260 COMPARATIVE VALUE OF CORN FODDER. 



July, therefore, there is more nutritive matter than in the earlier or later stage of the plant. 

 This was to be expected. In the ripe plant, the leaf as well as the stalk becomes more 

 insoluble. 



If the nutriment of the foliage of maize is compared with that of the common grasses, it 

 will be found that the latter are generally more nutritive than the former : thus, timothy 

 hay furnished, in the dried state, 



Fibre 68-14 



Wax and chlorophyl - - • - - 2*80 



Albumen 1-89 



Casein 234 



Sugar, extract and dextrine - - - - 8-20 



Water 12-30 



95-67 



The albuminous matters amount to 4-23, and the calorifient to 11-00. I suppose that 

 the extractive matter belongs to the calorifient bodies. Dextrine seems to replace starch 

 in the grasses. When there is a pith, as in the maize stalk, we find a trace of starch. 

 Red-top, another common and favorite hay, gave the following results : 



Fibre ... 



Albumen 



Casein - . - 



Chlorophyl and wax 



Resin 



Extract and sugar • 



Water - 



65-00 

 1-49 

 1-80 



11-62 

 3-08 

 9-00 



10-00 



101-99 



The sediment, which is allowed to subside for twelve hours, is filtered from the solution 

 before it is treated for albumen; and it is believed that considerable albumen goes down 

 with this sediment, inasmuch as it is adhesive, and bears the characters of an albuminous 

 body, although it is mixed very largely with fibre, chlorophyl and wax ; but it is all 

 reckoned with the fibre, and the albumen is only obtained by heat, and the casein by acetic 

 acid. In the red-top, 3-29 is set down as albuminous ; but 11-62 per centum of wax is 

 rather a remarkable result : the wax forms the greatest part of this amount. The ca- 

 lorifient products are larger than in timothy, amounting to 23-70. It is probable the 

 albuminous matters are stated too low, and that the deficiency arises from the subsidence 

 of from one to two per centum with the sediment referred to above. If not, they exist in 

 about the same proportion as in the corn of the middle of July. 



