NUTRITIVE VALUE OF FOOD. in 



meadow hay, as from 25 to 40 per cent, of its dry substance 

 can be dissolved in cold water " (Farm Foods). 



Growing plants possess a waxy varnish which acts as a pro- 

 tective covering against damp. When the plant dies on being 

 cut, the varnish, if exposed to the action of moisture, soon 

 becomes dissolved, and then washed away. The bruising and 

 rough handling of hay in making and storing is a cause of 

 nutrient loss : for such treatment exposes the softer and more 

 porous inner structure of the plant to the hurtful action of 

 fermentative germs aided by moisture ; and inflicts further 

 damage by breaking off a more or less considerable portion of 

 the leaves and other soft parts, which, as we have seen, are far 

 richer in nitrogenous matter than the stalks. Any " heating " 

 (fermentation) which cut fodder may undergo is accompanied 

 by loss of nutritive material. Some of the starch becomes 

 turned into sugar, then into alcohol, if the fermentation is 

 continued, and finally into water and carbonic acid, which 

 escape into the atmosphere in the respective forms of vapour 

 and gas. By this loss, the percentage of fibre in the hay 

 becomes increased. In all cases, any musty smell from either 

 hay or corn will show that the fodder, having become attacked 

 by hurtful bacteria, is more or less unfit for consumption. 



As a rule, the more hay is heated in the rick, the browner 

 will it become. Also, before being stacked, it is liable to 

 lose its original green colour from the action of wet on it 

 after it has been cut. Owing to the increase of sugar and 

 possibly to the formation of certain fragrant principles which 

 improve the taste of the hay, we find that horses sometimes 

 prefer brown hay to well-saved green hay, although the 

 former is manifestly of inferior feeding value to the latter ; 

 supposing, of course, that the two samples of hay have 

 been made from similar grass. As we have already seen 

 (p. 96 et seq.\ the increase in the percentage of fibre in hay, 

 owing to the loss of nutritive constituents, may be no dis- 



