EXPERIMENTS WITH LUCERNE. 487 
Chemical analysis showed that the percentages of the most 
valuable food constituents also decreased by the third cut- 
ting. As the plants matured the percentage of crude protein 
decreased, and the crude fibre increased, pointing to the 
advantage of earlier cutting; at the same time, however, the 
absolute weight was increasing up to the time of the second 
cutting, and owing to this the greatest absolute quantity of 
protein. was found to be yielded by the second cutting. The 
relative decrease in protein, and increase in fibre, as the 
plants mature, is confirmed by some American experiments. 
As regards the percentage of carbo-hydrates, the experiments 
under notice showed that this, on the average, increased up 
to the time of the second cutting; but similar experiments 
quoted as having been made in the United States did not 
bear this out. 
Inasmuch, however, as the absolute amount, as well as the 
percentage, of crude fibre increased with each successive 
cutting, the digestibility required further investigation. An 
experiment was accordingly. made with three sheep, fed 
successively on the three different cuttings of each crop. 
The dung of the animals, representing the undigested portion 
of the food, was weighed and analysed, and the results 
compared with the weight of fodder supplied. It appeared 
that a gradual decrease in the digestibility, as measured by 
the percentage of food digested, was recorded as the growth 
of the lucerne advanced ; the deterioration being considerably 
more rapid between the second and third periods than 
between the first and second. But here again, owing to the 
greater weight of hay obtained from the second cutting, the 
results showed that the largest amount of digestible matter 
was obtained from the second cutting. 
The conclusions drawn by the Ontario Department of 
Agriculture from these experiments are that lucerne should 
be cut when about one-third in blossom; and that there is a 
marked decrease in total quantity, as well as in digestible 
matter, during the ensuing two weeks. 
In thisconnection it may be noticed that the Department oc- 
casionally experienced troublewith sheep and cattie, when feed- 
ing with lucerne cut after the plants had reached full blossom, 
