28 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



A practical side of the question of digestibility is brought out 

 by a glance at the conditions which affect the digestibility of 

 fodders. 



EARLY VS. LATE CUTTING CLOVER. 



It has been found by experiment that the digestibility of the 

 protein in clover cut at different periods may vary as much as 

 25 per cent. Very early cut clover may have a digestibility of 

 nearly 80 per cent for its protein while late cut may be as low 

 as 55 per cent. If we take into consideration the fact that the 

 early cut fodder is richer in its composition we may compute 

 that one ton of early cut clover with 20 per cent protein, 80 per 

 cent of which is digestible, furnishes as much of that nutrient 

 as 254 tons of late cut clover of 13 per cent protein and 55 per 

 cent digestible. The same rule holds with grasses used for hay 

 or grazed off or fed green, and a slight reduction in yield due to 

 early cutting is often well compensated bv the higher digesti- 

 bility of the early cut fodder. 



The amount eaten has very little effect on digestibility. 

 Animals will digest proportionally as well if fed up to full capac- 

 ity as when fed half as much. Economy of production gen- 

 erally favors working animals on full time. 



Drying in itself does not alter digestibility, but drying grasses 

 or clovers may result in mechanical losses of the richer portions, 

 and hence reduce digestibility. The dried product in this case 

 would not be quite the same as the fresh grass. 



Cooking does not improve digestibility. The various expe- 

 dients in preparing fodders, cutting, soaking, steaming or cook- 

 ing do not increase their percentage of digestibility although 

 they may improve their palatability, increase the amount eaten 

 and cause profitable results in feeding. 



There are many other circumstances that may be considered in 

 their relation to digestibility, but our brief time makes it advis- 

 able to mention only one more, viz., fJie addition of starch. 

 Some very interesting trials by Stohmann, Henneberg and 

 Wolff* show a marked decrease in the percentage digestibility of 

 protein and sometimes of the fibre as well, when a large increase 

 of starch was added to the ration. To get the most complete 

 digestion it appears that there must be a certain ratio between 

 the nutrients fed. If we feed an excess of protein above the 

 requirements of the animal, protein consumption increases, and 



