430 Report of Experiments with different Manures 
the feeding capacity, of the matters grouped together under this 
head, will probably depend much upon tlie condition of the hay. 
The worse the condition of the hay, the greater probably will be 
the proportion of them, which will consist of the ill-defined 
" extractive matters." 
Mineral matter. — The so-designated Mineral matter, is that 
which remains as ash, on the incineration of the hay. It is 
needless to say that Mineral constituents are essential in the 
food of animals. In most vegetable foods, however, they gene- 
rally exist in a larger proportion to the other constituents than 
they are probably required ; and hence their large amount in 
any food is no criterion of high feeding value. On the contrary, 
as, in comparable cases, a high percentage of Mineral matter is 
generally coincident with a low degree of elaboration of the 
collateral vegetable substances, the smaller percentage among 
a series of specimens of produce of like description, will most 
probably be associated with a higher relative feeding capacity. 
The proportions of these several constituents, in the hay 
grown by the different manures, may now be briefly noticed. 
The unmanured hay contained a notable proportion of Legumi- 
nous, and other non-Graminaceous herbage ; and the Grasses them- 
selves were stunted. Under these circumstances, the Dry substance 
of the hay contained a medium percentage of the calculated 
Nitrogenous compounds, and comparatively a very small propor- 
tion of the estimated Woody-tibre. Comparing the produce of one 
manuring condition with that of another, in one and the same 
season, a low percentage of indurated Woody-fibre indicates green- 
ness and immaturity. Coincidently with this, the unmanured 
hay shows a relatively high amount of the impure Fatty matter. 
The produce grown by ammoniacal salts alone, contained a 
very high percentage of Nitrogenous compounds, or at least of 
Nitrogen in some form. This was due, it will be remembered, 
not to a large amount of Leguminous herbage, but to tlie condi- 
tion of the almost exclusively Graminaceous hay, which was 
stunted, dark green, leafy, and backward. The Dry substance of 
the hay having these characters, at the same time contained but 
a small proportion of the comparatively stable Cellular or Woody 
matter, but the highest amount of any in the series of the green 
impure Fatty matter. The fact, that the highest percentage of 
this merely ether-extracted substance, was found in this stunted, 
dark-green, leafy, and backward produce, may perhaps be taken 
as some indication, that a relatively high amount of Fatty matter 
as so determined in succulent produce, does not really represent 
a high amount of pure fat of the high feeding capacity which 
that substance is assumed to possess. 
The j)roduce by Tnineral manure alone, which contained the 
highest proportion of any, of Leguminous herbage, nevertheless 
