DEFINITIONS AND TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS. 



351 



KELATION BETWEEN DIGESTIBILITY OF NITROGEN-FREE EXTRACT, CRUDF 

 FIBRE AND FAT. 



The younger the plant, the more readily is its cellulose digested; as the 

 percentage of crude cellulose is then at a minimum, the digested proportion 

 of non-nitrogenous substances is consequently greater. 



In the experiments of Hohenheim with clover of different ages, many inter- 

 esting facts are demonstrated beyond cavil. If K is the quotient obtained 

 by dividing the digested non-nitrogenous substances by the nitrogen-free ex- 

 tract, determined by analysis of the fodder, and C the percentage of crude 

 fibre digested, we have the following. The age of the clover depended upon 

 the stage of the experiment. 



DIGESTIBILITY OF CRUDE CELLULOSE IN CLOVER. 



From these experiments, it is concluded that the digestibility of crude cel- 

 lulose diminishes more rapidly than all the non-nitrogenous substances taken 

 together, but is to a certain extent influenced by the percentage of crude cel- 

 lulose present, which shows that the theory of compensation mentioned in 

 the foregoing is not absolutely accurate. 



It is admitted that, with the exception of fat, all the digested non-nitro- 

 genous substances of a fodder are transformed into sugar or some saccharine 

 substance, and that it is assimilated in this form. Consequently from a prac- 

 tical point of view, we may admit that the mass of non-nitrogenous substances 

 of a fodder are simply assimilated as if they were carbohydrates and fat. The 



