LEGUMINOS.E IN TPIE FEEDING OF LIVE STOCK 27I 



One of tlie reasons why the fodder of Leguminosse is 

 superior to tliat of other phints is because their ash, contain- 

 ing less sihca and considerably more lime, contributes to 

 the rapid formation of the skeleton, and gives to the young 

 live stock that early development at which all breeders aim. 



In order to determine in a rational way what loo kilos 

 of Leguminosct, either in the form of green fodder or of 

 hay, represent, we must find out the number of nutritive 

 digestible units they contain. This is because it is not that 

 which is swallowed bv a man or a beast that really forms a 

 nutriment, but that which is digested, and consequently 

 assimilated by the organism, that is to say, rendered similar 

 to the organism itself. 



Once we know what number of nutritive units a fodder 

 contains, or to be more explicit, how many pounds of 

 carbohydrates, fat, and nitrogenous matter, we may, 

 knowing the cost of our usual diet, assign to it a pecuniary 

 value based on scientific principles, and not on fancy, and 

 either increase or decrease the value of this fodder at will. 

 Briefly, we must have a standard of comparison. 



As we are dealing with the Leguminosae, shall we take 

 the grain, oats, or bran which are given to live stock and 

 which are imported from other countries, or shall we have 

 recourse to a local food ? 



It is certainlv preferable to base our calculations on the 

 cheapest colonial product. At the same time, we can see 

 beforehand that the product we shall get, being what is 

 called a concentrated product, that is, richer in one principle 

 than in others, will onlv really be a guide as to one single 

 principle, either sugar, sav, or nitrogenous matter. 



We shall therefore have recourse to two products of 

 different origin, molasses and oil-cake. 



M. Boname, in his report for 1895, some considerable 

 time before the publication of different works on sugar in 

 the rational feeding of live stock, demonstrated the value 

 of molasses in this connection, and showed how by their 



