4 ELEMENTARY TREATISE ON STOCK FEEDS AND FEEDING 



combustion and by respiration of animals. All carbonates (lime- 

 stone, chalk, etc.) and all organic substances contain carbon. It 

 is present in greater quantities in plant and animal life than any 

 other element. Henry^ says: "10,000 volumes of air contain 

 about 3 volumes of carbonic acid gas ; 32 cubic yards of air hold 

 one pound of this gas. An acre of growing wheat will gather 

 during four months, 2,000 pounds of carbonic acid gas, or an 

 amount equal to all the air contains over the same area of land to 

 a height of three miles." All of our farm crops use a great 

 amount of carbon in the form of carbonic acid gas. 



Potassium in combination is very common. It is mined in 

 large quantities in the Stassfiirt mines of Germany. The pres- 

 ence of this element in wood ashes is taken advantage of in mak- 

 ing soft soap. Potassium is found in most rocks and in the 

 soil. In plants it is associated with organic acids. This element 

 is essential to plant growth and is found in the stems, leaves and 

 fruits of plants. It is also present in the animal, mainly in the 

 flesh, liver, blood corpuscles and also in bones, milk and other 

 parts of the animal body. 



Phosphorus is found in combination with oxygen and metals, 

 as phosphates. Vast deposits of phosphates are found in Tenn- 

 essee, South Carolina, Florida and some of the western states. 

 It is present in many rocks and most soils and is an important 

 element for plant food. It tends to produce early maturity in 

 plants and helps to form the seed. It is also very important to 

 the animal, where it is found in the hair, urine, muscles, nerve 

 tissues, gland cells, milk, and bones. Bones contain about 60 

 to 65 per cent, of calcium phosphate which serves to strengthen 

 them. 



Calcium is an element which occurs in combination in many 

 substances as in lime, marble, coral, and gypsum. Plants and 

 animals require this element, sometimes in larger amounts than 

 one would imagine. In animals it is found in the blood, milk, 

 egg shells and bones. A deficiency of this element in the food of 

 the animal often causes serious diseases of the bones. 



1 Feeds and Feeding. 



