4 = 14 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
[November, 
farmers know in fact, that some kinds of food are 
much more digestible than others. From 100 lbs. 
of the organic substance of hay, for instance, a cow 
may digest 00 lbs., while from 100 lbs. of the or¬ 
ganic substance of meal, she might digest 90 lbs. 
The less digestible foods are called coarse, and the 
more digestible ones concentrated food. The pro¬ 
portions of digestible material in the more common 
coarse and concentrated foods are shown in the 
following table, to which especial attention is asked, 
as we shall have frequent occasion to refer to it: 
Table 18. 
KINDS OF FODDER. 
100 Pounds Contain 
1 Total Organic Sub¬ 
stance. 
| The di 
s ible org 
§>J substa 
£ o consists 
081 
e I 
. .00 
:© v 
I*? 11 1! 
.5 «CIO'S 
gest- 
anic 
nee 
of 
c£ 
1 
f^i? 
"$? © o 
A® « 
© §-© 
e ©> 
A.—Coarse Foods. 
Dry Hay. 
lbs. 
fl>s. 
lb e. 
lbs. 
lbs. 
Meadow Hay, very poor. 
80.7 
38.8 
3.7137.9 
0.5 
1:10.6 
Meadow Hay, average. 
79.5 47.4 
5.4 41.1 
0.9 
1: 7.9 
Meadow Hay, very good. 
78.0 50.5 
7.4142.1 
1.0 
1: 6. 
Timothy, cut at first bloom.. 
81.2 50.6 
5.8 43.4 
1.4 
1: 8.1 
Red Clover, average quality.. 
Straw, Chaff, etc. 
78.7 46.3 
7. 
38.1 
1.2 
1: 5.9 
Winter Wneat. 
81.1 33.1 
0.831.9 
.4 
1:41.1 
Winter Rye. 
Summer Barley. 
81.6 33.9 
0.7 
32.8 
.4 
1:48.3 
81.6 38 7 
1.4 36.9 
.4 
1:27.1 
Oat. 
81.7 39.3 
1.8 37.4 
.6 
1:29.9 
Corn Stalks. 
80.8 38.4 
1.1 
37.0 
.3 
1:34.4 
Green Fodder. 
Grass, just before blossom... 
22.9 15.4 
2.0 
13.0 
.4 
1: 7. 
Pasture Grass. 
18.0 12.7 
2.4 
9.9 
.4 
1: 4.5 
Rye . 
22.4 13.3 
1.9 
11.0 
.4 
1: 6.3 
Fodder Corn. 
16.7 10.9 
0.8 
9.9 
.2 
1: 13. 
Red Clover, before blossom.. 
15.5 10.2 
2.3 
7.4 
.5 
1: 3.8 
Red Clover, in full blossom.. 
20.3 11.9 
1.8 
9.6 
.5 
1: 6. 
B.— Concentrated Foods. 
Grains and Seeds. 
Wheat . 
83.9 76. 
11.7 
63.1 
1.2 
1: 5.6 
Rye. 
83.9 
75.5 
9.9 64.0 
1.6 
1: 6.9 
Barley... 
83.5 G7.2 
8.0,57.5 
1.7 
1: 7.7 
Oats . 
83. 
55.5 
8.9 41.8 
4.7 
1: 6. 
Indian Corn. 
84 1 
71.0 
8.4 
57.8 
4.8 
1: 8.3 
Peas . . 
&1.3 
73.6 
22.0 49.9 
1.7 
1: 2.7 
Field Beans . 
82.4 
38.0 
23.0 
43.6 
1.4 
1: 2.1 
Roots and Tubers . 
Potatoes. 
24.1 23.0 
2.1 
20.6 
.3 
1:10.1 
Sugar Beets . 
17.8 1G.5 
1.0 
15.4 
.1 
1:15.7 
Turnips. 
7.3 
675 
1.1 
5.3 
.1 
1: 5.1 
Kohlrabi . 
12.0 10.9 
1.3 
9.5 
.1 
1: 7.8 
Carrots. 
14.1 12.4 
1.4 
10.8 
.2 
1: 8.1 
Refuse Products. 
Barley Slump (Distillery).... 
Brewers’ Grains. 
9.7 
7.6 
1.8 
5.4 
0.4 
1: 3.6 
22.2 13.8 
3.9 
9.5 
0.4 
1: 2.7 
Malt Sprouts. 
85.2 58.1 
18.4 
38.0 
1.7 
1: 2.3 
Wheat Bran. 
81.5 51.9 
10.9 
37.6 
3.4 
1: 4.2 
Linseed Cake. 
80.6 60.7 
23.8 29.0 
8.9 
1: 2.2 
Cotton-seed Cake (decorti’d). 
82.2 55.7 28.8 17.0 
9.9 
1: 1.5 
Western Middlings. 
85.2 
71.7 
8.4 61.3 
2.0 
1: 7.8 
Western Shipstuif. 
85.9 67.8 
8.7 
57.1 
2.0 
1: 7.1 
Mu. fats Is reckoned equal In nutritive effect to 2 l A Its. 
carbo-hydrates. 
The above table shows that in 100 lbs. of average 
quality meadow hay, (“ English grasses ”), there are 
7$'It lbs. of organic substance, 20*/„ lbs. being water, 
and mineral matters or ash. Of the 79 1 /., lbs., a 
cow, or ox, or sheep, digests on the average, 47 2 /» 
lbs., equal to about GO per cent. Of potatoes, 100 lbs. 
furnish 24 lbs. of organic substance, of which 23 
lbs., or about 96 per cent, is digestible. In general 
we may say that 
Of Coarse foods, as Hay, Straw, aud Green Fodder, 
from 45 to 05 per cent of the organic substance is 
digestible. 
Of Concentrated foods, as Grains, Seeds, Roots, and 
Refuse Products, from G5 to 95 per cent of the or¬ 
ganic substance is digestible. 
Let us now examine one more very important 
point, to wit, the 
Ratio of Albuminoids to Carbo-hydrates, 
that is to say, the amount of materials which con¬ 
tain nitrogen as compared with those which con¬ 
tain none in the digestible portions of these foods. 
This is set forth in the last column of figures in the 
table. The digestible substance of average quality 
hay, for instance, contains about 7%o lbs. carbo¬ 
hydrates to every 1 lb. of albuminoids. In young 
clover there would be only 3 4 / 6 lbs., while in straw 
there would be from 37 to 40 lbs. of carbo-hydrates 
to every 1 lb. of albuminoids. So the ratio of albu¬ 
minoids to carbo-hydrates in cotton-seed meal 
would be 1 to l'/a, and in potatoes 1 to 10. Now 
we are prepared to meet our friend’s difficulty. If 
he mixes hay or clover with some other coarse 
food as straw, he need fear no loss. His cattle will 
digest as large a percentage of the hay or clover 
when these are fed with straw, as when used alone. 
At least such is the probable inference from such 
experiments as have been made up to the present 
time. In uniting different kinds of coarse foods we 
have, so far as economy of food material is con¬ 
cerned, simply to consider the ratio of albuminoids 
to carbo-hydrates, and see that the mixture shall 
contain enough of each, with no excess of either. 
In mixing concentrated (easily digestible) foods 
with coarse foods, the case may be different. Ex¬ 
periments prove that if the concentrated foods are 
rich in nitrogen, as much of the coarse foods will be 
digested as if they were fed aloue. But if the con¬ 
centrated food contain but little of albuminoids, 
and a good deal of carbo-hydrates, less of the coarse 
may be digested. This loss will increase with the 
proportion of carbo-hydrates in the concentrated 
food, and what is both strange and unfortunate, it 
is chiefly the albuminoids, the most valuable food 
ingredients, that are lost from coarse foods when 
concentrated foods with small proportions of albu¬ 
minoids are fed with them. Dr. Wolff, who has 
experimented on this subject for years, comes to 
substantially the following conclusions as the re¬ 
sult of his own and other investigations : 
1st. Refuse products, as bran, malt-sprouts, oil¬ 
cakes, etc., which contain only 1 lb. albuminoids to 
from I 1 /. to 4(4 lbs. of carbo-hydrates, (see last part 
of table 18), do not decrease the digestion of 
coarse foods. We may mix these with hay, clover, 
straw, etc., without fear of loss. Indeed they are 
very valuable for counteracting the ill-effect of 
foods containing too little nitrogen. 
2nd. Of the grains and seeds, those which con¬ 
tain 1 lb. albuminoids to not over 5 or 6 lbs. of car¬ 
bo-hydrates (see table), do not appear to decrease 
the digestion of coarse foods. Such are beans, peas, 
oats, and wheat, which have a ratio of albuminoids 
to carbo-hydrates of from 1:2 to 1:6, cause no loss. 
But grains in which the ratio is 1:7 or 8 will, in Dr. 
Wolff’s opinion, cause some loss in the digestion of 
coarse foods. According to this, Indian corn with 
a ratio of 1:8.3 if used with hay, clover, or straw 
will diminish the digestion. But it seems to me 
questionable whether the loss would be a serious 
one. I hope, however, that the effect of corn on 
digestion may at some time be tested by actual ex¬ 
periment. On the whole, grains, (except perhaps 
corn-meal), may be used with hay, straw', clover, 
corn-stalks, etc., without loss to the latter. 
3rd. Potatoes and roots, when used with coarse 
foods without other admixture, seem to decrease 
the digestion of albuminoids very materially. 
Wolff gives some statements as to the actual 
amount of loss of albuminoids of hay from admix¬ 
ture of potatoes in various proportions. Put into 
a form to be easily understood, they would be 
about as follows: 
Hay. Potatoes. 
10 lbs. with 4y 3 lbs. 
10 lbs. “ 8 2 A lbs. 
10 lbs. “ 17 1 /', lbs. 
10 lbs. “ 34y a lbs. 
Proportion of Digestible 
Albuminoids lost. 
0 
Vs 
That is to say, if potatoes are mixed with hay in the 
proportion of 4‘/ 3 lbs. to 10 lbs., just about as much 
hay will be digested as there would be without the 
potatoes. But if 17‘/ 3 lbs. potatoes are fed with 10 lbs. 
hay, y 3 of the digestible albuminoids will be undi¬ 
gested and lost, and so on. 
The effect of sugar beets would probably be sim¬ 
ilar to that of potatoes. Turnips, and carrots, seem 
to cause less loss in digestion, and for tw r o reasons ; 
first, because they contain a smaller proportion of 
organic substance, and second, because the organic 
substance is richer in nitrogen. The above figures 
apply to hay of average quality. Clover and the 
better qualities of hay would suffer less, while 
straw and the poorer sorts of hay would suffer 
more loss of albuminoids. The richer the coarse 
food is in nitrogen, the less will its digestion be 
affected by excess of carbo-hydrates in concentrated 
foods.—If we were feeding for manure only, no 
loss would come from this decrease in the digestion 
of albuminoids, since the undigested portion would 
pass off into the excrement. But if we are feeding 
for milk, or growth, or work, the loss will be very 
serious, because the albuminoids are the most im¬ 
portant of all the food ingredients for the produc¬ 
tion of milk, meat, or muscular strength. 
It is clear, then, that the case of my misled critic 
is Dot so bad after all. If the concentrated food 
which he uses with his clover have plenty of nitro¬ 
gen, no essential loss need be feared. So let him 
feed small quantities of potatoes, and put cotton¬ 
seed meal, or malt-sprouts, or brewers’ grains, or 
bran, with them, and he will have a most excellent 
and economical fodder. 
-— i p i — - 
Ogden Farm Papers—No. 69. 
BY GEORGE E. WARING, JR., 
[Col. Waring being obliged to make a hurried 
business visit to Europe, in order to keep the series 
unbroken, sends this paper from “the other 
side.”—E d.] 
The Baths of Bertrich, Germany, 
September, loth, 1875. 
I have just finished a tour of several days in a 
high-lying volcanic region, where the soil is light 
and rather poor, and where the country people are 
nearly all land-owners; that is to say, there are 
few hired laborers among them, nearly all owning 
some land, if only a very little, and depending 
upon its cultivation for their chief support. The 
district has latterly been somewhat helped by send¬ 
ing some of its young men to work in the iron 
mines of the neighboring provinces, but it may 
fairly be regarded as a purely agricultural country, 
with a population more like that of our own older 
farming regions, than one would expect to find. 
I have been much interested in studying some of 
the peculiarities of the life and manner of working 
of this people. There are some radical differences 
between these farmers and ourselves. The women 
work in the fields almost equally with the men, and 
so far as I could judge, they are far from being 
brutalized thereby. They do, as a rule, the lighter 
work, or rather they do different work ; for instance, 
women never mow, but they do most of the ted¬ 
ding and raking, and seem to do as much as the 
men in loading the wagons, and in mowing away 
the hay in barns. The only part of their work that 
seems to an American exceedingly hard, is the 
carrying of heavy burdens in baskets strapped on 
their backs— knapsack fashion. But they are 
straight, strong, broad-backs, that seem in no way 
the worse for this work. I am far from recom¬ 
mending the adoption of such vigorous out-of- 
door labor by our own women, but one can 
but wish that we had some substitute that would 
give to our too delicate country women the 
same degree of ruddy, hearty, robust health that 
is seen here on every hand. And while one is wish¬ 
ing, it seems almost worth while to wish for a more 
cheerful social life, like that of the agricultural 
communities of Europe, where isolated residence 
seems almost unknown. The whole broad country 
is without fences and without houses, but every 
two or three miles there is a village in which the 
farming families are congregated, and where they 
have their barns and their herds and flocks. They 
are dirty villages, and although the houses are, as a 
rule, cleanly and comfortable within, the streets 
too often do duty as barn-yards, and are offensive 
to the nostrils of an American. This, however, is 
an unnecessary evil—a relic of mediaeval barbarism 
—which any American community W'ould avoid as 
a matter of course, and it seems very clear that 
with the American element of refinement, the life 
of an agricultural people might be made in every 
way better by this sort of social congregation. 
Deerfield, in Massachusetts, is the only village that 
I happen to recall, where this good European cus¬ 
tom has its better American development. 
Throughout much of the region in question, as 
well as elsewhere in the valley of the Mosel, I have 
been struck by the practical demonstration of the 
value of irrigation carried out very much according 
to the recommendations given in the last paper of 
this series. There seems to be hardly a place where 
a little trickling rill, even a wet weather stream, 
can be controlled, that its water is not made to do 
duty over aud over again, in irrigating first one and 
then another of the little parallelograms of land, to 
which its flow can have successive access; and by 
this simple means, a light soil of volcanic sand is 
made to produce an amount of grass that is really 
surprising. The half-farmer and half-hotel keeper 
with whom we stayed last night, told me that in 
his neighborhood—which is as poor as the gravelly 
hill tops of New England—the well situated Irri- 
