642 



The subjects treated in the report are, (1) the disadvantages of storing 

 the wet diflfasioii residue and of feeding the stored material; (2) the 

 construction and operation of the drying apparatus; (3) the composi- 

 tion and nutritive value of the dry residue; (4) plans of feeding 

 experiments with wet and dry diffusion residue and ways in which they 

 were carried out by patrons of the Hadmersleben sugar factory; (5) 

 results of feeding experiments; (6) practical experience obtained at 

 the Hadmersleben factory and ten others regarding the drying of the 

 diffusion residue; (7) review of practical experience regarding the dry- 

 ing and feeding of diffusion residue; (8) replacing of wet diffusion resi- 

 due, hay, and concentrated feeding stuffs by dry diffusion residue in 

 equivalent nutritive proportions, and mixtures of diffusion residue with 

 other materials appropriate for different animals; (9) review of results 

 of experiments ; (10) tabular statements of composition of feeding stuffs, 

 rations, and results of feeding experiments. 



The. disadvantages in .storing and/ceding icet dif'uf>ion residue. — These 

 are largely such as come with the storage, handling and feeding of very 

 wet materials in general. The principal difficulty comes from the 

 changes in fermentation in the pits or sih»s in which the material is 

 stored. The loss is estimated at one third of the whole dry substance 

 when stored in pits and one fifth when stored in walled silos, these 

 figures being general estimates from the results of observations made 

 in connection with these investigations and otherwise. The ditlnsion 

 residue contains in general less than 10 per cent of dry substance, its 

 water content being about the same as that of turnips. The active fer- 

 mentation and large loss of material in the pit or the silo accords with 

 the general observation in tlie ensiling of green fodders. th:it large water 

 content and a<;tive and injurious fermentation go together. In dis- 

 cussing the subject, the authors avail themselves of the results of late 

 experimental in(|uiiy regarding the fermentation and consequent chemi- 

 cal changes which take place in watery material when stored in the 

 sUo or otherwise. 



Fermentation of feeding stuffs in pits and silos and its effeets upon 

 digestibility and nutritive value. — The inferences as to the effects of these 

 changes upon the nutritive value of the diffusioTi residue are of inter- 

 est in their bearing upon the effects of fermentation in the silo upon 

 the composition of silage in general. The general conclusion is that 

 the products which are formed by fermentation of diffusion residue, 

 when stored in the pit or the silo, have a more or less diminished nutri- 

 tive value as compared with the compounds in the firesh substance from 

 which they are formed. 



"According to our i)resent knowledge of the processes of fermentation 

 and of the nature of the products formed thereby, it may be accepte*! 

 as a general principle that fermentation products are not more easily 

 digestible nor are they in any way of higher nutritive value than the 

 compounds from which they are formed.'' On the other hand, the gen- 

 eral tendency of the fermentation is to diminish both the total quantity 



