The chemical analysis of a fodder article is carried on with a view to 

 determine the quantity of each group of its constituents^ which is consid- 

 ered an essential ingredient of a complete food for the support of animal 

 life. Our modes of analyzing articles of fodder are practically the same, 

 wherever this work is carried out intelligently. The results obtained 

 are, therefore, applicable for the determination of a comparative value 

 wherever the identity of the material can be established. 



The actual results of the analysis are usually reported under the 

 following headings : — 



1. Amount of moisture lost at 110° C, or 230° F., and amount of 



dry matter left behind. 



2. Amount of mineral matter left behind after a careful incineration 



of the material. 



3. Amount of organic nitrogenous matter — commonly called crude 



protein. 



4. Amount of non-nitrogenous organic matter, — exclusive of fat, 



and of coarse cellulose substances. 



The entire mass which any fodder substance leaves behind after 

 being heated at one hundred and ten degrees. Centigrade temperature, • 

 is called dry matter. An increase in dry substance in case of any 

 plant or part of plant at the same stage of growth, indicates usually 

 a higher feeding value. To satisfy' the craving of the animal, a cer- 

 tain quantity or bulk of coarse, dry matter becomes an important con- 

 sideration in making up the fodder rations for different classes of 

 animals. In raising young stock for fattening purposes, a liberal 

 supply is also desirable, to effect a proper distention of the digestive 

 organs, to make them good feeders hereafter. 



Nitrogenotis substances or protein matter refer to several groups of 

 nitrogen-containing compounds, of plants in particular, (albumen, 

 fibrin, casein,) which are essential for the formation of blood and 

 tissues. Those contained in animal matter, as meat refuse, are fre- 

 quently considered of a higher value than those in many plants. 



Non-nitrogenous substances include, in particular, starch, sugars, 

 organic acids, gums, fats, and the digestible portion of the cellular 

 matter of the fodder. These substances are readily transformed, 

 within the digestive organs, into soluble compounds of a similar chem- 

 ical character, and are thus assumed to serve an identical physiolog- 

 ical purpose. As more recent investigations. have shown a superior 

 physiological value of the fat, — one of the non-nitrogenous constitu- 

 ents, — 2\ times as much, as compared with starch, sugar, and other 

 representatives of that group, its amount is separately recorded. The 

 same course, for similar reasons, has been of late adopted with refer- 

 ence to certain forms of nitrogenous organic constituents of fodder 

 articles. 



Fatty substances include all the various natural fats of the plant. 

 Most plants contain more than was assumed at an earlier stage of 

 inquiry. As the fat is separated by means of ether, the 

 statements in the analyses do not exactly express the amount of 



