5l6 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS 



growth; (3) the inherent tastes of the animals to which 

 the foods are fed, and (4) the extent to which those tastes 

 have been cultivated by feeding upon plants different from 

 those to which the animals have been accustomed. 



The intrinsic properties of the plants are influenced: 

 (i) By the class to which they belong; (2) by the amount 

 of leaf growth; (3) by the extent to which woodiness is 

 present or absent, and (4) by the aroma. Legumes are 

 usually more palatable than other plants but this does not 

 always hold true, as blue grass when young is more 

 palatable than red clover at the same stage of ad- 

 vancement in growth. Usually, however, domestic ani- 

 mals show a fondness for legumes. Sugar in plants 

 also affects their palatability. This in part accounts for 

 the fondness of domestic animals for corn and more par- 

 ticularly for sorghum, both of which are non-leguminous. 

 The more abundantly that leaf growth is present, the greater 

 is the degree of palatability in plants. This is owing in 

 part to the absence of woodiness, in part to the fine char- 

 acter of the growth, and probably in part to the higher 

 nutrition which they possess. As plants become woody, 

 they lose in palatability. This is very clearly shown in the 

 consumption of the leaves and finer portion of the stems 

 of coarse clover hay, while the coarse stems will be re- 

 jected in the same. The same is true of corn plants. In 

 nearly all instances, plants which are rejected by animals 

 for which they are the natural food when far advanced in 

 growth, will be eaten by the same when young. Foxtail 

 (Alopecurus pratensis) for instance, is readily consumed 

 by sheep when young, but when advanced in growth they 

 will not eat it at all if they can secure other food. The same 

 is true of some other plants even of plants as valuable as 

 timothy. The aroma of plants also influences their pal- 

 atability in a marked degree. The presence of this prop- 

 erty is conveyed through the yielding up or giving off of 

 certain volatile odors, which are gratifying to the sense 

 of smell. These are emitted in a marked degree by new 



