314 Agricultural Chemistry — Sheep - Feeding and Manure. 



their health and increase, of the fully elaborated substances. In 

 pen 4 there was much less dry-organic-matter consumed than in 

 any of the rest, whilst it would appear that the limit of consump- 

 tion was here less regulated by the amount of water taken with 

 the food than by the composition of the solid substance itself, which 

 was known to be not matured, and seems to have been quite unfit 

 for food, since all the animals lost weight, notwithstanding that 

 tlxe iveekly consumption of nitrogenous compounds ivas considerably 

 greater than in any of the other cases ; indeed, in pen 2, with a 

 gain in weight of 45 lbs., there was only 0*29 lbs. consumed per 

 week, whilst in pen 4 there was a loss of 20 lbs., with a con- 

 sumption per sheep per week of 0*39 lbs. of nitrogen — an amount 

 as great as that provided in the pen with oil-cake and swedes in 

 the first series of experiments ! 



Here then we have a striking illustration of the fact, that, how- 

 ever important the ultimate composition of food may be, its state 

 of combination may materially affect its value. Indeed it is seen 

 that double the requisite amount of some of the more important 

 constituents of food may be expended upon the animal without 

 any benefit whatever ; and with these facts before us in reference 

 to the turnip bulb in different stages of growth and maturity, it 

 can scarcely be wondered at that the leaves, notwithstanding their 

 high per centage of nitrogen, should be comparatively valueless 

 as food; nor can it be doubted that the want of nutritive quality 

 is due, as we have before observed, to the amount they contain of 

 unorganized or deficiently elaborated constituents. 



The variableness in the amount of ultimate constituents re- 

 quired to produce a given effect, according to their condition of 

 combination and elaboration, is clearly seen in Table 4, in which 

 are given the amounts of fresh turnips, of dry-organic-matter, of 

 mineral matter, and of nitrogen, which were consumed in the 

 several pens to the production of 100 lbs. increase in live weight, 

 the results, of course, of pens I, 2, and 3 only being open to this 

 calculation. There is a difference in this respect, according to 

 the composition of the turnips in the several cases, of about 7 

 tons of the fresh roots — there being about 1\ tons consumed in 

 pen 2, about llf tons in pen 1, and 14| tons in the 3rd, or nearly 

 as many more as in the first. It is worthy of remark, too, that 

 in pen 2, the turnips of which were taken at the best stage of 

 growth, though their per centage of nitrogen was less than those 

 of pen 3, there is not only a less amount both of dry-organic- 

 matter and nitrogen consumed to produce a given amount of gross 

 increase than in either of the other cases, but the quantity of these 

 is less in this case, with common white turnips alone, than in any 

 of the cases of the second series of experiments, in which, as will 

 be remembered, there were given in one pen oil-cake and clover- 



