90 



AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 



NITROGEN-FREE EXTRACTIVE MATTER. 



XL!.. 



XLII. 



XLIII 



XL... 



L. ... 



XLIV 



LI ... 



XLV . 



XXXIX 



XLVI . 



XLVII 



Alsike Clover . . 

 White Clover.. . 



Blue Joint 



Orchard Grass. . 



KedTop ... 



Timothy 



Timothy 



Wild Oat Grass 

 Witch Grass . . . 



Buttercup 



White Weed.. . 



In 



100 parts Water-Free Substance. 























13 





S "S 











S Si 



&g 













^g 









cj 

 bO 



" go 



o 'S 



o 



<D 





3 





■— C3 



o 



O 



o 



.a 









o 



3 









&H IB 



3 

 CO 



S 



W 



H -S 



25 3 CO 



% 



% 



% 



% 



% 



% 



40.74 



1.49 



3.09 



10.64 



15.22 



25.52 



41.65 



.39 



2.73 



15.77 



18.89 



22.76 



44.60 



2.23 



3.53 



14.49 



20.25 



24.41 



44.08 



1.54 



4.05 



16.53 



22.12 



21.96 



50.64 



3.14 



4.25 



16.58 



23.95 



26.69 



50.98 



3.70 



6.76 



16.17 



26.63 



24.35 



51.30 



3 25 



6.4S 



14.92 



24.65 



26.65 



51.74 



1.78 



3.76 



17. 4G 



23.00 



28.74 



43.21 



2.57 



5.09 



16.66 



24.32 



18.89 



45.47 



.60 



4.65 



9.15 



14.40 



31.07 



46.17 



.79 



4.39 



10.77 



15.95 



30.22 



i: g 



% 



37.36 

 45.35 

 45.34 

 60.18 

 47.29 

 62.24 

 48.06 

 44.46 

 56.29 

 31.66 

 34.54 



The above figures show that the true carbohydrates form a much 

 larger part of the nitrogen-free extractive matter of some plants 

 than of others. For instance the white weed has nine-tenths as 

 much non-nitrogenous material as the timoth}' (No. XLIV), but of 

 sugar the latter has twice as much, and of starch one and a half 

 times as much, as the former. In other words, more of the nitrogen- 

 free extractive matter of the white weed consists of compounds of 

 which we have some reason to suspect a nutritive value inferior to 

 starch and sugar. Just what these compounds are in composition 

 and in nutritive value we do not know. They form in these 

 instances from a fifth to a quarter of the dry substance of the plant, 

 and in general constitute an unknown factor in the compounding of 

 rations involving the use of coarse fodders. 



DIGESTION EXPERIMENTS. 



GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 



The composition alone of any feeding stuff is a very imperfect 

 standard by which to judge its food value. Of the food consumed 

 by an animal, only that portion which is digested, i. e., that which 

 is dissolved by the several digestive fluids and passes into the 

 blood, can serve to maintain the vital functions, or to produce 



