Comfosition and Nutritive Value of Strav: 
393 
A glance at these analytical results will show that hard and 
dry as wheat-straw appears to be, this sample, nevertheless, 
yielded no less than 5h per cent, of organic iTiatt(>rs to cold and 
boiling water. The portion insoluble in water, or the crude woody 
fibre, amounted to exactly 80 per cent. ; a very large quantity — of 
which, however, when treated with dilute caustic potash, and 
afterwards with dilute sulphuric acid, nearly 20 per cent, was 
rendered soluble. The portion thus rendered soluble is described 
in the preceding and following analyses as digestible fibre. After 
the separation of the insoluble albuminous compounds, mineral 
matters, oil, and digestible fibre, the proportion of woody 
matters, as given in the detailed composition, amounted to 
54 per cent, in round numbers. This is described as indi- 
gestible woody fibre, but it is quite possible that a considerable 
portion of it may be assimilated in the animal organism. At any 
rate it is an interesting fact that a substance so dry and unpro- 
mising-h)oking as straw, yielded to water and dilute alkaline and 
acid liquid nearly one-half of its weight. 
Another point of interest is the appreciable quantity of oil ; it 
is a nice yellow, sweet-tasting oil, which no doubt renders straw 
more palatable, to a certain extent more digestible, and certainly 
more nutritious than it would be without this constituent. In 
the instance before us we have per cent, of oil ; a ton of straw 
accordingly contains 39 lbs. of oil. 
Again, attention may be directed to the albuminous com- 
pounds, which amount to 3 per cent, in round numbers. It will 
be seen that rather more than one-half of these compounds is 
insoluble, and the rest soluble in water. 
On the whole, wheat-straw having a composition similar to the 
sample analysed by me is nutritious, and when cut into chaff may 
be used with advantage as a feeding material. Several partial 
analyses of other specimens have shown me that this and other 
kinds of straw vary exceedingly in composition, and consequently 
also in quality. 
That the composition of the straw is, indeed, influenced by the 
degree of maturity in Avhich the corn is harvested, will appear 
clearly on comparison of the following analytical results, obtained 
on the examination of two samples of wheat-straw, the one fairly 
ripe, the other over-ripe : — 
General Composition of Wheat-straw. 
Ripe. Ovei-iipe. 
Water ^-14 9-17 
Substances soluble in water 8'77 4-81 
Substances insoluble in water 83"09 86-02 
100-00 100-00 
