68 



PRINCIPLES OF FEEDING FARM ANIMALS 



75 to 80 C., 58.7 per cent, and after drying at 125 to 130 C., 

 41.1 per cent. The author found the digestion coefficient for protein 

 in old-process linseed meal by artificial digestion to be 94.3 per 

 cent, and for new-process meal, in the manufacture of which higher 

 temperatures are used, 84.1 per cent. 6 The average coefficients 

 for the two kinds of oil meal obtained in American digestion 

 trials with ruminants are 89 and 85 per cent, respectively. A similar 

 depression in the digestibility of protein in feeding stuffs resulting 

 from application of heat has been observed in digestion trials with 

 farm animals for meadow hay, corn silage, vetch silage, wheat bran, 

 and dried beet pulp, and in artificial digestion trials with many 

 human foods as well as with cattle feeds. 



The Siloing Process. From what has already been said, we 

 should not expect that the siloing process will appreciably affect the 

 digestibility of feeding stuffs, since the heat generated in the silo 

 fermentation will rarely exceed 50 C. (122 F.). The following 

 average digestion coefficients for three kinds of silage will show the 

 influence of the siloing process as regards digestibility : 



Digestion Coefficients for Green Fodders and Corresponding Silage, in Per Cent 



Only a few determinations of the digestibility of the last two 

 feeds have been made so far, and the decrease in the digestibility of 

 these crops in the silo may be found less important than now shown, 

 when as much work has been done with them as with corn silage. It 

 is evident, however, that no improvement in digestibility can be 

 expected in siloing feeding stuffs ; the favorable results obtained in 

 feeding silage as compared with dried forage must, therefore, be due 

 to the relatively small losses of feed materials occurring in the silo- 

 ing process as compared with the curing of fodder or hay, and to the 

 palatability and beneficial effects of silage on the health of the 

 animals. 



6 Wisconsin Report, 1895, p. 75. 



