ANIMAL GROWTH AND NUTRITION. 245 



FERMENTATION MAKES FOOD DIGESTIBLE. 



This is a claim by some admitted to a certain extent ; bat, 

 as any fermentation that increases the digestibility of other- 

 wise indigestible parts must be accompanied by loss, it is 

 not worth pressing. The amount of indigestible matter 

 found in one hundred pounds of green fodder-corn is four 

 pounds ; but a small fraction of this will be made available 

 by fermentation. As covering the results of several trials 

 that have come to my attention, I will quote the conclusions 

 of a joint trial of U. Brewster and others: "Souring and 

 fermenting cause a loss of raw material ; boiling, scalding. 

 and steaming diminish the digestibility by the large amount 

 of water ; steaming of hay diminishes digestion." It seems 

 that the animal system has been arranged very happily to 

 take care of its natural food, and that no system yet tried 

 aids economically the animal digestive laboratory. Lactic 

 acid is liable to be, and in fact is, formed largely in silos. 



In German trials it was found that lactic acid exerted a 

 solvent action on the bones of the sheep and goats, especially 

 the younger ones. So far as I know, this fact may be more 

 curious than useful ; but it may be noted, that already two 

 cases are reported where ensilage has nearly destroyed the 

 cream-products. That an excess of acids may have some 

 such effect has been noted with other foods. 



WARM FOOD. 



Ensilage is cut up and loosened over night : fermentation 

 takes place, and warms it. This is claimed as an advantage. 

 A moment's reflection will show that such heat is produced 

 at the exj^ense of the food itself, — by its destruction ; and 

 that it would be better to feed it cool, and allow the changes 

 that warm it to transpire in the body, and so help warm the 

 beast : for the formation of heat from food outside of the 

 body is attended by loss of heat of the food by radiation into 

 space, which is lost to the beast. 



EXPERIENCE PROVES ITS ECONOMY. 



1st, Many of the stories told are physical impossibilities. 

 There are some in print, where the results claimed are such 

 as to require more albuminoids than the food contained. 



