Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-07-16

land. The straw IS hrmer, brighter
and less liable to rust. The seed Is
heavier and the heads FIJI better.
THE NUTRITION OF ANIMALS.
Every farmer should be familiar
with the processes by which the food
taken into the stomach Of a horse, COW
or other brute, is changed into blood,
and blood into lean meat, fat bone,
brain, tendon, milk, wool and other
animal substances. Once there Was
great mystery in all organic growth
whether animal vegetable; buE analyt-
zeal chemistry aqd other sciences have
solved the riddle. As the molecules of
water in the form Of invisible vapor in
tue atmosphere, IN drops Of rain, snow,
hal and icebergs Of mountain size, are
ever the came unchanged molecules, SO
when they form a part of wood, starch
gum, sugar and oil in a plant, or part
of milk, muscle, brain or wool, the
atoms oxygen and hydrogen if not the
moIecule remain ever the same. The
compound changes often and Largely,
but not its elements. The blood Of an
animal Is much richer in azote, sui
phur and phosphorus, or in bone, brain
aud muscle material than the food con-
sumed.
Grass may not have over l or i per
cent Of azote when taken into a cows
stomach, yet the blood formed from this
grass will have Is per cent of azote
Hence, the organ Of digestion must be.
large In this quadruped TO hold seven
pounds of grass or other heritage to
yield a pound of blood OF one Of milk.
This is its character; and we have be-
fore us well authenticated cases of COWS
giving % pounds of milk every twenty
four hours. How 50 much milk, and
the blood 70 yield it, are daily extracted
from grass is the physiological problem
to be solved. 1t Is only large animals,
and extraordinary mixers that do this.
They are great eaters.
Itshould be known that some 50 per
cent Of blood Is water, s.! per cent Of
milk is water, and generally 75pcr cent
or more Of grass is water. The COW
may drink a good many gallons in p
bonrs, partly, doubtless, to aid in wash
ing excrementious matters away from
the nutritious in the digestive appara-
tus, and partly to purify the blood
itself as it passes through the kidneys
and sends out Of the system many salts
dissolved in water for which there is 10
farther use in any part IF the body.
This animal machine, endowed with
life. differs from all inanimatc ma
chimes in the fact that it is forever
being taken down, the old materials
thrown away, and new materials sup
piled from new blood taking its place
1t Is the waste Of the old body more
than the daily food that gives charac-
ter 10 animal fertilizers. Without this
the food deprived Of nearly all the eie-
ments hat form healthy blood in the
digestive organs would have small
value as food for plants.
Cattle dropPings with all the bone
constituents eliminated would be "orth-
less TO make grass. corn, wheat, cotton
or other plants rich in the phosphate Of
lime. Young growing ami mails, which
gain pretty fast in weight, yield poor
manure. Cows giving much milk do
the same. Grown animals while fat
teniDg, supply the richest fertilizers.
The direct rays If the sun and solar
heat do the main organization to pro
duca blood, milk, flesh aud wool. before
the vegetable substance is consumed
or nrastjcated 10y tie COW.
Therc IS wide MISUNDERSTANDING
for-. O. solar Influences and that OF
low animal heat; still the latter is con-