8 On the Composition and Nutritive Properties of 



mangolds undecided, we have at all events 38 per cent, of fat- 

 tening and very readily-digestible materials in favour of the 

 roots. But against this must be placed the 7 per cent, albuminous 

 compounds, and the 30 per cent, of crude fibre, which the pulp 

 contains more than the roots. The question, therefore, would 

 appear to resolve itself simply to this : Is 7 per cent, of albuminous 

 compounds, and 30 per cent, of crude pulp-fibre, as valuable as 

 38 per cent, of sugar ? But it is not really quite so simple ; for, in 

 comparing the crude fibre of the root with that of the pulp, we 

 have assumed that both have the same feeding value ; which 

 is not the case in reality. Of the crude fibre contained in the 

 mangold, a much smaller portion is woody indigestible fibre than 

 in that of the pulp; for it includes insoluble pectinous com- 

 pounds, which, under the action of sulphuric acid, employed in 

 beet-root distilleries, are readily transformed into sugar, and thus 

 rendered soluble. The fibre of the pulp, after deducting the in- 

 soluble albuminous compounds which remain attached to it, 

 consists almost entirely of woody fibre. Weight for weight, 

 therefore, the crude fibre of mangolds is more valuable than the 

 crude fibre of the pulp. But even supposing the crude fibre of 

 the pulp to be equally nutritious with the crude fibre of the root, 

 I am not the less convinced that this 38 per cent, of soluble non- 

 nitrogenous matters (consisting chiefly of sugar) contained in the 

 latter will go farther in producing butcher's-meat than the 7 per 

 cent, of albuminous compounds, together with 30 per cent, of 

 fibre found in the former ; and for this reason, because we have 

 already seen that the mangold in its natural state contains more 

 than a sufficient quantity of flesh-forming or albuminous sub- 

 stances to meet the requirements of the animal system. 



It is for these reasons that I consider mangolds more nutritious 

 than pulp. We shall presently see how far these speculations 

 are borne out by actual experience. I may however be permitted 

 to combat in this place the opinion, which appears to be pretty 

 generally entertained by French writers, that little or no feeding 

 value is to be ascribed to sugar, and that, chiefly on this account, 

 the pulp may be considered to be as nutritious as an equal 

 weight of roots. In my opinion the sugar is by far the most 

 important constituent in our root-crops ; and those farmers who 

 judge of the quality of their swedes or mangolds by the more 

 or less sweet taste which they possess, may be satisfied that 

 instinctively they rely on a trustworthy test. 



I shall now describe the experiments which I instituted with a 

 view of testing practically the relative feeding value of mangold 

 and of pulp, the latter being the refuse of a distillery in which 

 Leplay's system was adopted. 



Eight Cotswold sheep were divided into two lots. Before the 



