XII. 



CROPS 



263 



By actually determining the percentages of the various carbo- 

 hydrates, Stone obtained the following numbers : 



It is thus evident that 35 or 36 per cent, of the whole material in 

 the case of wheat and about 24'5 per cent, in the case of maize, is not 

 estimated and exists in the plant in some other form than those of the 

 carbohydrates mentioned. 



This is a remarkable result, and the subject merits further in- 

 vestigation. 



In many instances in modern analyses, the amounts of pentoses 

 and pentosans in foods are determined. These bodies appear to be 

 much less digestible than the other carbohydrates. 1 



The following analyses ' 2 will illustrate the occurrence of pentosans 

 in fodder : 



1 Stone, Agric. Sci., 7, 6. 



2 Diiring, Jour. Chem. Soc., 1897, Abstracts, ii. 588. 



