REPORT OF THE ASSISTANT CHEMIST; 
The principal topics considered in this report are summarized below 
in the order in which they are presented : 
1. Variation in the composition of grasses foe, two successive years. 
2. Early and late cut timothy. 
3. Hay from different localities. 
4. FoKAGE PLANTS. 
5. Analyses of fodders. 
6. Wheat and its products. 
7. Amount of water in farm products. 
8. New ys. old hay and grain. 
9. Influence of fertilizers upon the composition of timothy and 
CLOVER. 
10. Amount of nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash removed from the 
soil by different crops. 
11. Average composition of feeding stuffs examined at this station. 
12. Methods of analysis. 
13. Some edible fungi. 
14. Ice cream poisoning. 
Since there seems to be some confusion and misunderstanding of 
the terms used in the expression of fodder analyses, a few words of 
explanation may be appropriate at this point before entering upon a 
consideration of the fodders themselves. 
Water. — The loss in weight of a fodder by drying, usually at 100 to 
110 C, is due to the moisture or water which the fodder contains. 
Ash. — That part of the fodder which remains unconsumed by burning, 
constitutes the ash or mineral matter. The ash ingredients form the 
solid matter of the animal frame-work — bones — and occur also in 
small quantities in the muscles, blood, etc. 
Albuminoids. — The albuminoids are the principal nitrogenous portion 
of fodders — the muscle-formers — sometimes also called protein. The 
albuminoids are not a definite compound, but are made up of a large 
number of nitrogenous products which have usually been classed alike 
for feeding purposes. The white of an egg, the tenacious mass — 
*E. F. Ladd. 
