COMPOSITION OF FOODS 



189 



feathers. Foods which supply ash are especially vital to the 

 growth of young stock. 



Fats comprise the fuel of the body. They are burned to main- 

 tain the body temperature, to produce the energy required in all 

 muscular action, and where the supply is greater than the im- 

 mediate needs of the fowl, they are stored up in fatty tissues under 

 the skin or in globules distributed throughout the muscles, giving 

 the fowl a full, plump appearance. This fat constitutes a re- 

 serve force, and will vary according to the health and condition 

 of the fowl. Too much fat is as bad as too little, because it 

 tends to make the fowl sluggish and non-productive. 



Table X. — Average Digestion Coefficients of Different Foods with 

 Chickens, According to the Maine Experiment Station 



Number 



OF 



Experi- 

 ments 



Organic 



Matter 



Crude 

 Protein 



Nitro- 

 gen-Free 

 Extract 



Ether 



Extract 



(Fat) 



Bran (wheat) . . . 



Beef scrap 



Beef (lean meat) 



Barley 



Buckwheat 



Corn (whole) . . . 

 Corn (cracked) . 

 Corn (meal) . . . . 



Clover 



India wheat . . . . 



Millet 



Oats (whole) . . . 



Peas 



Wheat 



Rye 



Potatoes 



3 



2 

 2 



3 

 2 



i6 



2 

 2 

 3 



3 



2 



13 

 3 



10 

 2 



6 



46.70 

 80.20 

 87.65 



77-17 

 69.38 

 86.87 



83-30 

 83.10 

 27.70 

 72.70 



62.69 

 77.07 

 82.26 

 79.20 

 78-33 



71.70 

 92.60 

 90.20 

 77-32 

 59-40 

 81.58 

 72.20 

 74.60 

 70.60 

 75.00 

 62.40 



71-31 

 87.00 



75-05 

 66.90 

 46.94 



46.00 



85.09 

 86.99 

 91.32 

 88.10 

 86.00 

 14-30 

 83.40 



98-39 

 90.10 

 84.80 

 87.04 

 86.70 

 84.46 



37.00 

 95.00 

 86.30 

 67.86 

 89.22 

 88.11 

 87.60 

 87.60 

 35-50 

 83.80 



85.71 

 87.89 

 80.01 

 53-00 

 22.60 



Composition of Foods. — The same elements which are found in 

 the fowl's body or in the egg are also found in different foods. 

 But it should be understood that these elements are not trans- 

 ferred as such direct from the food to the body tissues. On the 

 contrary, they are entirely remade. The food elements are taken 

 into the body, digested and assimilated, and when they are in such 



