262 
COMPARATIVE VALUE OF CORN FODDER. 
This grass is freely eaten by cattle, and it is sweet when green. Its watery extract, how¬ 
ever, is not more sensibly sweet than that of the red-top. 
The foregoing analyses of the grasses were made for the purpose of comparing their 
proximate composition with that of the maize plant. There is quite a striking similarity 
between them in the amount of wax and chlorophyl, while they differ in the quantity 
of woody fibre. This increases, however, with the age of the plant; but the samples 
employed were not too far advanced for the purposes in view. 
The amount of water in the thoroughly sun-dried grasses is usually about 10 or 12 
per centum, which seems to be about the quantity required constitutionally. The solu¬ 
tions were all obtained by cold water: the chlorophyl and wax were obtained by boiling 
in alcohol, the product of which was redissolved by ether, to separate the wax and chloro¬ 
phyl. The remainder was steeped in water, which dissolved out the sugar and some 
extract, leaving a small quantity of resin, soluble only in alcohol. 
The nutrient powers of the grain or kernel of maize varies considerably with the variety, 
as may be seen in the foregoing analyses. Starch, as a general rule, is the element in the 
greatest abundance ; but it has been shown, that in one variety it is small, amounting to 
11 ’60 per centum only. In this variety, the albuminous matters, including casein, are 
increased to 20'14 per centum. The gluten, which is a nitrogenous body, also, when 
counted with the albumen, gives us the additional quantity of 4*62 per centum of matter 
fitted to supply the waste of the system ; or, in other words, to create nerve and muscle. 
It is the most nutritive of the varieties of maize. If the dextrine is added to the starch, 
this variety cannot be regarded as deficient in calorifient matter, and hence it is fully 
equal in calorifient powers to beans. In another point of view, it must be regarded as 
superior to beans, viz. its fattening properties ; inasmuch as it contains 5*11 per centum 
of oil and sugar. Other varieties contain more than 50 per centum of starch, and less 
albuminous matters than the sweet variety. A reference to the analysis will probably 
furnish the reader with all the information he may wish. 
It is probable that modes of cultivation will materially affect the composition of this 
grain. A high cultivation will increase the relative amount of certain elements: in one 
kind of management, the albumen may be formed in greater quantity; in others, the 
starchy. This idea, however, requires proof by experiment; and however it may prove, 
it is evident that maize is very remarkable in its varied composition, as it exists in its 
numerous varieties. 
To what extent the nutrient powers of meal and flour are changed by cooking, has 
never been actually determined : their solutions are more or less altered. Thus the gluten 
of flour, which is soluble in alcohol, ceases to be so in bread : starch is probably changed 
into dextrine. The following is an imperfect analysis of bread, but may be stated for 
some of the facts which it contains: 
