G92 
'Utilisation of Straw as Food for Sfocl:. 
without the grain suffering detriment in consequence. Indeed, 
oat crops are often cut when the straw is quite green, the cutting 
being performed just when the heads and upper parts of the 
stalks begin to turn yellow. No one was more appi’eciative than 
the late Dr. Voelcker of the very considerable differences which 
might be found in the nutritive properties of straw caused by 
the varied degrees of ripeness the crop had been allowed to 
attain before being cut, and he made several analyses which 
prove this. Oat straw dried for stacking, one portion of the 
crop yielding which had been taken rather green, another fairly 
ripe, and a third over-ripe, he found to give the following 
different percentage results ; — 
Cut rather green 
Fairly ripe 
Over-i-ipc 
Water .... 
1600 
1600 
16-00 
Albuminoids 
8-49 
4-08 
3-63 
Oil 
1-57 
1-05 
1-25 
Sugar, mucilage, &c. . 
1604 
10-57 
3-19 
Woody fibre, digestible 
26 34 
30-17 
27-76 
Woody fibre, indigestible . 
24-86 
31-78 
41-82 
Mineral matter . 
6-70 
6-35 
6-34 
Total 
10000 
100-00 
100-00 
Boussingault formed his table of nutritive equivalents on 
the theory that different substances used as aliments are nutri- 
tive nearly in proportion to the nitrogen they contain, accord- 
ing to which it would take 520 parts of wheat straw, 520 of 
barley straw, 547 of oat straw, 611 of rye straw, but only 74 of 
vetch haulm dried to be equivalent to 100 parts of good hay. 
The estimate of M. Antoine, the French chemist, as translated by 
the Rev. Mr. Rham, differed considerably from this, as it held 100 
parts of hay to be equal in nourishment to 374 parts of wheat 
straw, 442 of rye straw, 195 of oat straw, 159 of vetch haulm, 
153 of peas haulm, or 340 of bean haulm. 
While treating of chemical anal}^sis a veiy serviceable one 
made by the late Dr. Voelcker, which ought, undoubtedly, to be 
given, was a comparison of the constituents of fermented straw 
chaff, prepared according to the method of Mr. Jonas, and that 
of ordinary straw chaff. He discovered that the fermentation 
to which the straw is subjected thereby had the effect, to quote 
his own words, “ of rendering the hard and dry substance which 
constitutes the bulk of the straw more soluble and digestible 
than it is in its natui’al condition.” In offering a compai’ative 
analysis to illustrate how much this had been effected, he also 
added that of common meadow hay, with the object of showing 
