MANUAL OF OATTLE-FEEDIHO-. 345 



in tlie following ones take np in detail tlie properties and 

 digestibility of tlie more important feeding-stojBfs. 



In tliis connection it is important to distinguish between 

 d?gestlhiUty and ease of digestion, 



Bj the digestibility of a feeding-stuff, or any ingredient 

 of it, we mean the extent to which it is digested nnder 

 ox^dinary conditions. If, in a digestion experiment, one- 

 half of the crude protem of a certain feeding-stuff is di- 

 gested, we express the digestibility of that nutrient by the 

 number 50— that is, 50 per cent, of it was digested. If 

 the digestibility of the crude jfibre of a certain sample of 

 hay is said to be 40, it means that 40 per cent, of it was 

 digested. These numbers, expressing the percentage of 

 the several nutrients of a fodder which is digestible, ai*e 

 called digestion eoefieisnts. 



In general, a high digestibility wiU naturally accompany 

 easy digestibility, but this may not always be the case, and 

 the two conceptions are entirely distinct. 



§ 1. DiaSSTIBILITY OF THE NUTEIBNTS OF COAKSE FODDBK. 



By the term " coarse fodder" we designate the various 

 kinds of grass, hay, and straw, corn-fodder, stover, and, 

 in short, all kinds of forage, whether fed green or dry. 

 Coarse fodder commonly consists of the stalks and leaves 

 of the plants, and is rich in woody fibre. Under ordi- 

 nary circumstances it forms the bulk of the fodder of 

 farm-animals, with the exception of the hog. 



In this section we shall consider the digestibility of tlie 

 several nutrients of coarse fodder when this is fed exclu- 

 sively, taking up subsequently the influence of the quality 

 of the fodder and of the presence of concentrated bye-fod- 

 ders on the digestibility of the ration. 



