Influence of Phosphorus in Feeds on the Phosphorus 



Content of Egg, and the Chemical Character 



of the Phosphorus Compounds 



The study of the metabolism of feeding stuffs has not been ex- 

 tended equally to all classes of animals. The larger bulk of avail- 

 able data has been on the herbivora, but little to the chicken which 

 may be called the link between the carnivorous and herbivorous. The 

 .structure of the alimentary canal of the bird suggests that the di- 

 gestion process is rapid and partakes of features of both the car- 

 nivorous and herbivorous. 



Phosphorus is one of the most interesing of the mineral elements 

 found in animal because of the essential connections which it sus- 

 tains with many of the structures and processes. It exists in the 

 body in many compounds belonging to at least four groups. 



1. Inorganic phosphates which occur throughout the body in 

 solid and liquid state. 



3. Lecithin found in all parts of plant and animal cells. 



3. Phospho-proteids. 



4. Xuclea-proteids. 



The last two classes are probably constant cell-components. 



In the inorganic phosphates phosphorus is present as salts of 

 the mineral bases Ca, -Mg, Xa, K ? and Fe. The lecithin phos- 

 phorus is present as glyco-pliosphoric acid. 



Phospho-proteins, to which class casein containing phosphorus 

 belongs, the condition of the phosphorus is not positively known. 



The phosphorus of the nucleo-proteina occurs mostly in the cell 

 uurleins, and is present in the nuclic acid. 



Care must he exercised in the choice of foods. There must be 

 ;.n abundant supply of mineral nutrients, especially i> this so of 

 ihe chicken. The specific effect of foods is partly due to relative 

 proportion of carbohydrates, piotcids and fats, the mineral nutri- 

 ents are also in part too. It is a well known fact that if corn is 

 fed e\ees-i\ely it will injure the egg-laying capacity of fowls. This 

 is due lo the 1 tendency of the fat to accumulate internally in the 



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