STARCH IN PLANTS. The principal con stituent in plants is carbon in some of its many forms. Starch is present in notable quantities in all. that class most useful as food for man and farm animals. The source of alcohol in plants is primarily starch. Thus any plant which either in its seeds or fiber contains notable quantities of starch, may be economically used in the produc tion of alcohol, by first changing the starch to the peculiar substance, called fructose or glucose according to the source from vvhich it was ob tained. So also the starch producing grains and vegetables, as corn, potatoes, etc., are the source of the starch of commerce. In chemical com position starch and cellulose are identical. So also is dextrine, and may be artificially manu factured from starch. The chemical composi tion of starch is as follows: Gum is another substance closely allied to starch. So is sugar, and all-the substances herein named are mutually convertible in nature and to a con siderable extent in the laboratory of the chemist, of the manufacturer. Thus we find in germina tion that the starch of the seed is converted into dextrine and glucose, and passing into the young plant is changed into cellulose aud starch. In
the sugar beet, under certain diseased conditions, the sugar is changed to starch, but being origi nally true sugar, this can not be again converted from starch to sugar, but may be conveited into glucose or starch sugar. In the work How Crops Grow the average amounts of albuminoids and carbo-hydrates in various vegetable substances is given. The carbo-hydrates are composed of car bon, oxygen and hydrogen, and are subdivided into woody fiber, starch, sugar, gum, oil, and jellies; they are all near enough alike, so far as the animal economy in feeding is concerned, 'to be included here. The carbo-hydrates and tabu mi noids are the most important, the first furnishing heat and fat, and the second important in con nection with the formation of muscle, have been compiled as given below: The principal grains contain the following amounts of starch; Barley contains starch 57.5 • Corn 59.0 Oats o 96.6 16 Rye " 59.7 64 W beat " 59.5 Thus we see why Indian corn is found to be prac tically one of the best as it is the cheapest of our cereal grains for fattening purposes.