148 MA]SrUAL OF CATTLE-FEEDIJSTG. 



as to render it doubtful whether the effect of the new fod- 

 der was fully established. 



Furthermore, the dung often contained almost as much, 

 and sometimes even more nitrogen than the fodder, show- 

 ing that the former contained considerable quantities of 

 nitrogenous matters coming from the body. The result 

 of this, of course, is that the numbers for digested pro- 

 tein and for the consumption of flesh are too low ; those 

 for the loss of flesh (nitrogen of fodder less that of dung 

 and urhie), however, are unaffected by this source of error. 



If we are to accept this result of Grouven's as correct, 

 we must ascribe it to the large quantities of non-nitrogen- 

 ous matter which were digested along with the small 

 amount of protein, and which would tend to diminish the 

 protein consumption- This action of the carbhydrates is 

 seen also in most of the experiments in which these sub- 

 stances were added to the straw. 



Of somewhat the same nature as Grouven's results are 

 those which show that addition of protein to a fodder poor 

 in this substance may cause a considerable gain of flesh. 



Tlie experiments by G. Kiihn & M. Fleischer {loe. €it\ 

 on cows, serve to illustrate this. Two cows were fed dur- 

 ing a first period with hay, either alone or with the addi- 

 tion of starch, and in a second period a nitrogenous bye- 

 fodder was added. The hay used contained an unusually 

 small quantity of protein (Nutr. ratio, 1 : 12), and a com- 

 paratively small amount of it was consumed, so that the 

 food in the first period was far from rich. Even the addi- 

 tion of the nitrogenous bye-fodder in the second period 

 did not make it particularly so, but it nevertheless caused 

 a considerable gain of flesh, which continued*! or some 



time. 



The experiments covered, including the preliminary 



