268 MAKTJAL OF OATTLE-FEEBIKa. 



to be digested 2 to 8 per cent, better by slieep tlian by 

 oxen and cows. The differences, small in themselves, 

 thus fully compensate each other in the two kinds of hay. 

 In feeding-experiments on goats, likewise, average diges- 

 tion coefficients have been observed in all experiments j^ct 

 made. 



In the case of a non-niminating animal, like the horse, 

 coarse fodder is less completely digested than by rumi- 

 nants. 



A large number of experiments on the comparative di- 

 gestibility of various feeding-stuffs by the horse and sheep 

 have lately been executed at the llolienheim Experiment 

 Station, under "Wolff's direction. A comparison of all the 

 results yet obtained ^ leads to the following conclusions : 



1. Meadow-hay is less fully digested by the horse than 

 by sheep, the difference amounting to 11 to 12 per cent, 

 of the water-free substance. 



2. The crude protein of hay is nearly as digestible by 

 tlie horse as by sheep. In the better qualities of hay ex- 

 perimented upon, the difference amounted to 4 to 6 per 

 cent, of the total amount, while in some of the poorer 

 sorts more was digested by the horse than by sheep. This 

 appears to be the case not only with the total nitrogenous 

 matters but also with the true protein (compare p. 265). 



8. Of the non-nitrogenous constituents of hay, the nitro- 

 gen-free extract is slightly, and the crude fibre considera- 

 bly better digested by sheep than by the horse. As a 

 result, the nutritive ratio of the portion of the hay di- 

 gested is narrower in the case of the horse than in that of 

 sheep. As regards fat, all the experiments gave very low 

 results for this nutrient, owing to the presence of a con- 



♦Landw. Jahrbacher, Till, I. Supplement, p. 97, 



