152 ELEMENTS OF THE BODY. 



replenished. Under these circumstances, it is a bountiful provision of 

 nature that plants require for their yroxv h 'Lie constituent:? tf the animal 

 body, and readily yield them to n for its txitt^iice and -rowtti. They 

 thus unite together in a natural, beautiful and inseparable bond, the 

 animal and mineral kingaorns, and each with tl.<jins<.Jves in all their 

 parts and functions, blend together the three umvti.-al kiagdom> in 

 one grand harmonious whole. 



Vegetable food supplies the solid borves of animals in the same man- 

 ner as other parts These are composed of phosphate of lime, in the 

 proportions of 70 per cent, in the sheep, 67 in the horse, and 55 in 

 the cow. A portion of this is also daily rejected from the animal sys- 

 tem, which requires to be replenished; and, for this purpose, the glu- 

 ten of plants is admirably adapted, as well also as the fibre of animal 

 muscle, the curd of milk, etc,; so that the nitrogen and bone-earth 

 are freely abstracted by those living on vegetable food, by the y::ung; 

 living on inilk or by others feeding on flesh. The sugar of milk sup- 

 plies the necessary quantity of carbon for the young, and the curd, the 

 materials for the muscles and animal parts of the bones. 



These elements, by weight, in 1000 parts of the cow's milk, for ex- 

 ample, are butter 27 to 35, cheesy matter 45 to 9U, milk-stuar 3(5 to 

 50, chloride of potassium and sodium 1^ to 10, phosphate of lime 2i to 

 10, other salts 6, and water 815 to 882. These vary with every con- 

 dition of the animal, with its food, breed, the weather, etc. Ten gal- 

 lons contain 4 Ibs. of casein, or cheesy matter, which is said to be 

 equal to the formation of 18 Ibs. of muscle and 3 Ibs. of bone-earth, 

 or 7 oz. of dry bone. The casein also supplies the skin, horn,. hooi y 

 etc., with their portions of boae-earth. The milk contains more but- 

 ter in warm weather and more cheese and sugar in coll weather. 

 The amount of solid matter thus furnished from the milk is large. If 

 a cow affords 3,000 quarts per annum, every 10 gallons contain bone 

 sufficient to form 7 oz. of dry bone ; thus depriving the cow of 

 33 Ibs. of dry bone, which must be supplied from the soil. If this be 

 exported in milk or butter, the soil is drained of bone to the amount 

 of 30 Ibs., which would not be the case if it were consumed on the 

 spot. In time this will produce an obvious effect on a particular place 

 or country. It will appear plain, from what has been said, that attempt* 

 to supply the wastes of animal life by any one substance, sugar or 

 starch for example, is futile. Carbon might be furnished, but not all 

 the nitrogen, saline and earthy materials essential to animal composition 

 and growth. Gelatin, too, might supply carbon with a portion of 

 nitrogen, but not the necessary saline matter. 



The relative amount of nutriment in different substances, taking hay 

 for instance as a standard, may be thus stated The proportions of 

 nutriment in pounds equal to 10 Ibs. of hay : clover-hay 8 to 10, 

 green clover 45 to 50, wheat-straw 40 to 50, barley-straw 20 to 40, 



