206 The Feeding of Animals 



tissues has evaporated and that in drying there is a 

 possible loss of an imperceptible amount of volatile 

 compounds, vv^hose presence in the plant aifects its 

 flavor more or less. It is certain that curing a plant 

 generally diminishes its palatableness and increases its 

 toughness, or its resistance to mastication, although 

 with many crops, as for instance the early -cut native 

 grasses, these changes do not affect nutritive value to 

 a material extent. There is no question but that the 

 mere matter of being green or being dry has very little 

 influence upon the heat which a fodder will develop 

 when burned or upon the extent to which it will 

 sustain growth or milk formation. We must, how- 

 ever, take into account the desirability of the highest 

 state of palatableness. 



It is a fact that drying fodders under perfect con- 

 ditions is often not possible. The long -continued and 

 slow curing of grass in cloudy weather, especially when 

 there is more or less rainfall, is accompanied by fer- 

 mentations that result in a loss of dry substance 

 more or less extensive, and which involve some of 

 the most valuable compounds, principally the sugars. 

 The tissues of certain plants, maize for instance, are 

 so thick that rapid curing in the field is never pos- 

 sible, and fermentative changes are unavoidable. It is 

 probable that maize fodder and stover are never field- 

 dried without a material loss in food value, for the 

 chemist finds that even when the stalks are finely 

 chopped, drying by artificial heat is necessary to a 

 complete retention of the dry matter. The extent of 

 the loss from curing fodders must be very variable. 



