102 The Feeding of Animals 



per cent will keep a long time without loss from fer- 

 mentative changes. The heat of a mow of new hay 

 or of a bin of new grain, with its subsequent musty 

 condition, is due to the fermentations that are made 

 possible through the presence of considerable moisture. 

 Thorough drying is a preventive of destructive fer- 

 mentations. 



There is a temperature at which each vegetable fer- 

 ment thrives best, and there are limits of temperature 

 outside of which the growth of these forms of life does 

 not occur, or is "very slight. Numerous species thrive 

 between 75° and 100° F. Fermentable materials like 

 fruit and meat at the freezing point or below are not 

 subject to fermentations. The boiling point of water 

 kills most bacteria, and temperatures above 150° F. 

 retard or entirely prevent their growth. 



Like all life, these organisms must have food. 

 Many species find this in acceptable forms in vegetable 

 products. Because they generally contain the sugar, 

 albuminoids, and mineral compounds which nourish 

 bacteria, feeding stuffs are always the prey of ferments 

 under proper conditions of moisture and heat. The 

 prevention of fermentation in cattle foods is desirable 

 because it occasions a loss of nutritive value. This 

 becomes evident when we consider the nature of the 

 chemical changes that occur. For instance, when sugar 

 is broken up through the influence of a bacterium, new 

 compounds are- formed which take up free oxygen. 

 This means that combustion occurs, causing the lib- 

 eration of energy which otherwise would have been 

 available to the animal, if the sugar had been taken 



