Afjricultural Chemistry — 'Sheep- Feeding and Manure. 327 



Table 8. — Showing the Proportion to 100 of Barley, of the several 

 Products of the Malting: Process. 



We learn from Table 8, that although the weight of the pro- 

 duced malt was 22 J per cent, less than that of the barley which 

 yielded it, yet the loss in dry substance was less than half as much ; 

 that of mineral matter and nitrogen is, however, proportionably 

 greater than that of the gross dry vegetable substance. If, how- 

 ever, we include the '' dustT or young shoots, as a product of the 

 process, the loss is considerably lessened, for then we have a reduc- 

 tion of scarcely 6, instead of 10 per cent, of dry organic substance, 

 and of scarcely 4 instead of 13^ per cent, of nitrogen. The loss 

 in mineral matter also would appear from the figures to be still 

 less considerable, when the dust is received into the calculations : 

 as however the crude ashes of the products are here assumed to 

 represent their mineral contents, it is obvious that the estimate of 

 them in the Table is somewhat too high, and this indeed is the less 

 to be doubted when the large amount of saline substances carried 

 off in the steep water are borne in mind. It is worthy of especial 

 remark that the nitrogen in the '•' dust " amounts to ^th as much as 

 is contained in the whole amount of malt produced ! It is evident 

 then, that when malt is used for feeding purposes, the important 

 nitrogenous constituents of food are reduced by about 13 per cent, 

 of the entire amount contained in the barley, unless the ''dust" 

 be also supplied to the animals. Whilst, judging from the quali- 

 ties of other highly nitrogenous yet young and very succulent vege- 

 table substances, it would appear by no means improbable that the 

 9 or 10 per cent, of the whole retained in the dust may have lost 

 much of its nutritive properties. We have, however, seen on several 

 occasions in the course of our report that the condition and quality 

 of the 7^o^^-nitrogenous constituents of food, as well as those of the 

 nitrogenous ones, materially determines its productive effects ; and 

 if the results of experiments in the shed^ or in the field, were found 

 clearly to bear testimony as to the increased value of barley as food 

 after being subjected to the malting process, we should be bound 



