------------+--------+----------+--------+--------+--------+-------- | | Husk, or |Starch, |Gluten, | | | | woody |gum, and|albumen,| Fatty |Saline | Water. | fibre. | sugar. | &c. | matter |matter ------------+--------+----------+--------+--------+--------+-------- Oats, | 16 | 20 | 45 | 11 | 6 | 2.5 Beans, | 14 | 8 to 11 | 40 | 26 | 2.5 | 3 Pease, | 14 | 9 | 50 | 24 | 2.1 | 3 Indian corn,| 14 | 6 | 70 | 12 | 5 to 9 | 1.5 Barley, | 15 | 14 | 52 | 13.5 | 2 to 3 | 3 Meadow hay, | 14 | 30 | 40 | 7.1 | 2 to 5 |5 to 10 Clover hay, | 14 | 25 | 40 | 9.3 | 3 to 5 | 9 Pea straw, |10 to 15| 25 | 45 | 12.3 | 1.5 |4 to 5 Oat straw, | 12 | 45 | 35 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 6 Carrots, | 85 | 3 | 10 | 1.5 | 0.4 |1 to 2 Linseed, | 9.2 | 8 to 9 | 35.3 | 20.3 | 20.0 | 6.3 Bran, | 13.1 | 53.6 | 2 | 19.3 | 4.7 | 7.3 ------------+--------+----------+--------+--------+--------+-------- The most nutritious grasses are those which abound in sugar, starch, and gluten. Sugar is an essential element in the formation of good milk; hence the sweet-scented grasses are the most profitable to cultivate and feed to milch cows. At the same time, the farmer, if he does not, ought to know that large quantities of saccharine matter are extracted from clover and sweet grasses by the bees. Mr. White tells us that, "on a farm situated a few miles from London, the eldest son of the occupier had the management and profit of the bees given him, which induced him to increase the number of stocks beyond what had ever been kept on the farm before. It so happened that the sheep did not thrive so well as in former years, and on the farmer complaining at the cause to his man, as they had plenty of keep, the man replied, '_You will never have fat sheep so long as you suffer my young master to keep so many stocks of bees; they suck all the honey from the flowers, so that the clover is not half so nourishing, and does not produce half such good milk._'" Had this man been acquainted with agricultural and animal chemistry, he would have had a clear conception of the seeming absurdity. All our labor or efforts to improve stock or crops will be fruitless, unless guided by chemical science. We must have sugar, starch, gluten, and other materials, to perfect animal organization. The animal may be in good health, the different functions free and unobstructed, and possess the power of reproducing the species; yet, if fed on substances which lack the materials necessary to the composition of bones, blood-vessels, and nerves, sooner or later its health becomes impaired. Reader, if you own cattle, and wish to preserve their health, give them boiled food