322 MANUAL OF CAITLE-FEEDING. 



they are comparatively poor in imtiitive matters, and are 

 coarse and unpalatable. 



Leaves. — Tlic leaves of deciduous trees have sometimes 

 been used as fodder, the young shoots behig cut oft while 

 the leaves were still green, and allowed to dry. The leaves 

 contain a medium amount of protehi, a small percentage 

 of crude fibre, and considerable fatty matter and wax. In 

 the experiments by "Wildt just mentioned, poplar leaves 

 were found to be fairly digestible. They are fed only to 

 sheep, and are believed to exert an excellent dietetic effect 

 when given in small quantities. 



g 6. Stbaw op the Cereals. 



Stra^w a Valuable Fodder. — Straw is a feeding-stuff 

 frequently regarded as of little value, and yet good stiaw 

 is most decidedly better than poor hay. Indeed, hay and 

 straw are practically almost the same crop, cut at different 

 stages of growth. The grasses and the cereals both belong 

 to the same natural order {Graminem\ but whi^e the for- 

 mer are (or should be) cut while still green, for the sake of 

 their stems and leaves, the latter are grown primarily for 

 their seeds, and are therefor^ harvested later, when nnich 

 of their nutritive matters has passed into the seed. It 

 may easily come to pass, then, that if, on the one hand, 

 grass is cut very late or exposed to rain while curing, and if, 

 on the other hand, grain is harvested early, the straw from 

 the latter may exceed in value the hay of the former. 



In any ease, good straw is a feeding-stuff not to be de- 

 spised. As the table in the Appendix shows, it is rich in 

 non-nitrogenous matter, especially in crude fibre, and poor 

 in protein, and hence is not suited alone to form a ration. 

 Its value lies in its non-nitrogenous anatters, of which it 



