BULLETIN 128. 



protein. Cotton seed meal and linseed meal are very rich in 

 protein, and so are leguminous 'hays, such as clover, alfalfa and 

 cowpea hay. 



CARBOHYDRATES contain no nitrogen but are made up of car- 

 bon, hydrogen, and oxygen, containing the latter two elements 

 in the proportion to form water. Sugar and starch are almost 

 pure carbohydrates. Crude fiber is another carbohydrate, 

 which constitutes the woody, fibrous part of plants. 



ETHER EXTRACT is the part of feeds extracted by means of 

 ether, and consists largely of fats or oils. This group of nutri- 

 ents bears a close similarity to carbohydrates, both in compo- 

 sition and in function ; but owing to its high carbon content, its 

 fuel value is 2.4 times that of carbohydrates. Cotton seed and 

 flax seed are very rich in ether extract. 



DRY MATTER, as the term signifies, is the feed minus its 

 water. 



THE VARIATION IN NUTRIENTS in different feeds is illustrated 

 in the following table : 



TABLE I. Showing variation in nutrients in different feeds. 



The table shows that feeds differ very widely in the amount 

 of nutrients they contain, especially in protein, the most valuable 

 portion of feeds. 



DIGESTIBILITY. While the total nutrients give some idea as 

 to the relative value of different feeds, it is of far greater im- 

 portance to know the total digestible nutrients as determined by 

 actual digestion experiments with animals. That feeds differ 

 widely in degree of digestibility is shown in the following table, 

 which contains the same list of feeds given in Table 1. 



