SUCCULENT AND WATERY FOODS 253 



than others under similar conditions. Also the herbage of 

 pastures does not consist entirely of grasses, but includes 

 other plants in varying proportions. Of the latter, clovers 

 are by general consent the most esteemed. Plantains, sedges, 

 mosses, etc., are deservedly regarded with disfavour. 



The composition of the herbage of an old pasture depends 

 mainly upon accidental conditions such as soil, manuring, 

 climate, season, grazing, etc., and only to a small extent on the 

 seed originally sown. 



Barley, oats, rye, maize, sorghum, etc., are sometimes cut 

 green for use as forage. This practice, however, can only be 

 recommended under exceptional circumstances. The total 

 bulk of crop, its chemical composition and digestibility all 

 depend largely on the stage of growth. All things con- 

 sidered, the most advantageous time at which to cut 

 these crops is just before flowering. In this condition the 

 material resembles a rather stalky grass. The climate in most 

 parts of England is generally too cold for the growth of maize 

 even as a forage crop, and a more profitable yield is obtained 

 with other plants. 



Preservation of Succulent Fodders. No means have yet 

 been discovered by which succulent vegetable matter can be 

 preserved unchanged for any length of time. Roots and 

 tubers are generally stored in dry barns or, preferably, in pits 

 dug in the ground, lined with straw, and so arranged as to 

 prevent the access of moisture. Under either condition they 

 do not remain entirely quiescent, but gradually undergo 

 chemical changes due to incipient germination. These changes 

 are of a fermentative character, and are caused by enzymes 

 occurring naturally in the organism. The general tendency 

 of such changes, it has been shown (p. 85), is to break down 

 complex molecules into simpler ones. Proteins are largely 

 split up into amino-acids ; but as practically the whole of the 

 nitrogenous matter is present in that condition in the original 

 roots and tubers probably this change does not occurr to any 

 considerable extent. The soluble carbohydrates are affected 

 in greater degree. Starches are resolved into sugars, and the 

 latter suffer various further changes. Alcohol, lactic acid and 



