--------------------+----------+-------------+--------------- Kind of grain. | Ash. | Phosphoric | Phosphoric | |acid in ash. | acid in the | | | entire feed. --------------------+----------+-------------+--------------- |_Per cent_| _Per cent_ | _Per cent_ Wheat bran | 7.3 | 50 | 3.65 Wheat, grain | 3 | 46.38 | 1.3914 Oats, grain | 2.50 | 26.5 | .6625 Barley, grain | 3.10 | 39.6 | 1.2276 Bean, grain | 3.10 | 31.9 | .9864 Peas, grain | 2.75 | 34.8 | .957 Tare, grain | 3 | 36.2 | 1.086 Indian corn, grain. | 1.5 | -- | -- Rye, grain | 1.6 | 39.9 | .6384 --------------------+----------+-------------+--------------- Wheat bran, it will be observed, contains three times as much phosphoric acid as is found in any of the other grains, and four times as much as oats, beans, peas, or rye; so that if fed in excess it will readily overcharge the urine with phosphates. There is another point to be considered, however, in estimating this danger. Wheat bran contains a far greater quantity of albuminoids and other nitrogen-containing constituents than the common grains (these being made up mainly of starch, which contains no nitrogen); and, all nitrogen-bearing products contained in the blood and tissues being expelled from the body mainly through the kidneys in the form of urea and (in cattle) hippuric acid, it follows that the excess of urea formed when such feed is consumed must load the urine with solids and bring it constantly nearer to the point of saturation, when such solids (or the least soluble of them) must be deposited. The following table will show the relative amounts of the nitrogen-bearing products in wheat bran and some of our common grains: _Nitrogenous matter in wheat bran and some common farm grains._ -----------------+---------------+----------------+---------------------- Kind of grain. | Albuminoids | Woody fiber | Total nitrogenous- | (nitrogenous).| (nitrogenous.) | bearing constituents. -----------------+---------------+----------------+---------------------- | _Per cent_ | _Per cent_ | _Per cent_ Wheat bran. | 16.1 | 8 | 24.1 Wheat, grain | 12.5 | 1.8 | 14.3 Barley, grain | 12.4 | 2.7 | 15.1 Oats, grain | 11.8 | 9.5 | 21.3 Rye, grain | 10.6 | 1.7 | 12.3 Indian corn | 10.1 | 1.7 | 11.8 -----------------+---------------+----------------+----------------------