BULLETIN NO. 47. , SEPTEMBER, 1897. OREGON AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. CHEMICAL-AGRICULTURAL UEPART.AIENT8. THE RELATIVE DIGESTIBILITY OF' CHEAT AND CLOVER. « BY G W. SHAW. Chemi.st, and H. T. FRENCH, Agriculturist. The Bulletins of this Station are sent free to all residents of Oregon who request them. AtiRieULTUR.AL COLLEGE PRINTING Ol'KICK G. n. KKADY, PRINTER. 1897. BOARD OF REGENTS. /. T. APPERSON, President . Oregon City W. E. YA TES, Secretary . Corvallis /. K. WEATHEREORD, Treasurer . Albany IVAT P. LORD, Governor . Salem //. R. KINCAID, Secretary of Slate . Salem G. AT IR IVIN, Supt. Public Instruction . Salem WAI. AT IIIT LEARY, AIaster State Grange . Turner T. IV DA VENPORT. . Silver ton W. P. READY . Portland WALLIS NASH. . Portland BENTON KILLIN . Portland JONAS AL CHURCH. . La Grande SA AIUE L H UG HES . Forest G rove COMMITTEES. EXECUTIVE. SAMUEL HUGHES, Chairman, VV. E. YATES, Secretary, J. T. A PPERSOH , WILLIAM M. HILLEARY, BEE TON KILLIN. FINANCE. RENTON KILLIN, WM. M. HILLEARY, J. M. CHURCH AGRICULTURE AN D CH EMISTR Y. BEN TON KILLIN, WILLI A M M. HILLEA R > HORTICULTURE AND ENTOMOLOGY. SAMUEL HUGHES, . J. K. WEATHERFORD. MECHANICSAND HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. J. K. WEATHERFORD, SAMUEL HUGHES, WALLIS NASH. LITERARY DEPARTMENT AND LIBRARY. WALLIS NASH, T. W. DAVENPORT. ADVERTISING AND PRINTING. W. P. READY, IV. E. YATES. BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS. W. E. YATES, J. M. CHURCH. FARMERS’ INSTITUTES. J. K. WEATHERFORD, IV. E. YATES. OFFICERS OF THE STATION. THOAIAS AL GATCH, A. AL, Ph. D . President and Director H. T. FRENCH, AL S . Agriculturist G. W. SHA IV, Ph. D . Chemist A. B. CORDLEY, B. S . Entomologist AfOSES CRAIG, AL S . Botanist GEO. COOTE . Horticulturist RELATIVE DIGESTIBILITY OF CHEAT AND CLOVER HAY. Much controversy has arisen over the comparative value of Cheat hay. Cheat has long been considered a valuable hay-producing plant throughout the Willamette valley. That it grows well there is little doubt. Many farmers report a yield of three to four tons per acre, and even greater yields are often mentioned. The average yield is about 2^ tons per acre. This portion of the State seems to be the natural habitat for several wild species of Bronius; and owing to the certainty with which Cheat may be grown, and the uncertainty which attends the efforts of the farmer in growing other varieties of grasses, it is not strange that Cheat should be retained so tenaciously. Cheat is a very hardy plant, easily withstanding such vicissitudes of climate as are likely to prevail throughout a large portion of Western Oregon. On low, flat, heavy soil, where water is too abundant during the winter months for other grasses to thrive. Cheat will make a very good growth. It would not be easy to find a grass that can surpass Cheat under these condi¬ tions. On the higher portions of the land, or on land which is fairly well drained, there are other varieties of grasses and clovers which may be grown suscessfully, and which will give much better results when fed to stock. The question upon which this report is intended to throw more light is not a question of growing Cheat, but rather its value as compared with Clover, when fed to cattle. It is a common practice at present to feed Cheat to dairy cows as well as to all other kinds of stock; and it is with a view of discouraging its growth for dairy stock especially that these facts are presented. The question of profit is determined more largely if possible, in dairying, than in any other branch of farming,by a proper knowledge of the food supply It is not a question of quantity altogether, but of quality, and a proper com¬ bination of food constituents to produce the best results. The dairy cow is a delicately wrought machine which must not be over worked in consuming a large amount of material that is not needed, in order to get a sufficient sup¬ ply of that which is essential in the production of milk. When Cheat is fed to dairy cows the creamery man complains of a lack of milk supply, and this fact implies that the farmer is simply keeping his cows without getting proper returns from them. Much is said in these days re¬ garding the yield of butter fat as an indicator of the value of a cow in the dairy; but it is not altogether just to the cow to apply the test before we have learned how to feed her properly. While the food, under normal con¬ ditions, will not materially change the per cent, of butter fat in milk, it will materially change the total yield by increasing the flow of milk. It would not be right to discourage the growth of Cheat unless there is something better with which to replace it. Over a large portion of the 4 Willamette valley, where Cheat is now grown, Clover can be grown success¬ fully, This has been thoroughly demonstrated on the Experiment Station farm, and we have seen the same results obtained on other farms in this portion of the State. The two factors entering into the value of a foodstuff are its composition and its digestibility. The first factor is determined by chemical analysis alone. The second is determined either by actual trials with animals, or with artifical digestion fluids made to correspond closely with the dige.stive fluids of the body. The digestible matter for most of the common cattle foods has been determined by feeding animals for a stated period upon food whose composition has been previously determined by analysis. The ma¬ terial so used is weighed and the excreta of the animal carefully collected, weighed and analyzed. The solid excretum is simply that material which has escaped the action of the digestive fluids, or the indigestible' matter. From its analysis, and that of the food eaten, can be calculated the amount of the food digested. The per cents of the various nutrients that can be digested by an animal are called the digestion co-efficients. Thus it is seen that chemical analysis is the first and last step in render¬ ing intelligible the results of feeding experiments. It is absolutely essen¬ tial to a proper understanding of the material used in rations, if we desire to feed economically. It is the foundation upon which the whole system of rational feeding rests. The object of the following experiment; from the chemical standpoint, was to determine the digestion co-efficients of Cheat [ Bromus secalhius) hay, and to compare its digestibility with that of Red Clov'er ( Trifoliiini pratense') when fed to the same animal. It seemed the more essential to set forth the results thus contrasted since after the publication of Bulletin 39 numerous persons—some evidently not having read the bulletin—made extravagant statements as to what the au¬ thor claimed. Now the fact is that the writer never did assert that the hay in question was “worthless,” for such a statement would be far from the truth. What he did intentionally imply was that Cheat did not favorably compare with several other grasses there named, either from the standpoint of a food or in economy of production. Cheat, and even straw, can be made the basis of a ration, but it is certainly poor economy to feed a hay of low food value when there are others much better which can be had; and it is still more wasteful, as well as crude and unscientific, to feed either this or any other coarse food alone, when the advantages to be gained by proper¬ ly balanced rations are so clearly set forth in the literature of the day, and are so well recognized by the most eminent feeders of the countr}’. The details of the feeding were as follows: A three year old Short Horn grade steer was selected for the experiment. The animal was placed in a stall arranged in such a manner that the excreta could be collected without loss. The apparatus used was that recommended by Professor Arnisby, of Pennsylvania. It is shown in the accompanying illustration. The appar¬ atus was found well adapted to the work. The preliminary feeding began on February 17, 1896, and continued till March 2d, during which time Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2018 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Alternates https://archive.org/details/relativedigestib47shaw the animal was fed in the same manner as during the actual digestion period. During the last four days of this time the harness was adjusted to the steer, and the conditions made identical with those of the digestion period. The hay was cut as for ordinary feeding, and after being thoroughly mixed, was weighed into rations, and a sample of each placed in an air tight bottle and brought to the laboratory" for analysis. The first of the prepared rations was fed to the steer on March 2d, at 5 p. m., and the experiment ended at 5 p. m., March 8th. The water, as well as the food, given to the animal was carefully weighed. The amounts of each consumed, together with the weight of excreta, and the weight of the animal are given in Tables I and II. It is somewhat interesting to note the fact that the animal voided 58 per cent more urine during the Clover experiment than when fed on the Cheat. . During the same time he drank 20 per cent, more water. The samples of dung were brought to the laboratory where they were reduced to an air-dried condition, and after being ground till the entire material would pass through a one-millimeter sieve, were preserved in air-tight bot¬ tles till analyzed. TABIvE I—CHEAT. Dates. *>1 , 5 0 • ^ Weight of urine Weight of solid \ excreta . Weight of ani¬ mat . Pounds Pounds Pounds Pounds Pon lids March 3 .:. 16 37 iiK 29/4 1006 March 4. 16 40^ 7 35 1012 March s.. 16 ' 30/ 1002 March 6.. 16 ; 44 8 34 1007 March 7. 16 32>4 83 / 37/ 1008 March 8. 16 1 33 9 32/ 1006 Total. 96 , 2151X 47/ 199^ table II—clover. Dates. 1 Food eaten . TV Sj. ft- •XA *V , "V 1 Weight of solid excreta . Weight of ani¬ mal . Pounds Pounds Pounds Pounds Pounds March 23. 15 21 19 30 988 March 24. 15 70 22/ 28 993 March 23. 15 40 18/ 33/ 991 March 26. I s aq \4 16 -6 QQ 2 March 27.. 15 42/ 18/ 32 991 March 28. 15 47 18/ 31 992 Total... 90 270 113/ 190/ The composition of the two hays was as follows : TABLE III. Material. Clover. Cheat. W'ater .;. Dry matter . 4.27 95.73 Dr>' matter. 7.00 ^3-00 . Dry ; matter. Ether Extract. Protein. Crude P'ibre. Nitrogen-free Extract. 3.35 14.84 28.83 . 40.20 8.50 3-.50 15-50 30.11 41.12 8.77 1-95 6.06 31.80 44 10 9.09 2.09 6.52 34.19 47-43 9-77 Total drv matter. 1 95-73 i 1 100.00 93.00 100.00 For a full description of the terms above employed the reader is referred to Bulletin 39, but for the sake of reference the following resume is here in¬ serted: Protein, albumenoids, and nitrogenous matter mean the same thing, and are represented by the white of an egg, lean meat and the gummy part of wheat. Other things being equal, that food has the highest food value which is the richest in digestible protein. The function of this class of bodies is that of muscle forming. The term Ether Extract in the case of grains might well be expressed by the word fat, which is frequently used, but in the case of grasses and other coarse foods there is also included color¬ ing matter and certain gums. Crude fibre is a term used to express the more woody parts of the plant, and is well represented by paper and cotton fibre. It is closely allied to starch, and with the next group belongs to the class of carbohydrates. The Nitroge 7 i-free Extract is best represented by such bodies as sugar and starch, which together with the Ether Extract and Fibre serve to form animal fat and heat. As stated above the indigestible matter constitutes the dung. This was collected during the period of the experiment, weighed and analyzed. table IV—the steer voided .\s dung. Dry Matter. Of the clover hay. 190.5 lbs . 32.37 lbs. Of the cheat hay, 199.7 . 49.10 lbs. The zvater-free dung showed the following compo.sition: * table V. Ether Extract. Protein. ■ Clover. 1 Cheat. 4.51 15.40 33.32 32.24 14.53 2.56 6.S9 33.24 ^ 3-47 43-84 Crude P'ibre. Nitrogen-free Extract. Total. 100.00 100.00 *The nitrogen was corrected for metabolic nitrogen according to the method suggested by Dr. Jordan in Annual Report of Maine Station, 1S8S. i From the above figures, computing the ingredients of the dung excreted during the experiment, we have: TABLE VI. Clover. Cheat. FYtrnr'l _ 1,46 4.98 I .78 10.52 4.70 1,26 Protein..... 3-38 16.22 Crude fibre. Nitrogen-free Extract,,.. Ash. 21.58 6.66 Total. 32.37 49 10 These figures represent the indigestible matter. It is evident, then, that if these be subtracted from the figures representing the ingredients eaten, we shall obtain the amounts digested. table VII—showing digestibility of clover hay. Material, Dry Matter. Ether Extract. Protein. Crude Fibre. Nitrogen- free Extract. Ash. In 90 ft)s. clover hav. 86.15 3.02 13-35 25.94 36.29 7-55 In i90.5.1bs. clover dung. 32.37 1.46 4,98 10.78 10.52 4.70 Amounts digested, lbs. 53.78 1.56 8.37 15.16 25-77 2.85 table VIII—showing digestibility of cheat hay. Material. Dry Matter. Ether Extract Protein. Crude Fibre. Nitrogen- free Extract. Ash. In 96 lbs. cheat hay. 89.28 1.86 581 30.52 42.37 8.72 In 199.7 lbs. cheat dung. 49.10 1.27 3.38 16.22 21 58 6.66 Amounts digested, ft)s. 40.18 60 2.43 14.30 20,72 2.06 • The following table shows the comparative digestibility of the constitu¬ ents in each food stuff used in the experiment: table IX—digestion co-efficients. Clover. Cheat. Drj' Matter . 62 45 Ether Extract.; . . 55 32 Protein. 63 42 . Crude Fibre,. 59 46 Nitrogen-free Extract. 71 49 Ash. 37 23 Computing the nutritive ratio* for each, as determined by the experi¬ ment, it is is found to be: For clover hay.i: 5.3 For cheat hay.i :i5.o 8 The chemical analysis shows that Cheat contains a larger per cent, of indi¬ gestible woody fiber than Clover, and less than half as much protein or flesh formers. In carbohydrates, or those substances which go largely to keep up animal heat, the Cheat is better provided than the Clover. This to a certain extent explains why the Cheat gives such favorable results in keeping stock animals, or those which are being kept over winter. In the fat contained the Cheat is not nearly as well provided as the Clover, The nutritive ratio is rather wide—that is there is a large proportion of carbohydrates to the protein, or flesh forming substances—there being 15 of the former to one of the latter. It is not economical to require the animal functions to take care of so much crude fiber in order to obtain a sufficient supply of nitrogenous material. It is cheaper to supply the deficiency by a better balanced ration. This might be done by feeding liberally with bran oil meal, pea meal, or cotton seed meal, but in feeding these concentrated foods the expense is materially increased. The best results will be obtained when we feed in the coarse food as nearly a complete, or balanced, ration as possible. ____ * Found bv inultiplving the Ether Extract by 2^. adding to the product the Crude l'ibre»aud Nitrogen-free Extract, and dividing by the Protein, It expresses the relation between the carbohydrates and the protein.