COMPOSITION OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS 69 



The following arrangement will show how the parts of the 

 plant are related to one another : 



All feeding stuffs consist of 



Water and Dry Matter 



Ash, or Organic Matter 



Inorganic Matter j 



Protein Carbohydrates Fat, or 



j Ether Extract. 



Nitrogen-Free Fiber 



Extract 



The material of which the animal is made is very similar 

 to that used in building plant tissue. To begin with, the 

 body of the animal is made up of water and dry matter. If 

 the water is removed, dry matter is left. If this is burned 

 entirely so that even the charcoal is destroyed, the organic 

 part disappears and only ash is left. The organic matter, 

 while made of chemical substances similar to those found in 

 plants, consists mostly of protein and fat, with but little of 

 the carbohydrates. The composition of the animal body 

 may be well studied a little more in detail. 



Water in the animal body is found in the blood, and in 

 the fleshy and bony parts. The amount of water in the ani- 

 mal depends upon age and condition. Young animals have 

 rather watery bodies. The older an animal becomes, or the 

 fatter it gets, the less water is found in the body. For 

 example, a calf a week old may consist of 60 per cent water, 

 while a fat cow four years old may be but 45 per cent water. 

 It will be fairly accurate to say that about 50 per cent of 

 the body of an animal under usual conditions is water. 



The mineral matter, or ash, in the animal is more or less 



