147 



EXPERIMENTS WITH SHEEP. 



* These results are the mean of a few experiments. 



hay is employed. There is Httle difference in the pro- 

 portion of albuminoids assimilated by the two animals, 

 but the divergence becomes considerable when we 

 come to the carbohydrates, fibre, and fat. Of the 

 carbohydrates the horse digests 7 — 10 per cent., of 

 the fibre 21 per cent., and of the fat and waxy matter 

 24—52 per cent, less than the sheep. On the whole, 

 the horse digests about 12 per cent, less of the total 

 organic matter of grass hay than the sheep. With red 

 clover hay the results with the horse are better. 

 With lucerne hay of good quahty the digestion by the 

 horse is still better, and (save as regards the fat) practi- 

 cally equals that of the sheep. The smaller digestive 

 power of the horse for vegetable fibre is plainly con- 

 nected with the fact that it is not, hke the sheep, a 



