54 VOELCKER on the Chemistry of Food. 



fresher cake and food in general (there are some exceptions, as 

 for instance, mangolds, which become better on keeping), the 

 better it is adapted for feeding-purposes. 



4. By the flavour which it imparts to the meat or the milk. The 

 economical value of an article of food is also regulated by the 

 flavour which it imparts either to the meat or the milk. An 

 article of food may be excellent for producing flesh or milk, and 

 yet, on account of the disagreeable flavour which it imparts to 

 either the one or the other, it may not be desirable to employ it 

 as a feeding material. The case of fenugreek seed, to which 

 reference is made above, fully proves this. 



These remarks, and others which will suggest themselves to 

 practical men, show that the chemical composition of food alone 

 cannot determine its economic value, but that a variety of cir- 

 cumstances have to be taken into account before we can arrive at 

 anything like a correct view of the nutritive value of a feeding 

 material. 



