102 



THE CHEMISTRY OP THE FARM. 



EXPERIMENTS WITH PIGS. 



The digestive power of the pig for the foods here men- 

 tioned is very considerable, and in cases admitting of 

 comparison appears to be fully equal to that possessed by 

 ruminant animals. Nor is the pig incapable of digesting 

 vegetable fibre, when this is presented in a favourable con- 

 dition. Two pigs fed on green oats and vetches digested 

 48*9 per cent, of the fibre supplied. The digestive ap- 

 paratus of a pig is not, however, adapted for dealing 

 successfully with bulky fodder. Pigs are very capable of 

 digesting animal food, as will be seen from the results 

 obtained with milk and meat flour quoted in the table. 



4. Experiments with Geese and Fowls. Birds have 

 apparently no power of digesting vegetable fibre; the 

 food passes too quickly through the system for the fibre 

 to be attacked. 



Circumstances affecting Digestibility. The indi- 

 vidual character of the animal undoubtedly affects the 

 proportion digested. Of two animals supplied with the 

 same food, one will often persistently digest a larger pro- 

 portion than the other. In young animals the digestive 

 * The numbers in this case were obtained from a single sample of food. 



