CHEMISTRY OF FARM PRACTICE 



TABLE VIII. THE AVERAGE DIGESTIBILITY OF SOME 

 COMMON FOOD STUFFS 



ceeding crops will more than repay for the value of the 

 crop returned to the soil. If, on the other hand, the crops 

 grown will not fulfill the above requirements, it will pay 

 to use the plants for feed, and to carefully conserve the 

 manure. However, it has been shown that there is a con- 

 siderable loss in organic matter, due to the exhalation of 

 carbon dioxide by the animals to which the material is 

 fed. There is a further loss of nitrogen due to the forma- 

 tion of muscle and sinew, which contain a large percentage 

 of this element; and of phosphorus and potassium due to 

 the formation of bone. From the foregoing statements, it 



