120 THE riUNCirLES OF AUKICULTIKE. 



oxygen when st^paratod from the carbon would form 

 water. 



They are cither oxidized in the body to ])roduce heat 

 and energy, or are converted into fat. They are the 

 least valuable of the digestible parts of food. Starch 

 is an important ])art of these substances, and about two 

 and one half parts of starch are re(iuired to ])i'oduce the 

 same effect as one part of fat. 



5. Fiber. — Most kinds of food contain more or less 

 crude woody fiber, which is mostly indigestible and 

 hence has little value as food. 



6. Ash. — The mineral substances in food, or those 

 which would remain as ashes after burning, are also 

 needed by the animal in aljout the same proi)()rtion as 

 they exist in the average of the different varieties of food. 

 When animals are confined to one particular kind of food, 

 some of these substances may be deficient. Although 

 the amount required is small, they cannot be dispensed 

 with. Animals fed exclusively npon corn meal some- 

 times lose the use of their legs from the want of sufficient 

 mineral matter to form bones. 



On the i)age opposite is a table of some of the more 

 common foods, with their average pei-eentagc composi- 

 tion, as determined by chemical analysis. 



While the list gives the average results from a large 

 number of se])aratc tests, and nnist be api)roximately 

 cori-ect, it should l)e remembered that different samples 

 differ widely in their nature. 



There would be a wide difference, for iustance, be- 

 tween the comj)osition of early and late cut hay, or 

 between unripe and matui-e corn fodder. 



While these figures may not accurately i'e))resent 

 the composition of any particular sample of food, they 



