WHAT FEEDING STUFFS CONTAIN IQ 



the plant. But is it? The mission of the water 

 is to dissolve plant food in the soil and when in 

 solution to get it into the plant. Surely a heavy 

 dew on a crop of corn dissolves no plant food in 

 the earth, and certainly carries none into the plant. 

 Dew, then, is not a means of feeding the plant. 

 What water the plant gets is obtained, as has been 

 explained, from the soil by means of the roots. 



Crude Fiber serves as a framework of the plant. 

 It is to the plant what bones and skeleton are to 

 the animal. It is made of carbon, hydrogen and 

 oxygen, the same elements that go to form starch. 

 Immature and young plants are tender because the 

 crude fiber is tender; as the plant matures, the fiber 

 hardens and toughens, as we find it in hay and 

 corn stover and trees. 



Grouping the Plant Constituents. When the 

 chemist analyzes plants he finds many kinds of 

 compounds. He finds that while there is a physical 

 difference, the chemical elements are invariably 

 united in definite combinations producing definite 

 compounds. For the sake of convenience the plant's 

 constituents may be grouped as follows : 

 I. Ash. 

 II. Water. 



III. Protein or compounds containing nitrogen. 



IV. Nitrogen-free compounds or compounds 



containing no nitrogen. 



1. Starch. 



2. Crude fiber. 



3. Sugar, gums, etc. 

 V. Ether extract, or oil or fat. 



