WOODY FIBRE AND GLUTEN IN THE GRASSES. 527 



ah hay, tlie greater proportion of these important substances. Hence, 

 the nature and weight of the dry extracts he obtained could not fairly re- 

 present either the kind or quantity of the nutritive matters which the 

 hay was likely to yield when introduced into the stomach of an animal. 



For these reasons I do not think it necessary to dwell upon the results 

 of his experiments.* 



2°. Woody fibre in the grasses. — In the stems of the grasses (in hay 

 and straw), woody fibre is the predominating ingredient. They are not 

 destitute of starch, gum, and sugar, but they are distinguisjied from all 

 the other usual forms of animal food, by the large (luantity of woody 

 fibre, and of saline or earthy matter which tliey contain. The propor- 

 tion of woody fibre in the more common grasses, in their usual state of 

 dryness when made into hay and straw, is thus given by Sprengel (see 

 p. 106):— 



Per cent. Per cent 



Wheat straw, ripe .... 52 



Barley straw, do 50 



Oat straw, do. ..... 40 



Rye straw, do 48 



Indian corn, do 24 



Pea straw, ripe 30 



Bean straw, do 51 



Vetch hay, do "42 



Red clover, do 28 



Rye grass, do 35 



The proportions of woody fibre here given, however, can be considered 

 only as approximations, l^he riper the straw or grass, the less soluble 

 matter does it contain, and every farmer knows how much soil, season, 

 and manure, affect the quality of his artificial grasses. One field will 

 grow a hard wiry rye-grass, while another will produce a soft and flexi- 

 ble plant, and a highly nutritious hay. 



3°. Gluten in the grasses. — Boussingault, who considers the relative 

 nutritive value of the vegetable substances employed for fodder to be in- 

 dicated by the proportions of nitrogen ihey severally contain, has arranged 

 grass and clover hays and the straws of the corn plants, in their usual 

 state of dryness, in the following order :- 



values 

 {equivalents) assigned to the several kinds of fodder, with the results of 



• They will be foumi at lenpih in the Appendix to Davy's Agricultusral Chemiatry, or in a 

 tabulated form in Sehiibler's Agricultur Chemie, ii., p. 208. 



t It is usually supposed that the aftermath is not so valuable as tiie first produce. Schwertz, 

 however, considers it more nourishing by one-tenth part. 



X "The value of all straw for fodder must depend on the mode in which it is harvested. 

 In Scotland, the order in which the farmer places his straw for fodder is — 1st, pea ; 2nd, 

 bean ; 3d, oat ; 4th, wheat ; 5th, barley. While in England, where the bean is quite withered 

 before it is cut, it stands last in the scale."— Mr. IlyeJt, Royal AgricuUurai Jmtrmd, iv.,p. 148. 



