THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF FARM ANIMALS 2? 



Water. — As shown by the table, water is an essential 

 and abundant constituent of the animal body, varying in 

 amount from 35 per cent in case of a very fat sheep to 72 

 per cent in case of the new-born calves. The blood, which 

 forms from 3 to 10 per cent of the body weight, is 80 per cent 

 water. The tissues, excluding the fatty tissues and the 

 bones, contain from 50 to 85 per cent water, while the 

 skeleton contains from 30 to 60 per cent water. In general, 

 somewhat more than half of the weight of our farm animals 

 consists of water. The percentage of water in the bodies 

 of animals varies with their species, condition, and age. A 

 study of the data presented in Table 7 shows that, in general, 

 cattle contain more water than sheep and hogs. It shows 

 further that fat animals contain considerably less water 

 than thin animals of the same age and species. Other 

 things being equal, the fatter the animal the smaller is the 

 percentage of water which it contains. This explains in 

 large part why pork and mutton usually contain less water 

 than beef. The calves, the lamb, and the four-month-old 

 pigs show a considerably higher water content than more 

 mature animals of the same species. Other things being 

 equal, the younger the animal, the more water it contains. 

 This is shown very well by Figure 1, made by Professor 

 Haecker from his results upon the composition of steers of 

 different ages. It is a matter of common observation that 

 veal and lamb contain more water than beef and mutton, 

 respectively. 



Mineral Matter or Ash. — The farm animals usually 

 contain 3 to 5 per cent of mineral matter. By far the largest 

 amount of mineral matter in the animal body is found in 

 the bones, while smaller amounts occur in the protein tissues 



