308 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pul). Doc. 



is considered the most valuable part of the concentrated 

 feeds. 



JVon-nilrogenous Extracl Matter consists of sugars, starch 

 and gums. The grains are very rich in starch and similar 

 substances. 



Carbohydrates . — The ti])re and extract matter have the 

 same functions in the process of nutrition, and collectively 

 they are termed carl)ohydrates. 



JSFutritive Ratio, — The numerical relation which the pro- 

 tein of a feed bears to the carbohydrates (and fat reduced 

 to carbohydrates) is termed its nutritive ratio. Fat is mul- 

 tiplied by 2J to convert it into carbohydrates. If a ton of 

 feed should contain 9() pounds of digestible protein, and 

 928 pounds of digestil^le carbohydrates, it would have 9.4 

 times as much carbohydrates as protein or 1 :9.4, which is 

 its nutritive ratio. 



Digestibility. — Any feed-stutT is valuable as a source of 

 nourishment only so far as its various parts can be digested 

 and assimilated. That the concentrated feeds are much 

 more digestible than the coarse fodders may be shown from 

 the following table : — 



Table I. 



The timothy hay has but 48.41 pounds of digestible mat- 

 ter, while the cotton-seed has 65.3 pounds. 



In addition to their increased digestibility the concen- 

 trated feeds as a rule possess a much higher protein content 



