116 



P^^RT III. 



rODDRRS. 



By a knowledge of the composition of cattle foods and of the functions and 

 relative values of their constituents, the economic and profitable feeding of farm 

 stock is made an intelligent operation. 



The term" fodder " maj^ be used to include all plants or parts of plants, e. g., seeds 

 rooti>, &c., and all vegetable bj^e-pi-oducts, e.g. oil and cotton-seed cake, that are used 

 as foods for the animals of the farm. 



Fodders consist of varying proportions of Water and Dry matter. 



Water. 



The percentage of water present depends upon the nature of the fodder. In 

 root crops there is almost 90 per cent.; in green fodders, e. g., coi-n and grass, there 

 is between 70 per cent, and 80 per cent, according to variety, time of year, &c. ; 

 in hay we find about 14 per cent., and in corn meal, oil cake and similar materials, 

 between 7 per cent, and 10 per cent. 



Although water is as necessar}^ to the animal as it is to the plant, yet on account 

 of its abundance in nature no value can be assigned to it in fodders. It is, however, 

 a most essential constituent for the well-being of the animal, acting in the body as a 

 solvent and aid to the digestion of the solid matter of food, and forming a vehicle for 

 conveying such dissolved and digested matter to the various organs and tissues of 

 the animal. 



During the maturing of many foliaceous plants, such as grass, Indian corn, 

 etc., the withdrawal of water, accompanied b}' other changes, tends to lower some- 

 what the digestibility and hence the value of some of the constituents. 



Hence, some j)lants may be more nutritious in their green and succulent state 

 than they are when ripe and dry, in spite of the fact that in the latter condition the 

 solid food materials may exceed in amount two or three times that found in the 

 green and immature fodder. 



The importance of a plentiful supply of pure water for cattle is spoken of in 

 treating of well-waters — Vide page 148. 



Dry Matter. 



The dry substance of a fodder consists of an oiganic, and of an inorganic or 

 mineral, part 



Organic. — The valuable and nutritive constituents of fodders are of this nature. 

 They fall into two classes, viz. : Nitrogenous and Non-nitrogenous. 



The iVifro^enows compounds contain, in addition to carbon, hj^drogen and oxygen, 

 the valuable element nitrogen, often associated with sulphur and phosphorus. In the 

 following table they are collated under the heading "Albuminoids." Though the 

 albuminoids in plants and animals may differ in physical properties, thej^ all 

 closely approximate each other in chemical composition — containing in the neigh- 

 bourhood of 16 percent, niti'ogen. Examples of albuminoids in the animal kingdom 

 are : white of egg, casein (curd) of milk ; in the vegetable kingdom : gluten of 

 wheat — the tough elastic mass left after washing out the starch, etc., in nour, and 

 vegetable casein found largely in the seeds of the leguminosae — peas, beans, &c. 



