AND ITS RELATION TO ANIMAL LIFE 137 



" The nitrogenous plastic products are pro- 

 teids. With regards to the fats, it is com- 

 monly assumed that they are formed directly 

 from the carbohydrates." 



From the foregoing it is clear that the Illinois 

 agricultural experts are trying to improve the 

 feeding value of Indian corn by selection. 



It may be possible to do this to a small ex- 

 tent, but the fundamental basis of the subject 

 is chemistry, as I will try to show. 



In the Illinois report we have distinct evi- 

 dence that the proteids and fats vary con- 

 siderably in maize, and are deficient in some 

 samples just as they are wanting in some 

 samples of rice. 



The proteids being in the main carbon 

 compounds, and as the carbon and hydrogen 

 of the plant are governed by the chlorophyll, 

 and the main factors in chlorohpyll being 

 iron and nitrogen, which vary considerably 

 in the plant, then, so must the chlorophyll 

 vary, and consequently the carbon and hy- 

 drogen and nitrogen of the proteids, so that 

 the proteids must vary as the chemistry of the 

 plant and consequently of the soil. 



