COMPOSITION OF FEEDS 283 



done is so delicate that a thimbleful of corn meal can be 

 weighed with a smaller percentage of error than is usual 

 when a wagon load of corn is weighed on good wagon 

 scales. 



All food materials, no matter how dry they may appear, 

 contain a considerable amount of water. The grains 

 usually contain about 10 per cent of water. Hay con- 

 tains 10 to 20 per cent; pasture grasses about 75 per cent; 

 green corn and silage about 80 per cent. 



252. Ash. The chemist next burns the sample until 

 the charcoal is all gone. The remainder is ash. The amount 

 of ash in different feeds is variable. Corn -contains 1.5 

 per cent; wheat, 1.8 per cent; wheat bran, 5.8 per cent; 

 timothy hay, 4.4 per cent; clover hay, 6.2 per cent; alfalfa 

 hay, 7.4 per cent. 



253. Protein. The protein is not determined directly. 

 In order to find the amount of it, the percentage of nitro- 

 gen is found and this is multiplied by 6.25, because it 

 has been found that the average protein substance contains 

 about 16 per cent of nitrogen. The method of finding 

 the percentage of nitrogen is too complicated to be con- 

 sidered here. The amount of protein is highest in legumes. 

 It is more abundant in seeds than in the stems of plants. 

 Alfalfa hay contains 14 per cent; timothy, 6 per cent; 

 wheat, 12. per cent; wheat-straw, 3.4 per cent; peas, 20 

 per cent; corn, 10 per cent. 



254. Ether Extract or Fat. The dry feed is treated 

 with ether, which dissolves out the wax, chlorophyll 

 and fat. The largest amount of the extract, particularly 

 in grains, is fat. It is, therefore, commonly spoken of as 

 fat, although a more accurate term would be ether extract. 



