578 NUTRITION OF FARM ANIMALS 



foot of the list, while oat and barley straw are more val- 

 uable. Sheep are especially adapted to utilize straw, consum- 

 ing the upper and more valuable parts and rejecting the coarser 

 parts. The straw of maize (stover) constitutes a valuable 

 feeding stuff. It is relatively less woody than that of the small 

 grains, has a relatively high degree of digestibility, and is more 

 palatable than ordinary straw. To secure its complete con- 

 sumption, however, it is necessary to cut or shred it, and it has 

 been questioned whether the additional material eaten in the 

 cut fodder is worth the labor of cutting. The straw of the 

 legumes is richer in protein than that of the cereals and lower 

 in fiber, with correspondingly higher digestibility. On the 

 other hand, it is usually coarse and unpalatable, and liable to 

 contain molds and other fungi. 



2. ROOTS, TUBERS AND FRUITS 



684. Contain much* water. Roots and tubers constitute a 

 distinct class of feeding stuffs, differing markedly in their prop- 

 erties from the coarse fodders on the one hand and the con- 

 centrated feeding stuffs on the other. With them may be in- 

 cluded for convenience certain fruits, notably pumpkins and 

 other cucurbita. They are characterized especially by their 

 large proportion of water. In the root crops proper (beets, 

 turnips, carrots, mangels and the like) the percentage of water 

 may vary from 80 to 95. The tubers (of which potatoes are the 

 chief representative) contain less water, the range being ap- 

 proximately 66 to 82 per cent. A second equally marked char- 

 acteristic of these feeding stuffs is the low percentage of crude 

 fiber in their dry matter. Their percentage of crude protein is 

 also low, and a large share of it consists of non-protein of in- 

 ferior nutritive value. 



685. A source of carbohydrates. The dry matter of these 

 crops consists largely of the more readily soluble carbohydrates. 

 In the tubers starch is the predominant carbohydrate, while in 

 beets, especially sugar beets, cane sugar occupies this position, 

 and this substance has been shown to have a distinctly lower 

 nutritive value, for ruminants at least, than starch. In other 

 root crops, the carbohydrates consist largely of gums, pectin 

 substances, and other compounds, including the pentose car- 



