Ash in Plants 43 



water or other solvents might have upon the inorganic 

 portion of cattle foods. 



The ash compounds of plants. Upon incineration 

 all plants and feeding stuffs yield an ash residue 

 which has been termed the mineral part of the plant. 

 The ash elements are important in this connection 

 because they are the main source of the same elements 

 of the animal body. These may be held in plant 

 tissue in three ways: in organic combinations and 

 as the inorganic salts of plant solutions, crystals and 

 incrustations. Outside of phosphorus and sulfur, com- 

 paratively little is known of the relations to plant 

 structure of the important ash elements, such as 

 potassium, calcium and magnesium. Their place as 

 bases in organic structures is not well understood. 



The ash from different plants and feeding stuffs 

 is by no means uniform in composition and quantity, 

 even in the same species or class of materials, although 

 with the grains there is some degree of uniformity in 

 this respect. Certain factors cause variations, such as 

 species, stage of growth, fertility, the part of the plant, 

 manner of curing or treatment of a feeding stuff and 

 changes due to manufacturing processes, and the varia- 

 tions which exist pertain not only to the amount of 

 ash but also to its composition. 



Variations due to species. Different species of 

 plants, and consequently different feeding stuffs, are 

 greatly unlike in their content of mineral matter. The 

 figures on following page illustrate this fact, further 

 confirmation of which may be had by consulting the 

 table in the appendix: 



