314 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



AIS^JS^UAL REPORT OF THE CHEMIST. 



I. Fodder and Fodder Analyses. 



To ascertain the composition of our fodder articles, as far 

 as the character and relative proportion of their essential 

 proximate constituents are concerned, is the first step to- 

 wards the introduction of a rational system of feeding our 

 farm live stock. 



A better knowledge of what we feed enables us to give a 

 more judicious explanation of the results of our feeding ex- 

 periments ; it teaches best how to supplement our own fodder 

 resources to meet the special wants of our farm stock, and 

 cannot fail to direct the attention of the producer of fodder 

 crops to the important question whether they are, as far 

 as quality is concerned, what they ought to be. Actual 

 feeding experiments have shown that the condition and 

 quality of the soil exert a decided influence, not only on the 

 quantity, but also on the quality of the crops raised upon it. 

 For instance, oats raised during the same season upon the 

 same kind of soil, with the aid of manures and without 

 them, have been noticed to contain in the latter case as low 

 as five, and in the former as high as eleven, per cent, of 

 nitrogenous constituents in its dry vegetable matter. 



The existence of similar relations between the particular 

 condition of the soil and the composition of the crops, has 

 been proved in regard to most of our prominent grasses and 

 leguminous plants, as clover, as well as of mixed forage 

 crops, like meadow hay. 



A high percentage of nitrogenous constituents in these 

 crops is usually accompanied by a high percentage of phos- 

 phoric acid compounds. 



