66 PRINCIPLES OF FEEDING FARM ANIMALS 
points the same way, but it cannot be said to be conclusive as yet.® 
The question must be considered still open as to whether a scant 
ration is digested more completely by farm animals than an ample 
ration. This matter, however, is more of scientific interest than of 
practical importance, as no stockman would want to starve or under- 
feed his animals for the purpose of possibly securing thereby a more 
complete percentage utilization of the feed. He would know that 
stock so fed can never yield profitable returns. 
Drying and Preparation of Feeding Stuffs.—The mere drying 
of green or succulent feeds, where this is not accompanied by me- 
chanical or fermentative losses, does not alter their digestibility. 
According to Jordan, four of six feeds experimented with on this 
point showed a slight difference in favor of the dried feeds, while 
two gave the opposite result. Itis very certain, however, that as dry- 
ing and curing of green fodder is carried on under ordinary. field 
conditions there are considerable losses from abrasion of dry and 
brittle parts, and the remaining feed is, therefore, relatively richer 
in coarse parts, and its digestibility lower than that of the green 
feed. Attention was called to this fact in the discussion of the 
feeding value of alfalfa hay. The losses from these sources are per- 
haps greater in the case of leguminous hay crops than with other 
kinds of hay, but they are appreciable in all cases where the harvest- 
ing of the hay has been delayed until past bloom, or where the curing 
has been done under conditions that would render the hay very dry 
and cause a loss of leaves and tender parts of the plant. Asa result, 
hay or other dried feeds have generally been found to have a lower 
digestibility than the original green or wet material. The following 
table of digestion coefficients shows this to be true. As: the green 
and dry feeds of the same kind were not, as a rule, of similar origin, 
the two sets of figures given are only comparable in a general way. 
Digestion Coefficients for Green and Dry Feeding Stuffs, in Per Cent 
‘matter Protein Fiber “hres Fat 
Timothy grass.......... 66 72 64 68 52 
Timothy hay............ 64 68 66 63 49 
Corn fodder, dent, mature 74 63 66 81 80 
Corn fodder, dry........ 66 45 63 73 70 
Clover, green........... 61 65 53 72 63 
Clover hay ............. 55 58 54 65 56 
Alfalfa, green........... 61 74 43 72 39 
Alfalfa hay ............- 62 74 46 72 40 
Brewers’ grains, wet..... 63 73 40 62 86 
Brewers’ grains, dried... . 64 71 48 60 88 
5 See Illinois Bulletin 172. 
