THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF FEEDINGSTUFFS 15 



seeds of plants, as in the cereal grains. The sugars are 

 found principally in the stem and roots of certain plants, 

 as in sorghum and sugar beets. 



In addition to the carbohydrates, the nitrogen-free extract 

 usually contains small amounts of organic acids and other 

 substances which are not carbohydrates. Especially is 

 this true in the case of fermented feeds, such as silage. 

 The organic acids and other substances, o^^dng to their 

 small amounts, possess only a small nutritive value, but 

 they may have an important indirect influence upon the 

 value of a feed by increasing or decreasing its palatability, 

 or through some special physiological effect. 



Nitrogen-free Extract in Feedingstuffs. — The percentage 

 of nitrogen-free extract in a feedingstuff is obtained by add- 

 ing together the percentages of water, mineral matter, crude 

 protein, fat, and crude fiber, and subtracting the total from 

 100. 



Nitrogen-free extract is the most abundant and the cheap- 

 est nutrient produced in the corn-belt. The cereal grains 

 contain the largest amounts of nitrogen-free extract, — 

 60 to 75 per cent, although the root crops, when calculated 

 on the water-free basis, also contain large amounts. The by- 

 products of the cereal grains contain considerable nitrogen- 

 free extract, — 39 to 65 per cent. The legume seeds, thg 

 oil-bearing seeds and their by-products, and the hays, 

 straws, fodders, and stovers, contain medium amounts, — 

 23 to 52 per cent. Green pasture grasses and silage contain 

 small amounts, — 6 to 20 per cent, while the packinghouse 

 by-products contain little or no nitrogen-free extract. 



The average percentages of nitrogen-free extract in the 

 various classes of feedingstuffs are given in Table 4. 



