104 Molasses and Sugar Foods for Live Stock, [may, 



mixture of peat moss and molasses. It was soon discovered 

 that peat moss is a very good absorbent of molasses, and 

 that twenty parts of this material could soak up eighty parts 

 of molasses and give a product which could be called dry. 

 Some varieties of peat are more suitable than others, and at 

 the present time these peat molasses mixtures are sold in large 

 quantities. Some are satisfactory from the point of view of 

 preparation, whilst others are manifestly unsuitable for food, 

 being coarse and sour, and often possessing an objectionable 

 smell. The chemical analyses of these molasses feeds often 

 fail to show their exact composition, for no distinction is made 

 between the true protein (albuminoids) and the amides, nor 

 is the percentage of actual sugar always given. It would 

 be invidious to give the names of these proprietary peat-moss 

 molasses feeds, but the accompanying table shows the analyses 

 of several of the best known British and Continental 

 makes. 





I. 



II. 



ill. 



IV. 



Nitrogen-free extract substances... 



55-81 



52-48 



52-60 



(40-0) 



Protein 



875 



8-25 



8-34 



7*44 



Oil 



I*20 



o73 



0-87 



0-28 



Crude fibre ... 



4'8l 



6-63 



5-85 





Mineral matter 



7'03 



7'54 



7-54 



6-8 



Water 



22-40 



2437 



24-85 



25-2 



Containing sugar ... 





36-44 



3i-7 



40-0 



The percentage of sugar in these peat molasses foods is 

 thus seen to vary between 31 and 40 per cent., and the protein 

 stands at 8 per cent, on an average. As neither peat nor 

 molasses contain more than a small amount of true protein 

 (albuminoids) the value of the protein shown in the analyses 

 is certainly not what it would be in oats, for example. The 

 small amounts of fat in peat molasses should also be noted. 



Instead of peat moss, various other absorbents, such as the 

 pith of the sugar cane (known as megass or bagasse), ground 

 husks of earrhnut, crude cellulose, &c, are used. The feeding 

 value of peat moss or the other absorbents just mentioned has 

 not been accurately determined in every case, but so far as 

 peat is concerned Kellner and Pfeiffer have shown that not 

 only is it valueless from the feeding point of view, but that 

 it withdraws from the body a certain quantity of nutriment. 



