NO (;AIX DTK TO M AI.hm; 26:) 



comparative lots, reccivinu oil the ( lilt" hand liarl.y aii.l on tlir 

 other an equal (iiiaiitity turned into malt, wore sjnall. and ntit 

 mueli removed from the inevital)le erntr in exprrimcnts of thi> 

 kind. But, as a rule, the ditterenees wvw in faNonr of ilir 

 barley, so that Ave may eonelude that iiothinic had Itrm ^'aincd 

 by the changes which the malt had mideru^.nc whieh would 

 compensate for the loss of dry matti'r. This is indccil what wr 

 should have expected; we now know that the whole of ih.- 

 l)arley is easily digestible except a certain amount of hn>k. 

 This husk is unaffected by the malting process, and i> not 

 rendered thereby more digestible. The malting changes, in 

 fact, consist in a destruction of some of the most soluble and 

 readily digestible carbohydrates, together with a tiansforniati(ni 

 of albuminoid into amides and other nitrogen coin})ounds of 

 less nutritive value. Thus the general conclusion may be drawn 

 that it is not economical to malt grain l)efore using it as food 

 for stock; since, putting on one side the cost of the malting 

 process, the result is only a loss of some of the most valuable 

 parts of the grain. 



It has, however, been pointe<l out by Dr H. T. Brown that 

 there may still be some foundation for the graziers' high opinion 

 of a little malt in a mixed diet. 



The greater part of the kernel of the grain of cereals consists 

 of starch-containhig cells, which are invested by a thin 

 cellulosic membrane. As long as this membrane remains intact 

 it c(mstitutes a formidable barrier to the free action of the 

 starch-dissolving enzyme of the pancreatic fluid, which plays 

 isuch an important part in the dissolution of the solid staich- 

 granules when once the food has passed the pyloric orifice. 



There does not appear to be any provision in tlu- dige>ti\e 

 tract of the herbivora for the secretion of an enzyme capable of 

 attacking this investing membrane, the dissolution of which 

 under ordinary conditions is l)rought about in the stomach by an 

 enzyme pre-existent in the grain. Cnder eeriain (•<»nditi..n> ihi- 

 enzyme, cytase, may either be absent from the foo<l-grain or 

 present only in minimal quantity, in wJiich case the addition to 



