MA]srUAL OF CATTLE-FEEBIKG, 343 



found in tlie lupine, especially in the seeds of tlie yellow 

 lupine, in whose dry matter 32-48 per cent, of albuminoids 

 lias been found, while the seeds of the blue lupine are not 

 so rich. 



The very large amount of protein (the most costly nu- 

 Irient) contained in the lupine, together with the fact, 

 already referred to, that it can be cultivated on light soils, 

 would render it a highly-prized feeding-stuff, were it not 

 for its peculiar, bitter, disagreeable taste, and the injurious 

 effects of the alkaloids which it contains. 



Xaturally, many attempts have been made to utilize this 

 Yaluable and comparatively cheap material by removing 

 the alkaloids, and thus rendering it palatable to other ani- 

 mals than sheep, which are the only animals that eat the 

 raw grains readily* Various methods have been proposed, 

 e, ^., roasting, or treatment with water to dissolve out the 

 bitter mattex\ More effective than the latter is treatment 

 with water to which a small quantity of muriatic acid has 

 been added. In this case, however, the grain must be 

 afterward boiled with pure water to which a little soda 

 has been added to neutralize the excess of acid and pre- 

 vent its purging the animals. The latter process is rather 

 costly, and all these methods cause a not inconsiderable loss 

 of nutritive matter, amounting, in one experiment, to 7.3 

 per cent, of protein and 6.3 percent, of extract 



Digestibility.— The digestibility of beans has been 

 made the subject of nunierous experiments on ruminants, 

 most of which have yielded fairly accordant results. The 

 Weende experiments on oxen gave the coefficient 84 for 

 the average digestibility of the protein, the most important 

 ingredient* Later and rather more exact experiments 

 have given somewhat higher numbers. "Wolff's experi- 

 ments on the horse, already several tinges alluded to, 



