338 AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY 



This is due to individuality in digestive power and is 

 particularly noticeable in experiments with sheep where 

 it has been found that all do not digest the different 

 foods equally well. Digestion coefficients obtained in ex- 

 periments with one kind of animal, as sheep, are not al- 

 ways applicable to other animals. Experiments with 

 swine have shown that fiber is not as completely digested 

 as with sheep or cows. 



464. niscellaneous Factors Influencing Digestibility. 

 Experiments in the cooking of foods show that cooked 

 foods are no more completely digested by farm animals 

 than uncooked foods. Cooking, however, is sometimes de- 

 sirable in order to encourage animals to consume a larger 

 amount of food. The wetting of food, causing fermenta- 

 tion, has been found to be slightly beneficial. How- 

 ever, if wetting is practiced, great care should be exer- 

 cised to prevent excessive fermentation or the action of 

 undesirable ferments. The dr}dng and curing of fodders 

 do not appear to exert any unfavorable influence upon 

 digestibility provided leaching or excessive bleaching is 

 avoided. Green fodders, however, appear to be slightly 

 more digestible than cured fodders. In some cases, the 

 laxative nature of a food prevents complete absorption of 

 the nutrients before the material is expelled from the 

 body. 



465. Application of Digestion Coefficients. Too close 

 application of digestion coefficients cannot be made, but 

 general comparisons where the experiments have been 

 performed under similar conditions are allowable and give 

 valuable results. The methods used for the determi- 



