The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1879-01-29
1onte and farm
/; SCIENCE APPLIED TO FARHraG.
NV. o. Atwater, Wesleyan University. Middle
town, Conn.,


LW. o. Atwater, Wesleyan University. Middle
town, Conn.,
In The earlier of this series of articles, in
connection with some explanations OF the ad-
vanced principles of feeding IS taught by the
remarkable experiments lately made IN the
European stations, l gave several tables
showing the composition of fodder materials
and feeding rations calculated TO secure the
most economical employment of the food.
The interest manifested in the subject in
newspaper discussions aud in scores of let
tiers from all parts of the country; the sue
cess many have had in putting the principles
then advocated in practice; the ADVANCE in
the science, and finally the numerous an
alyses of American feeding stuffs. until of
late almost entirely lacking lead me to take
up the subject again, and give some figures
or the composition, digestibility, and value
of the materials most used for fodder. The
table is from much more extensive one,
prepared with accounts of analyses and fod-
der rations for the forthcoming report of the
experiment station at MIddletown, Ct
FOOD INGREDIENTS : CHEMICAL TERMS EXz
PLANNED.
Water.-If piece of wood or wisp of hay
be dried some time in a hot oven, more or
less water will be driven off. The water in
feeding stuffs veries from so 10 80 pounds in
every 100 pounds of young grass or fodder
corn, to only or 10 pounds to the 100 in
dry straw or hay.
hay be burned. most of it will pass off as gas,
vapor or smoke. The part thus burned away
is the organic substance. The residue,
the ash contains the material matters
that is, potash, lime, phosphoric acid, ETC.,
OF the plant. The most important part for
our present purpose, is the organic. the COM
bustible matter. This consists of three kinds
of ingredints: aibuminOids, carbohydrates,
and fats. The main point in economical
feeding is to secure the right proportions of
these at the lowest cost.
Album1noids; also called protein COM
pounds, protelds aud flesh formers, contain
carbon, oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen.
They thus difsr from the carbohydrates and
fats which contain no nitrogen. The name
albuminoids comes from aibumen, which
we know very we'll as the white of eggs, and
1t is found in milk. The fbrin of blood and
muscle lean meat, and the Casein (curd) of
milk, are also albuminoids. Indeed the
solid parts of blood, nerves, lean meat,
gristle, skin, etc., consist chiefly of albumi-
noids. In plants they ara equally import
ant. Plant albumen occurs in nearly all
vegetable juices especially in potatoes and
wheat, casein or legumin in beans and peas,
and form in the gluten of wheat, the basis
of what farmer boys call wheat gum"
Clover. bran, beans, peas, oil cake, and flesh
and meat SCRAP, are rich in albuminoids.
Carbohydrates consist of carbon and n.y.
drogen. The most important are starch,
sugar and cellulose woody fbre). They
make up larger part of the solids OF plants,
but only little of them Is stored in the
animal body. Potatoes, wheat, poor hay
straw and corn-stalks consist largely of car
bohydretes.
Fats have more carbon than carbon ydrates,
and, like them have no nitrogen. Fat meat,
tallow, lard, fish OIL the fat (butter) of milk,
and Gnseed oil are familiar examples of fats.
Indian corn, oil-cake, cotton-seed and linseed
are rich in fatty matters.
HOW FOOD is Used IN THE EODY
We feed hay, grain and roots to our stock
that they may keep warm, grow, fatten and
return meat milk and work. That Is to say,
we supply them with slbuminods, carbohy-
drates and fats, to make the flesh and fat,
bone and sinew, milk and progeny, and to
be consumed in generating heat and muscu.
lar strength. The animal body is often COM
pared to machine. This machine is pecu
liar, in that it is made of food, consumes It's
own materials for food, uses food for both
fuel and repairs, and keeps running, wearing
out and warming, and repairing itself By use
of food all the while, whether it does any
other work or not
MEAT, MILK WARMTH AND STRENGTH FROM AL
BUMINoIDs, CARBOHYDRATES AND FATS.
The lean meats (muscle), the casejn (curd)
OF milk and the albuminoids of the body
generally, are made from the aibuminoids
of the food. A large part of the fat Of the
body and of the milk (butter) is made and
muse 10 maui iiOiu LIE also
The fats of the food are stored in the body
and find their way into tine milk. 1t is
probable that the caTbohydrats can be trans
formed into fats SIS herbIvorous animals and
IN swine, but it IS very doubtful whether
horses, cattle and sheep get much fat from
them. Part of the sugar of the milk comes
from the sugar, starch, etc., of the food
Though the carbohydrates do SO little to
build up and repair the tissues, they are YET
very essential. They act as fuel, and thus
save the albuminoids and fats, which, with