60 



FORAGE PLANTS AND THEIR CULTURE 



fats, and fiber in different plants are each of equal nutritive 

 value, although they differ considerably in actual composi- 

 tion, and as is now known, in actual feeding value. The 

 method of digestible nutrients requires much less time and 

 expense than the direct method of actual feeding, but 

 the results are less reliable. In the absence of actual 

 feeding experiments, however, it furnishes an approxi- 

 mation of the feeding value of the substance in question. 



The feeding value of a substance of which only a chemi- 

 cal analysis is available may be conjectured by assuming 

 that the coefficient of digestibility is the same as that of 

 some similar feed. 



In the accompanying table is shown the amount of 

 digestible nutrients in four grass hays, four legume hays, 

 and two concentrates : 



TABLE SHOWING POUNDS OF DIGESTIBLE NUTRIENTS IN 

 100 POUNDS DRY MATTER. (HENRY) 



Attempts have often been made to determine the rela- 

 tive value of a feed in a single term by assigning a defi- 

 nite value per pound to the protein, the fat, the carbo- 



