Feb. 2,1924 
Digestibility of Tested Grain Hulls 
251 
in four hours. In a second paper (15), published in 1922, he shows quite 
conclusively that, within reasonable limits, the stronger the NaOH solu - 
tion used the higher is the digestibility of the hydrolyzed straw. 
Wagner and Scholer {46) treated straw with 2 per cent lye by the 
Beckmann’s process and found that the product when fed to sheep was 
very serviceable fodder, fed either wet or dry. 
The work of Scurti et al., reported in 1919 and later, is worthy of men¬ 
tion. They have investigated the influence of hydrolysis on the compo¬ 
sition and nutritive value of corncobs ( 36 ), wheat straw (37), grapevine 
shoots, and hemp {38). While sulphuric acid was the principal hydrolyz¬ 
ing agent used, nitric and hydrochloric acids and sodium hydroxid were 
also employed. The products from wheat straw and corncobs were 
compressed into cakes and fed to farm animals with fair success (39). 
In 1919 Ellenberger (11) reported some experiments with hydrolyzed 
wood meal as a feed for working horses. He concludes that this material 
may not only be substituted for the hay of the ration but may also re¬ 
place the oats if some supplemental protein is furnished. 
Voltz (43) in 1920 treated straw and chaff by Beckmann’s process, and 
reports considerably more digestible nutrients in chaff treated for 18 hours 
chan in chaff treated for 3 hours. Straw treated for 24 hours contained 
slightly more digestible nutrients than straw treated for 12 or 72 hours. 
In 1920 Godden (16) published an account of his method of straw 
hydrolysis, which he devised for small-scale operations and which dif¬ 
fers somewhat from any of the German processes. The chopped straw 
is soaked overnight in 1.5 per cent of NaOH and then steamed for an 
hour in a specially constructed boiler. After draining and cooling it is 
fed immediately. The dry matter of the treated straw has approximately 
1.5 times the value of the original dry matter, and for production pur¬ 
poses its value is nearly doubled. He concludes that the gain in nutri¬ 
tive efficiency compensates for the loss in dry matter, but emphasizes 
the need of further investigation of the possibilities of such treatment. 
Weiser and Zaitschek (47) carried on an investigation similar to one 
by Fingerling (15) in which they studied the effect of the amount of soda 
used on the digestibility of straw. The Lehmann apparatus was used 
and, contrary to the findings of Fingerling, they found that the highest 
starch values were obtained when the NaOH solution used was weakest. 
From the large number of variables in their experiments we are inclined 
to view their results with some misgivings. 
Sherrard and Blanco {41) have described a method for preparation of 
a cattle food from hydrolyzed sawdust. The product was fed to three 
cows at the Wisconsin College of Agriculture “with highly gratifying 
results.” The essential feature of the method consisted in the digestion 
of the sawdust with 1.8 per cent sulphuric acid under pressure. About 
21 per cent of the original wood meal was converted into sugar. 
Braunschild (6) patented in 1921 a process for treatment of substances 
rich in cellulose with a strong solution of calcium chlorid. 
Blasweiler (5) has recently described Steffen’s method of straw diges¬ 
tion. Straw is cooked under pressure for one and one-half hours with 
10 per cent sodium hydroxid. The product has a composition similar to 
that obtained by Oexmann’s process. 
From the many investigations cited, it is clear that the action of various 
hydrolyzing agents upon straw, while attended with some loss, noticeably 
improves its digestibility. Sodium hydrate proved to be the most effec¬ 
tive agent, followed closely by calcium hydrate, the latter naturally 
proving the more economical. 
