THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF FEEDINGSTUFFS 5 



The amount of moisture in a feedingstuff is determined 

 in the chemical laboratory by drying a weighed sample of 

 the feed in a drying oven at a temperature of 212° F. until 

 all the water is driven off. The dried sample then is weighed, 

 the loss in weight representing the amount of water driven 

 oiT. The percentage of water is obtained by dividing the 

 original weight of the sample into the weight of the water, 

 and multiplying the result by 100. 



Table 1. — Percentages of Water in the Different Classes 

 OF Feedingstuffs 1 



Table 1 shows the average percentages of water occurring 

 in the different classes of the common feedingstuffs. The 

 data of this table show that the amounts of water in the 

 different classes of feedingstuffs are quite variable. Milk 

 and the root crops contain the largest amounts of water, 

 — 86 to 94 per cent. Pastures and silage also contain large 

 amounts, — 62 to 85 per cent. Stover and fodder contain 

 from 8 to 40 per cent water. The amount may vary con- 

 siderably, depending largely upon the method of curing. 

 The hays, straws, and legume seeds all contain medium 

 amounts of water, — 7 to 16 per cent, while the cereal 



1 These values represent the upper and lower limits of the average water 

 content of the common feedingstuffs included under each class. For an 

 explanation of this classification of feedingstuffs, see Chapter IX. 



