DIGESTIBILITY OF PEAT. 263 



used with great success in the cavalry of Germany, Austria, 

 Belgium, Denmark and Russia. 



In the experiments in cattle feeding made at the Moecken Digestibility of 

 agronomic station, the main object in view was to determine the peat * 

 coefficient of digestibility of peat, and it was concluded that the 

 product is indigestible; which means that it passes through the 

 alimentary canal without being assimilated, and its presence 

 diminishes the digestibility of the other elements of which the 

 fodder is made up. From a practical point of view, peat has 

 no money value; but this conclusion differs from that of many 

 other investigators, and for this reason a few hints respecting 

 the manner in which the experiments were conducted are of 

 more than passing moment. Sheep were first fed with hay - 

 alone, with hay and molasses, and with peat-molasses combina- 

 tions. The coefficient of digestibility is obtained by comparing 

 the amount of sugar, nitrogenous elements, starch, etc., con- 

 tained in a given quantity fed to an animal and that thrown 

 out and found in the excrement. If 100 grains of starch were 

 fed and 35 were found in the excrement, the coefficient of 

 digestibility would then be 65. This is by no means a constant 

 quantity, for it can be made to increase or decrease by the addi- 

 tion of other substances, as is the case with peat-molasses com- 

 binations, and the digestibility of hay was very much reduced 

 by the presence of peat. The averages of these experiments 

 were as follows: In the peat there were 200.6 grams organic 

 substances; 12.2 grams nitrogenous substances; 112.1 non- 

 nitrogenous substances; 4.9 raw fat; 71.3 raw cellulose, and in 

 the excrements there were 216.5 grams organic substances; 19.6 

 nitrogenous substances; 122.1 grams non-nitrogenous; 4.1 grams 

 raw fat, and 69.9 grams raw cellulose. These figures show that 

 there was more nutrient thrown off than the peat contained; 

 consequently it was drawn from the hay, w r hich is an actual 

 money loss. Hence the agronomist who undertook these ex- 

 periments concludes that peat does not offer for the purpose the 

 advantages claimed, and some other substance should be com- 

 bined with the molasses residuum when cattle feeding is the ' 

 object sought. 



Consequently it is very justly concluded that peat within 



