Ol<* AGRICULTURE, 171 



have not more than one per cent. The oily matter 

 in good hay ranges from two to four per cent,, and it 

 is by no means wanting in straw which has been cut 

 in good time, 



Woody fibre, when dried, is chiefly indigestible, 

 and yet serves an important purpose in promoting 

 the digestion of other constituents of food with which 

 it is mingled, Its presence makes the mass of food 

 porous, so as to be easily penetrated by the fluids of 

 the digestive organs, It also keeps the stomach and 

 intestines properly distended. Hay and straw aro 

 composed, to a great extent, of woody fibre, In grain, 

 the bran contains most of the fibre, 



Water is a constituent of the dryest articles of 

 food. The ripest grain and the dryest straw and 

 hay, have seldom less than eight to ten per cent, of 

 water in them, Potatoes contain about seventy -five 

 per cent, of water, while turnips, and other root crops 

 of similar kindj have as much as eighty- five per cent, 

 of water, 



The mineral elements contained in food crops aro^ 

 not to be disregarded in estimating their value. The 

 animal system demands mineral as well as vegetable 

 elements, to promote its growth and healthy develop- 

 ment. The bones must be provided with phosphate of 

 lime," and the fluids of the body with salts of soda and 

 potash. These mineral substances are always found 

 in the animal body, 



Of the substances which give to articles of food 

 the^ir chief value, we place the protein compounds first^ 

 because they do more toward building up the animal 

 system ; they are more nutritious. In fact, they are 

 often spoken of us constituting the nutritious part of 



