FEEDING FARM ANIMALS. The proper and et.onomical feeding of farm animals is receiv ing far more attention and is conducted in a much more intelligent manner than formerly. A generation ago stock was pastured during the summer, no grain was given during that season, and in winter hay and straw were fed with such corn or other grain as the farmer raised. While this practice still prevails over a part of the United States, the soiling system (see Sot LING ? is coining into extensive use, especially in the East, and greater attention is being, paid to grow ing a variety of feeds for stock. Succulent feeds are now generally advocated for use with the dry feed. and the general adoption of the silo provides these', while furnishing the cheapest feed which can he produced on the average American farm. Roots are used to sonic extent to furnish succu lent food, hut their growth has increased but little in extent in the United States, although they are extensively grown for feeding in Great Britain. The increasing supply of by-products from oil and flour mills, starch and glucose fac tories, breweries. etc., has been accompanied by the extensive employment of these materials to supplement the coarser and less concentrated feeds grown on the farm; and the introduction and cultivation of different kinds of leguminous crops, such as clovers. soy bean. cow-pea, alfalfa, etc., has increased the supply of protein, which is the most expensive of the nutrients.
stock-feeding is an art in which experience and judgment are very important elements of suc cess. The aid of science has been invoked, and, as a result of investigations in animal physiology and the chemistry of nutrition, many of the scientific principles underlying the art have been worked out and formulated. These studies have shown that the animal body is composed mainly of four classes of substances—water, ash, fat, and nitrogenous materials—the proportions of each varying with the age of the animal, treat ment, purpose for which it is kept. etc. These materials are being constantly broken down or consumed as a result of the life of the animal. To keep the animal in a healthy and vigorous condition there must be a c.onstant supply of new material, i.e. food, and of the kind of food that furnishes the necessary nutrients. If an animal is growing, or producing milk, or performing heavy work, food is required in addition to that needed to supply the natural waste of the body. The principles of feeding animals rest upon re placement of the natural losses of the body and upon supplying the proper materials for making growth. The various materials used as food for animals contain the same four constituents found in the body, namely, water, ash, fat, nitrogenous substances ( protein ) carbohydrates ( sugar, starch, etc.), and, in addition, fibre. Regarding their functions, it may he said, first, that food, when assimilated, is in part consumed to yield heat and energy for work and action, and in part stored up in the body for repair of the organs and as additional supply of fat, muscle, and other tissues. The sources of heat in the body and energy for work are supplied mainly by the fat and carbohydrates, and. under some conditions, by the protein. The value of fat as a heat-pro
ducer is nearly two and a half times that of car bohydrates or protein. The sources of fat in the body are mainly the fat and carbohydrates of the food; the carbohydrates :ire not incorporated into the holy as such, but are changed to fat. The exclusive source of protein, \Odell is the essen tial constituent of blood, skin. muscle, tendon. nerve, hair, wool, casein of milk, etc., is the pro tein of the food. the importance of sup plying a liberal amount of protein in the food. The excess of protein may be worked over into fat, or it may be consumed by the body to yield body-heat and energy fur work. The fibre serves the purpose as the carbohydrates, and the ash is used in the framework—the bones—and is also a constituent of the blood and other com ponents of the body. The needs of farm animals under different conditions of growth, work, and production have been studied in intricate experi ments, and as a result the body requirements. in terms of digestible protein. fat. and carbohy drates, have been largely deb.rmined. These re quirements have been formulated in the shape of so-called 'feeding standards,' which, while not absolute and inflexible measures of the body needs, are convenient and helpful indications of the amounts of nutrients required per day. The composition, fuel value, and digestibility of the principal feeding stuffs have been determined and are set forth in tables in convenient form for calculating rations. The calculation enables the feeder to determine the relative amounts of the different feeding stuffs which should be combined in making up the ration so as to avoid waste.
Abstract knowledge cannot take the place of experience in stock-feeding, but it will prove of great value when combined with experience, en abling more intelligent practice, and giving a deeper insight and a wider range of vision. The agricultural experiment stations have worked out and tested a great variety of rations for dif ferent kinds of animals, and, from studies of the rations which were being fed by farmers, have been able to suggest modifications of them which, while more scientific, were also more economical and effective. it is impossible, in the space here available, to give rations or directions for feeding under the varied conditions which prevail in dif ferent localities. The kinds of feeding stuffs available and their cost, and the system of farm ing which is practiced, all have to be taken into account. Since the farmer usually has sufficient carbohydrate materials, he seeks to increase his supply of protein in the concentrated feeds he buys. The tables of composition will assist him in selecting these materials. In addition to the publications of the experiment stations, several excellent books have been written which treat the subject of feeding from both the scientific and the practical side. Consult: Armsby, Man ual of Cattle Feeding (New York, 1890) ; Feeds and Feeding (Madison, Wis., 1902) ; and "The Feeding of Farm Animals," in United States Department of Agriculture, Farmers' Bul letin No. 22 (Washington, 1902) ; Jordan. Feed ing of Animals (New York, 1901). See CATTLE; DAIRYING ; FEEDING STUFFS; ; SHEEP.