380 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



great a loss in merelj', as it were, pourin"; it from one vessel 

 into another. 



The proportious of food wasted and assimilated are pur- 

 posely left somewhat indefinite ; for if the (act of their being a 

 great and unnecessary waste is made evident, the object of the 

 present article is attained, as it is more desirable to point out 

 precisely the source of the loss, and that it may be prevented, 

 than to be critically exact about the amount. In fact, none of 

 the elaborate statements in reference to nutritive properties of 

 various foods, even though made by Sir This, or Professor 

 That, as being the actual result of most careful, and perhaps 

 curious experiments, published by societies or associations 

 rejoicing in the most dignified titles, are any better, for prac- 

 tical purposes, than the observations of sensible persons of 

 less pretension. In practice the results vary : the roots or grain 

 may or may not be in equally dry condition, aud different ani- 

 mals have different qualities for "putting up flesh," or the 

 same animal may vary at different times, &c. ; consequently, 

 any statement which descended to the utmost nicety would be 

 less useful than another, which although not so correct in 

 detail, examined the subject on broad principles. And as it 

 is now purposed to show how a very large amount of the really 

 available dry elements of food is totally lost, fine calculations 

 are perfectly unneceisary. 



Vegetables consist of water, a quantity of matter called 

 gum, sugar, starch, liguine, albumen, and gluten, according as it 

 assumes various appearances, and also of a small quantity of 

 salts, &c., the latter not amounting to more than about l-500th 

 part of the whole, and of these Ealts, &c., no notice will 

 be taken at present, nor ttnlil it has been first demonstrated 

 that to the small constituent portions of food are ive chiefly in- 

 debted for the eontinuance of life itself. 



The following table will show the proportions of water and 

 soluble solid matter in a few articles as examples, and also 

 of starch, sugar, gluten, &c., in 1,000 parts of the soluble solid 

 matter : 



Mucil- 

 lage or 

 Starch. 



Sugar. 



790 



641 



180 



3 



9 



29 



70 

 15 

 15 

 95 

 51 

 1 



Gluten 



or 



Albumen. 



60 



87 



35 







2 



2 



The moat obvious difference is in the proportion of water ; 

 but neither that nor the varying amounts of starch, sugar 

 gluten, &c., account for the well-known different values for 

 feeding purposes, but which these articles will gradually trace 

 to their true cause. 



As for the starch, sugar, gum, &c., the subjoined table will 

 show that they are all nearly alike, or only vary slightly in 

 their composition, and therefore the proportions of these sub- 

 stances contained in any kind of food are not so important as 

 lirequently has been represented : 



Before proceeding, it may he necessary to explain that water 

 exists in two states in food as used, viz. : One in which it may 

 be driven off by submitting the food for at sufticient length of 



time to a temperature equal to boiling water until it has eva- 

 porated. The other, iu its elementary state as oxygen and 

 hydrogen, as shewn in the table; but w-hether they are in com- 

 bination or not is not very clear, nor does it particularly 

 signify, as they occupy about the same compass, and are not 

 iu the expanded gaseous form. 



By deducting from the figures in the above table the exact 

 amounts of hydrogen necessary to combine with a?? the oxygen 

 to represent the proportions existing in water, there is found a 

 slight excess of hydrogen in each instance. In the cases of 

 the albumen and gluten, there must also be deducted the 

 hydrogen and nitrogen in the proportion to form ammonia ; 

 and here again there is still a small excess of hydrogen. But 

 of this small excess hereafter. 



1. The object is now to show the weighty loss of carbon. 

 With the exception of carbon, all the rest of the food has 

 been shown to consist entirely of water and its elements, and 

 the elements of ammonia, with a slight excess of hydrogen, 

 and a few salts, &c., of no great bulk. Therefore carbon is 

 the only arailable bulky matter contained in the solid part of 

 vegetables, be it termed gum, sugar, starch, lignine, albumen, 

 or gluten ; for, in the animal, the oxygen and hydrogen pass 

 off as water. And having now traced out only the bulky dispo- 

 sable element, it will be shown what becomes of it. 



Carbon and oxygen have a great affiaity for each other, and 

 combine in certain proportions to form carbonic-acid gas, 

 which is elastic, and like all other gases, is volatile, unless 

 there be present something for which it has an affinity, and 

 with which it will combine, and become what is termed fixed. 



After its introduction into the stomach of the animal, to 

 use the language of Professor Liebig, " it signifies nothing 

 what intermediate forms food may assume, or what changes 

 it may undergo in the body: the last change is, uniformly, the 

 conversion of its carbon into carbonic acid." The carbon con- 

 tained in the food is introduced through the gullet into the 

 stomach, and the oxygen contained in the air by respiration 

 through the wind-pipe into the lungs ; and eventually they 

 come in contact, form into carbonic acid, and are both removed 

 from the system at every respiration and by every pore. The 

 oxj'gen is, as a thief, allowed to come in and steal the carbon 

 which the stock-feeder has expended large sums of money to 

 obtain. But if a hare, or other similar depredator, had come 

 into his fields, to rob him of the carbon contained in his crops, 

 he would, probably, have made food of it, and been richer, for 

 having both saved his carbon, and detaining the thief which 

 came to steil it. So it should be with detaining the oxyrjen ; 

 but of this hereafter. As the combination of carbon and 

 oxygen takes place in regular and definite proportions, and as 

 the luugs of an animal, under similar circumstances as to ex- 

 ercise, &c , inhale a regular quantity of oxygen, it is also 

 evident that to just saturate or satisfy this oxygen, a certain 

 regular quantity of carbon is required ; and it is exactly this 

 amount, which is contained in the food, that is found to 

 keep an animal in a stand-still condition, neither adding to its 

 flesh, nor losing it ; and no carbon can be deposited (leaving 

 out the r.ction of the small quantity of salts, &c. in the food) 

 unless a larger quantity is put into the system than there is 

 oxygen taken in to combine with it, or, in other words, more 

 than the thief can carry away. 



It is freely admitted that animals w-ill, and do actually im- 

 prove iu condition, and increase in bulk, by having plenty of 

 good food given to them. So a person may fill a tub with 

 water, though it may leak on every side, if he puts the water 

 into it faster than it runs out of it; but he would do so much 

 sooner, and with less waste of water, by adopting some plan 

 for preventing the leakage. At present our stock feeders 



