126 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



3. — The word Fat in the tables below is used in its ordinary sense, 

 meaning the fatty or oily substance in the food, for all feeding stutfs, 

 commercial or home-grown contain fat resembling in chemical compo- 

 sition, if not in physical appearance, such common fats as lard, butter, 

 olive oil or cottonseed oil. The principal use of the fat seems to be to 

 supply heat and energy. 



4. Nitrogen-free Extract. — By nitrogen-free extract chemists mean the 

 starch, sugar and similar constituents of the food. All cereals and cereal 

 products contain a high percentage Of starch and sugar. The hay, straw, 

 cornstalks, corn and oats are made up quite largely of starch and are 

 therefore said to be rich in nitrogen-free extract. 



5. Crude Fiber. — The stems and leaves of forage plants consist quite 

 largely of woody fibers to give them strength and stiffness. The stomachs 

 and inte^stines of ruminants are adapted to the digestion and utilization 

 of part at least of this woody material, which chemists call Crude Fiber. 

 Naturally the coarser feeds, the straw and stalks, stems and husks, and 

 even the leaves and outer coverings of the grains contain high percentages 

 of crude fiber. This crude fiber is not without value as a nutrient. 

 Digestion experiments have shown that both ruminants and horses are 

 able to utilize part of the crude fiber of their food. Of the crude fiber 

 of straw, domestic animals are able to digest and utilize from 36 to Gl 

 per cent. ; of the crude fiber of hay from 40 to 72 per cent, and of the 

 crude fiber of the grains from 20 to 80 per cent. 



Farther experiments have seemed to show that this digested crude 

 fiber is equivalent in all respects to starch and in the computation of 

 rations the digested crude fiber and the digested nitrogen-free extract 

 are reckoned together and are called carhohgdrates. 



G. Ash. — This is the mineral matter in the feed and consequently what 

 would be left behind if the feed were burned. Every crop grown on the 

 farm contains some ash and animals are nearly always sure to get all 

 of this material that their sj^stem demands from their regular rations. 



'7. Drg Matter. — This term is frequently used in analytical tables and 

 in calculating a ration. It refers to the amount of solid matter in a 

 food after the moisture has been excluded. It represents the sum of all 

 the constituents of a food except water. No food as found on the mar- 

 ket is wholly dry matter. They all contain some water. 



It is evident then that the ingredient the feeder needs to buy, and 

 what is most valuable and usually deficient, is protein. The next point 

 of consideration is : In what food is the protein most economical ? 



If bran, for example, containing 12 per cent, of digestible protein, sells 

 at 118.00 per ton, it is manifestly not economy to pay !^20.00 per ton for 

 a feed containing but 8 per cent, of digestible protein. This lack of re- 

 lation between price and protein content is a very common one. It is very 

 plain that a comparison of feeds should be made from the standpoint of 

 their composition, for a feed low in ]irotein is not worth as much as a 

 feed high in protein. A flattering advertisement does not raise the per- 

 centage of protein. It should then be kept constantly in mind that 

 primarilg a feeding stuff is bought to supply an ingredient in which the 

 farmers produce is deficient, namely protein. 



