VEGETABLE FOODS. 



173 



2. The LEGUMINOUS PLANTS stand next in nutritive value to the 

 cereals. They are composed of the peas, beans, and lentils. By boiling 

 with water their hulls become ruptured, and their contents readily sub- 

 jected to the action of the digestive juices. The leguminous plants are, 

 therefore, principally used in the form of soups or broths. 



The hulled fruits contain a maximum of albuminous matters, and 

 the kernels of oily fruits more fats than the cereals. 



Beans are seldom used as green fodder, or as the principal article of 

 diet, since they are too rich in nitrogen ; they form, however, an admi- 

 rable addition to the diet of cattle, sheep, and horses. 



Peas, both as a green fodder and as grain, form highly nutritive 

 foods. Green peas are especially good as a food for milk cattle, and give 

 a pleasant taste to the butter. Dried peas are also highly digestible 

 and nutritious. They contain 



Of these nutritive principles 



Proteids. 



Fats. 



Non-nitrogenous 

 Extractive Matters. 



Ruminants digest 88. 9 per cent. 74.7 per cent. 93. 3 per cent. 

 Horses " 83.0 " 6.9 " 89.0 " 



Hogs " 85.0 to 90 36.0 to 67 95.0 to 99 



The grains are best given chopped up with straw, when they form an 

 excellent food for draught horses, of which amounts equivalent to half of 

 the ordinary corn ration may be given. They are also a fattening food 

 of the first rank for hogs, and, like barley, greatly improve the character 

 of their fat and flesh. When given in large amounts to milk cattle, they 

 are apt to make the butter too hard. The straw of peas is also readily 

 digestible, and of good pea-straw ruminants digest 60.5 per cent, of pro- 

 teids, 45.9 per cent, of fats, and 64.4 per cent, of non-nitrogenous extract- 

 ives. When in good condition, pea-straw may even serve as a substitute 

 for hay for j'oung cattle. For milk cattle but small amounts should be 

 given, or else the quantity of milk will be reduced. Unfortunately, pea- 

 straw is apt to be contaminated with that of various weeds and fungi. 



The following table gives the average composition of the principal 

 representatives of this group, as contrasted with the potato: 



