342 AMERICAN CATTLE. 



" Pereira says : ' To render starchy substances digestible, they 

 require to be cooked, in order to break or crack the grains ; for 

 of the different lamina of which each grain consists, the outer 

 ones are the most cohesive, and present the greatest resistance 

 to the digestive power of the stomach, while the internal ones 

 are least so.' 'Starch,' says Raspail, ' is not actually nutritive 

 to man until it has been boiled or cooked. The heat of the stom- 

 ach is not sufficient to burst all the grains of the feculent mass 

 which is subjected to the rapid action of this organ. The stom- 

 achs of graminivorous animals and birds seem to possess, in this 

 respect, a particular power, for they use feculent substances in a 

 raw state. Nevertheless, recent experiments prove the advan- 

 tage that results from boihng the potatoes and grain, and par- 

 tially altered farina, which are given to them for food ; for a large 

 proportion, when given whole, in the raw state, passes through 

 the intestine perfectly unaffected as when swallowed.' Bracon- 

 not found unbroken starch grains in the excrement of hot-blooded 

 animals fed on raw potatoes; hence he adds, 'the potatoes 

 employed for feeding cattle, should be boiled, since, independently 

 of the accidents which may arise from the use of them in a raw 

 state, a considerable quantity of alimentary matter is lost by the 

 use of these tubers in the unboiled state.' 



" So much for the effect of heat upon grain and roots ; but it 

 may be asked whether we can derive the same benefit from cook- 

 ing hay, straw, and other coarse fodder for stock. The following 

 quotation from Regnalt wiU show what difference exists between 

 them, the stems containing woody fibre as well as cellulose, while 

 roots and grains do not: 



" 'A microscopic examination of the various component parts 

 of plants, shows them all to be constituted of cellular tissue, vary- 

 ing in form according to the part of the vegetable subjected to 

 examination. The cavities of the tissue are filled with very 

 diversified matter; sometimes, as in the case of wood, the pari- 

 etes of the cells are covered by a hard and brittle substance 



