Edible Products. 



328 



[October, 1908. 



substances, crude protein and fat, the 

 soy bean is considerably richer than the 

 cowpea. The hay also shows a rela- 

 tively high fat and protein con- 

 tent. The only available analysis of 

 soy-beau ensilage shows it to agree 

 very closely in composition with red 

 clover ensilage, being higher in crude 

 fibre and fat, and lower in extract 

 matter. From the analysis of the beans 

 it will be seen that these are about two- 

 fifths protein and one-sixth fat, with 

 but very little fibre present, making 

 them almost as rich in crude protein as 

 the best cotton seed-meal, with a higher 

 percentage of fat. They contain three 

 times as much crude protein and nearly 

 three and a half times as much fat as 

 oats ; nearly three and one-half times as 

 much protein and about three times as 

 much fat as corn, and almost twice as 

 much crude protein and over twelve 

 times as much fat peas ; all of which 

 shows them to form one of the most con- 

 centrated of our feeding stuffs. 



The accompanying table gives an 

 excellent comparison of the yield and 

 composition of soy bean and fodder corn 

 under similar conditions, and shows how 

 admirably the one supplements the other 

 when both are used in the feeding ration. 

 At the Massachusetts Hatch Station, 

 Longfellow corn gave an average yield 

 of 1(3 tons of green fodder per acre, and 

 medium early green soy bean gave a 



little over 10 tons. The soy bean, cut 

 when the pods had formed but not 

 hardened, afforded a little over 30 per 

 cent, of dry matter, and Longfellow 

 corn, cut when the ears were glazed, 

 gave a little less thari 28 per cent. The 

 total amounts of the various food con- 

 stituents produced by each crop on an 

 acre of ground may be seen by the 

 following table : — 



Total Amounts in Pounds of Food 

 Constituents produced on an 

 acre of land by soy bean 

 and Fodder Corn. 



Flesh Fat and heat producors. 

 Crops. formers: 



Protein. Crude fat. Fibre. Extract 

 matter. 



Green soybean ..1,167-2 2. 3'4 1,418-1 2,430-9 

 Longfellow fodder 



corn 871-3 290-1 1,626-0 5,616-8 



Digestibility. 



The chemical analysis alone will not 

 prove the feeding value of a forage crop. 

 Other points must be considered, one of 

 the most important of which is the per- 

 centage of digestibility of the various 

 nutrient substances found in the plant 

 at the time it is fed to the animal. As 

 yet very few experiments on the digesti- 

 bility of the soy bean have been carried 

 out in the United States, and of these 

 the greater part has been made at the 

 Connecticut (Storrs) Experiment Station. 

 Sheep have been used in most of the 

 tests. i 



Digestibility of Soy-bean Forage, 



Soy-bean forage. 



Soy-been fodder 

 Soy-bean meal and timothy haj 

 Soy-bean meal alone (calculat 

 ed from the above mixture 

 Soy-beans (seed) 

 Soy-bean pods 

 Soy-bean straw 

 Soy-bean hay... 



Soy-bean ensilage 



Corn and soy-bean ensilage .. 



ensilage 



Kind of 

 Animals. 



Number of 

 trials. 



Protein. 



Fat. 



Nitrogen- 

 free extract. 



Fibre. 



Organic 

 matter. 



| Ash. 



Sheep 



8 



75'1 



54-0 



73-2 



47-0 



64-5 



18-9 



do. 



8 



77-7 



7-36 



66'2 



61-3 



691 



471 



do. 



8 



85-8 



84-9 



73-4 





78-0 



21-3 



Ruminants 



2 



87-0 



94 



62-0 





85'0 





do. 



2 



44-0 



57-0 



73-0 



51 : 



63-0 





do. 



4 



50-0 



oo-o 



66-0 



38-0 



55-0 





do. 



6 



70'0 



30-0 



67-0 



56-0 







\ Goats 



2 



76-0 



72-0 



52-0 



55-0 







J Steers 



2 



55-0 



49-0 



6P0 



43-0 







Sheep 



3 



65-0 



82-0 



75-0 



65-0 







do. 



4 



57-0 



72-0 



59-0 



69-0 







Comparison of the preceding percent- 

 ages with those of the clovers, cowpeas, 

 alfalfa, and other legumes shows that 

 the soy bean stands well as to its digesti- 

 bility, especially as regards the more 

 important nutrient substances. 



The following rough computation will 

 give an idea of the amount of digestible 

 matter in the forage raised on an acre 

 planted to this crop. Under ordinary 

 farm conditions the yield of green 

 fodder usually ranges from 6 to 12 tons 



