The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1899-09-21

1Af ID Covers all of the plants Of the
Epea and bean family. This exception
to the general law is one of immense
Importance to Agriculture, and we will
dwell on it later when we come to dis
cuss the subject of fertilizers.
In my next letter intend to give you
q table giving analyses of the different
more important feeding ssuffs and show.
Ing the percentage of water. protein,
| carbohydrates, fat and ash found in
them. All the elements found in the
animal body are also found in the plants
ON which the animals feed. For this
reason, will, at the risk of being lit.
tie tedious, explain little more fully
than have alaeady done, some of the
terms to be used in the table OF analyses
Of feeding ssuffs.
WATER: this is essential to the
proper distribution OF the nourishing
fluids through the animal system. and
is usually more than half the live
WIGHT Of tine animal No matter
how dry feeding stuff may appear
to be, it always contains q considerable
quantity of water. say from 10 TO 90 per
cent OF its weight. Though this water
may render the food more succulent and
palatable, it is of no moro valus than
the water which the animal drinks. So.
for this reason, and because che varia.
ton of the water content is so great.
comparison of the different foods is
usually made ON ''dry basis" that is
the dry matter left after expelling the
water by heat.
I have already described PROTEIN
quite fully. and will say NO more about
that.
In addition to what ! have already
said about CARBOHYDRATES, I will
add. that the chemist usually divides
them into two groups, one they call mi.
trogen free cxtract'-which consists Of
the starch. sugar and gums in the plant,
the other group they call cellulose or
fiber The fiber of wood. of hoy and
straw is largely cellulose. Cotton fiber
is almost pure cellulose. Though SO
different in appearance. both starch and
cellulose are carbohydrates Coarse
folders, hay and straw contain much
fiber. The grains, wheat and corn, con.
tain only little fiber. but much nitro
gen free extract" or starch and some
sugar. Cellulose is identical with starch
in chemical composition and may be con.
verified like starch by suitable treatment
with acids and alkalies into dextrin and
then into grape sugar. The glucose
or grape sugar largely used in candy
manufacture, is made almost entirely
by chemical treatment of corn starch
with acid. Grape sugar occurs In small
quantities in the different feed stuffs,
and during the course of digestion in
the body it is formed in large guam.
tity from the starch and other carbohy>,
drates.
The ASH is what is left after burn.
ing a feed stuff. 1t consists princi.
pally of potash. soda, lime. magnesia
and of carbonic. sulphurio and phos-
phoric acids. These constitute the min.
eral salts of food stuffs, and during the
process of digestion the animal absorbs
what it needs of them and the rest is
excreted with the manure.
The term FAT in the table of analysis
means the fat or oil which is In the
food stuff. 1t is of the same composition
as the fat of the body. The
fat Of the feeding stuff Is either assimi.
lated in the body. as body fat. or else
burned:to furnish heat and energy.
Yours truly,
JOHN NJ MCOANDLEss.