38 The Feeding of Animals 



It is probable that hay seldom loses less than one- 

 eighth of its weight during storage, and often much 

 more. 



As illustrating the variations in the proportions of 

 water in hay due to changes in air moisture, reference is 

 made to observations by Professor Atwater. He found 

 that dry hay hung in bags in a barn varied in water con- 

 tent between 7.5 per cent and 13.6 per cent during the 

 months of May, June and July. Hay in large masses 

 would change less, but would be affected, doubtless, by 

 long periods either of very dry weather or very wet. 



The proportion of moisture in coarse foods and 

 grains has much to do with their preservation in a 

 sound condition. New hay and grains when packed in 

 large masses are subject to fermentations, which injure 

 their quality and diminish their food value. This is 

 due to the fact that sufficient moisture is present to 

 allow the growth of low forms of life with certain at- 

 tendant chemical changes. Feeding stuffs containing 

 20 per cent or more of water, — and this is likely to 

 be the case with clover, rowen, field -cured cornf odder 

 and stover, new oats and new corn, — when stored in 

 large quantities are almost certain to heat and become 

 musty or moldy, always involving a loss of nutritive 

 value, a result wholly due to the large proportion of 

 water present. 



^Yaier in the animal. — Water is an important and 

 abundant constituent of animal organisms, from the 

 lowest to the highest forms. The blood, which is from 

 one-thirtieth to one-twentieth the weight of the bodies 

 of farm animals, is at least four- fifths water, while the 



