1178 



THE PEOPLE'S FARM AND STOCK CYCLOPEDIA. 



that which is nearer ripe. The following table gives the num- 

 ber of pounds of digestible constituents contained in a ton of hay 

 cut at three different periods : 



It will be noticed that this is the same experiment which we 

 recently referred to, but the difference in value of the young 

 and old grass is now seen to be much greater than was shown 

 before. Not only does the young grass contain a much larger 

 amount of valuable substances than that which is older, but a 

 larger portion of what it does contain is digested. A cow would 

 have to eat about fifty five pounds of hay, made the latter part 

 of June, to get as much digestible albuminoids as she would get 

 in eating twenty pounds of hay made in May. 



This fact explains in a measure the great value of young 

 pasture. Stock not only like it better and so eat more of it, 

 but that which they eat is more digestible and contains a larger 

 proportion of albuminoids. When pasture gets old cattle can 

 not eat a sufficient quantity of it to supply the needed material. 

 One of the advantages of ensilage is that it enables the farmer 

 to preserve his green fodder at the season when it is at its best, 

 both as regards character and digestibility. 



The digestibility of food is influenced somewhat by the pro- 

 portion which the albuminoids bear to the carbohydrates. If 

 the albuminoids are deficient in a food neither the albuminoids 

 nor the carbohydrates it contains will be as completely digested 

 as if more albuminoids were present. When a food is deficient 

 in albuminoids its digestibility will be increased by feeding it in 

 connection with some food which is rich in these substances. 



Albuminoid Ratio. This is a term which will often be 

 met with in scientific works on feeding, and is not as difficult to 

 understand as is commonly supposed. It simply means the pro- 

 portion which the albuminoids in a food bear to the non-nitro- 



