Digestion Experiments With Wethers. 35 



EXPERIMENT VI. 



The hay with which this experiment was conducted was 

 composed of mixed grasses, principally Juncus (two species), 

 or what is popularly known as wire grass, obtained from Mr. 

 Fee's ranch on the Little Laramie River, northwest of Laramie. 

 Besides the Juncus, which made up a large portion of the hay, 

 there were identified the following plants: Poa Sp? (blue- 

 grass), Scirpus Sp? (Bull Rush), Planta go eripoda (Plantain), 

 Koelera cristata (Prairie Grass), Deschampsia caespitosa (Al- 

 kali Grass). 



The hay is fairly typical of good sheep hay in this region 

 raised by irrigation through flooding the meadows to such an 

 extent that most of the hay grasses are drowned out. In- 

 creased yields of hay composed of water-loving sedges and 

 rushes is obtained in this manner much more cheaply than the 

 grass hays may be obtained. The rushes and sedges are not 

 valued as hays throughout the humid regions of the east, but 

 stock are wintered on this class of hay quite extensively in the 

 irrigated regions of the state. 



SHEEP K. 



Amount fed, 4,535 grams. 



Amount of orts, 8.5 grams. 



Amount of feces (air dry), 1,620 grams. 



ANALYSIS. 



Nitrogen- 

 Ether Crude Crude free 

 Water Ash extract fiber protein extract 



Feed 7.10 6.42 2.11 28.91 7.75 47.71 



Orts 7.10 11.77 2.82 23.42 10.88 44.01 



Feces 6.58 8.10 2.19 27.38 8.69 47.06 



AMOUNTS IN GRAMS. 



Nitrogen- 

 Dry Ether Crude Crude free 

 matter Ash extract fiber protein extract 



Feed 4213.0 291.1 95.6 1311.1 351.4 2163.8 



Orts... 7.9 1.0 0.2 2.0 0.9 3.8 



Consumed 4205.1 290.1 95.4 1309.1 350.5 2160.0 



Feces... ...1513.4 131.2 35.4 443.6 140.7 762.5 



Digested 2691.7 158.9 60.0 865.5 209.8 1397.5 



Per cent digested.... 64.01 54.77 62.89 66.11 59.86 64.70 



