DiriSIOX OF CHEMIfiTRY 



115 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



roots should liud a place in the ration and why thej' should be regardeil, in judicious 

 'luantities, as highly beneficial to the animal. 



The absolute feeding: value of roots compared with many other classes of feeding 

 stuffs and as reckoned from their percentages of protein and fat must be regarded as 

 low. The percentage of dry matter itresent is not high — it seldom exceeds 12 per cent 

 — and tliis is made wyi chiefly of starch, sugar, pectin and other carb hydrates. The 

 amount of fibre is, as a rule, very low, which no doubt is a factor making for the easy 

 and ijractieally complete digestion of the root. 



It is a fairly safe assumption to make that fi'om the nutritive standpoint the rela- 

 tive \aluc of any sample or class of roots will depend chiefly upon the percentages of 

 ' dry matter ' and sugar contained — the larger the percentages the greater the value 

 of the root — and it was with this in view that some j'ears ago an inve.-tigation was 

 inaugurated in this Division to learn what differences might exist in this regard 

 among the various classes of roots, mangels, carrots, turnips, etc., and among the 

 several varieties, as offered for sale, of each class. This work, carried on from season 

 to season since 1903, has given some very interesting ro^ults, in that it has shown 

 wide differences in dry matter and sugar-content between the varieties examined, dif- 

 ferences in some cases that amounted to practically 100 per cent. It is ih • data from 

 a continuation of this investigation on the Central Farm, Ottawa, in 1913, that are 

 presented in the following tables. 



MANGKLS. 



The series comprises thirteen varieties, tht^ larger number of which have been 

 grown and examined in previous years. They are arranged in the ord r of their rich- 

 ness of dry matter. Data are also given for the percentage of sugar — the most impor- 

 tant food" constituent in roots — and the average weight per root. 



Analysis of Mangels, Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa, Ont., 1913. 



Variety. 



Mammoth Long Tied 



Golden Tunkaid 



(iiant Yellow Intermediate 



Perfection Maniinolh Red 



I'rize Mammoth Lonpf Red 



Gate Post 



Giant H;ilf Sugar White 



Yellow Leviathan 



Manimoih Yellow Intenriediate. 



Giant N dlow (41obe 



Kckendorfer Ked 



Select! d Yellow Globe 



Danish SInd>tru|> 



Water. 



p. c. 



87-81 

 88-41 

 88-51 

 88-57 

 88-!)5 

 89-02 

 S!»-02 

 f)0 21 

 <)0-74 

 91- 10 

 91 30 

 91-42 

 92-39 



Dry 



Matter. 



Sngar 



in 

 Juice. 



p. c. 



12 19 

 11-59 

 11- -19 

 11-43 

 11 05 

 10 98 

 10-38 



9 -79 

 9 26 

 8-90 

 8-70 

 8 58 

 7 01 



p. c. 



5-76 

 6-56 

 6-89 

 6 51 

 6-76 

 6 27 

 5 55 

 507 

 5-24 

 518 

 4 44 

 507 

 3 85 



Average 



Weight 



of 



One Root. 



Lb. Oz. 



3 

 2 

 2 

 3 

 3 

 2 

 2 

 2 

 2 

 3 

 3 



14 

 8 



12 

 5 



13 

 5 

 2 



14 

 6 



16 

 3 

 2 

 3 



The results as a whole, compared with those of previous records, sh- w that the 

 mangels of the 1913 crop are quite the eciual in dry matter and sugar to those produced 

 at Ottawa in the most favourable seasons. They, however, will bring out the object of 

 this investigation, in making evident that large differences in nutritive value exist 

 among the varieties. Between the richest and the poorest there is a difference of 

 4.5S per cent dry matter and 1.91 per cent sugar, which means that the former con- 

 tains 60 per cent more dry matter and 50 per cent more sugar than the latter. Ref- 



16— 8i 



