Composition, and Nutritive Value of Straw. 11 



different alkaline and acid secretions in the animal organism 

 exercise similar, probably even more energetic effects, than 

 this upon the crude woody fibre. The treatment with dilute 

 alkalies and acids, therefore, affords a better insight into the 

 digestibility of the bulk of straw than the mere exhaustion with 

 water. 



At the same time, however, it may be noticed that the method 

 of Sinclair, who endeavoured to determine the nutritive value of 

 different grasses by ascertaining the proportion of matters soluble 

 in water, furnishes comparative results which enable us to form 

 a tolerable good opinion of the feeding value of straw. Indeed I 

 find that the more nutritious samples invariably produce the 

 largest amount of watery extract. 



In many of the published analyses nothing more than moisture, 

 ash, and albuminous compounds are determined ; all the rest is 

 arrived at by difference. It is evident that such imperfect ana- 

 lyses must lead to practical errors ; for in these analyses oil, sugar, 

 and other soluble matters are thrown together with crude woody 

 fibre, and the whole group is said to consist of fat and respiratory 

 constituents, although only a portion of the whole exists in reality 

 in a condition in which it can be assimilated by animals. 



WHEAT-STRAW. 



The following results were obtained on analysing a sample of 



well-harvested wheat-straw, which was neither under nor over 

 ripe : 



General Composition. 



Water 13-33 



Soluble organic matters 5'54 



Soluble inorganic matters 1*13 



Insoluble organic matters 76*92 



Insoluble mineral matters 3'08 



100-00 

 Detailed Composition. 



Water ; .. 13'33 



Oil 1-74 



* Albumen and other soluble protein compounds 1'28 



Sugar, mucilage, extractive matters, &c. (soluble in water) 4-26 



Digestible fibre, &c 19'40 



Soluble inorganic matter .. .. .. 1-13 



flnsolublc protein compounds 1*65 



Indigestible woody fibre 54'13 



Insoluble inorganic matter 3 -08 



100-00 



*Contaiuing nitrogen 206 



t Containing nitrogen .. .. .. '264 



Total percentage of nitrogen '470 



Equal to protein compounds 2-93 



Total ash .. .. 4-21 



