182 ELEMENTS OF AGRICULTURE 



flesh and bones, are found the vital organs — the brain, 

 the heart, lungs, digestive organs, etc. Covering the 

 body is the skin, which is in turn often covered by hair 

 or feathers. The limbs are provided with hoofs or 

 claws, and from the heads of many animals grow horns. 

 These various parts of the animal bodies, which are so 

 different in appearance, are quite different in composi- 

 tion, though they all contain certain substances in 

 common. 



171. Moisture. — All parts of the animal body con- 

 tain moisture; even the apparently dry boDes contain 

 some moisture, and some parts of the body contain 

 large quantities of water. Young animals, like young 

 plants, contain more moisture than they do when they 

 grow older. When the flesh of animals is dried out it 

 forms cured meat. Most of us are familiar with the 

 dried beef which is sold on the market as "chip-beef." 

 This process of curing meat is similar to curing grass 

 for hay; in both cases most of the moisture is driven 

 off. The flesh of most animals usually contains from 

 40 to 60 per cent of water, seldom more than 60 per 

 cent. The bones of course contain less moisture than 

 the flesh, and the blood contains much more. The 

 bodies of most domestic animals contain about 50 per 

 cent of water, not counting the contents of the stomach. 

 That part of the animal body which remains after the 

 water is driven off is called dry matter. 



172. Dry Matter. — When the dry matter of animal 

 bodies is burned the greater part disappears into the 

 air as gas and smoke, leaving behind a small quantity 

 of ash. The part disappearing into the air is called 



