12 FEEDS AND FEEDING, ABRIDGED 



Chemical composition of typical feecling stuffs, from Appendix Table I 



Water. — To determine the amount of water in a feed, the chemist 

 weighs a sample before and after drying in an oven at a temperature 

 of 212° F. for several hours. Volatile compounds, such as give 

 various plants their characteristic odors, are driven off in addition to 

 the water by heating, but their weight is insignificant. The table 

 shows that even such "dry" feeds as corn, oats, wheat, and wheat 

 bran contain 9 per ct. or more of water. Timothy and clover hay 

 contain still more water, and such succulent feeds as green grass, 

 corn silage, and mangels are largely water. 



Ash, or mineral matter. — The chemist next burns the sample and 

 finds the weight of ash, or mineral inatter, which is left. The table 

 shows that 100 lbs. of corn or wheat contains less than 2 lbs. of ash, 

 while oats, with their strawy hulls, and wheat bran, consisting of the 

 outer coats of the wheat grain, carry more. The hays and straws are 

 higher in ash than such grains as corn and wheat, due to the accumu- 

 lation of mineral matter in the leaves during growth, to soil washed 

 upon the growing plants by rain, and to dust settling on the roughage 

 before it is housed. Such foreign material is not really plant ash, 

 but of necessity is reported as such. Owing to their high water con- 

 tent, the ash in 100 lbs. of fresh grass, silage, and mangels is low. 



The ash and water of plants together constitute the so-called 

 inorganic matter; the other compounds — crude protein, carbohydrates, 

 and fat — are termed the organic matter. 



Crude protein. — The process of determining the nitrogenous con- 



