146 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



flesh formation. From experiments it would seem that the best pro- 

 portion of fat as compared with the albuminoids is as 1 (fat) to 2.2 

 (albuminoids) or 1 (fat) to 3 (albuminoids) . The carbohydrates 

 in fodder lessen the transformations of the albuminoids to a 2:reater 

 degree than do the fats. Experiments upon carnivorous animals 

 showed that the carbohydrates of the fodder decreased the decom- 

 position of albumin 9 per cent., while fats only diminished it by 7 

 per cent. 



The different varieties of carbohydrates are present in nearly all 

 fodder to quite a large extent, and are therefore moi'e important 

 generally for nitrogen than the fats which are only present in small 

 proportion. It must be remembered that fodder is only economically 

 utilized by cattle when a certain amount of albuminoids are present, 

 and without their presence the digestion of nutritive principles is 

 imperfect. 



Formation of Fat. There can be no doubt but that the fatty 

 substances of fodder are assimilated by animals, and without change 

 deposited in the various organs. 



At Munich, a dog that had been subjected to a fast of thirty 

 da^'s, was fed for five daj's with large quantities of fat, it was found 

 at the end of that time that there must have been a daily deposition 

 of fat in the organs of the bod}' to the amount of 250 grammes 

 (about ^ lb.) per day. Many other experiments irf which a more 

 normal ration was used gave similar results, proving conclusively 

 that the fats in food, providing they be somewhat similar to the 

 animal fats, are directly assimilated without undergoing much 

 change. 



As a general thing, the rations of our domestic animals are not 

 rich enough in fatty substance to account for the quantity found in 

 their bodies ; it therefore becomes an important question to decide 

 which of the constituents, other than fats, in fodder, can b}- their 

 transformations give rise to the formation of fat in the animal 

 economy. 



Most of the physiologists of to-da}' are in favor of the view which 

 considers the albuminoids as the chief fat formers in fodder. It is 

 well known that the albuminoids in cheese are transformed into fatty 

 substance as it ripens. The eggs of the common fly when depos- 

 ited upon blood give larva? which contain from seven to eleven times 

 more fat than did the blood or unhatched eggs. 



