoids in 

 wheat and rye are digestible ; 95 to 97 per cent, of the extractive 

 carbohydrates are digestible. 



The average of a number of experiments has given 75 per cent, 

 as the quantity of albuminoids and extractive carbohydrates which 

 are digestible in oats ; in barley about 79 per cent, of the albumin- 

 oids and 90 per cent, of the extractive carbohydrates. 



