10 FeedA and Feeding. 



weights represents the amount of water which the sample origi- 

 nally contained. 



We learn by the third column of the table that the water in 

 pasture grass is 75.3 per cent, of the whole amount; that is, such 

 grass is about three-fourths water. Corn carries 10.6 per cent 

 of water, while red clover hay contains 15.3 pounds to the hun- 

 dred weight. 



18. Ash. — Having determined the water in the s;imple, the 

 chemist next burns it to ascertain its ash content. Care is 

 taken that no charcoal is left, only the clear ash remaining. The 

 next column shows the percentage of ash in the feeding stuffs 

 under consideration. In 100 pounds of pasture grass there are 

 2.5 pounds of ash. Indian corn has only 1.5 pounds of ash for 

 100 of grain, while red clover hay yields 6.2 pounds. This large 

 amount comes in part from the accumulation of ash in the leaves 

 of the clover plant, and in some measure is due to earth washed 

 up on the stems of the plant by rain, and to the dust which set- 

 tles on plants, and on hay before it is placed in the barn. Such 

 foreign material is really not ash, but of necessity is reported as 

 such. 



19. Protein. — The process of determining the protein in a 

 feeding stuff is too complicated for presentation here. SufQce it to 

 say that the nitrogen contained therein is determined, and that 

 the sum so secured is multiplied by 6.25 to determine the protein, 

 since it has been found that about 16 per cent, of protein sub- 

 stances consist of nitrogen. By the table we find that the protein 

 of pasture grass amounts to 4, mangels to 1.4, com to 10.3, and 

 red clover hay to 12.3 pounds per hundred weight. We are 

 shown that pasture grass is much richer in protein tlian are 

 mangels, and that clover hay is likewise richer than the grain of 

 the corn plant. 



20. Crude fiber. — The amount of crude fiber is determined by 

 boiling a sample of the fodder successively in weak acid and 

 alkali solutions, which dissolve all the softer pai-ts. That which 

 remains after washing is called ''crude fiber." It consists for the 

 most part of cellulose, which, as we have already learned, con- 

 stitutes the framework of the plant. Corn grains contain only 



