CATTLE FEEDING. 



149 



Conditions that effect the formation and the accumulation or depo- 

 sitions of Fat. B\' increasing the quantit}' of fat in a ration a 

 larger quantit}' of it is submitted to process of transformation, and 

 a part of it will be deposited in the organs if present in large 

 enongh quantit}', especially so, if the ration contain at the same 

 time a large proportion of albnmiuoids. Fat formed in the bod}' b}' 

 the transformation of albuminoids is more easily destroyed b}' vital 

 processes than the ready formed fat furnished by the fodder. The 

 presence of a large quantity of albuminoids in a ration prevents the 

 decomposition of the fat. Fats suffer decomposition more easily in 

 a fat organism than in a lean one ; in this latter, fat is easiU' depos- 

 ited whether it exist in fodder or be formed by the transformation 

 of the albuminoids present. 



The drinking of large quantities of water does not favor the accu- 

 mulation of fats in the organism ; it increases the decomposition 

 of the albuminoids and the elimination of carbonic acid. The tem- 

 perature of a stable or barn has considerable influence upon the 

 accumulation of fat ; if the temperature be too low the process of 

 oxidation becomes more rapid in order to produce the normal bodily 

 heat, while if the temperature be too high, the animals drink too 

 much water, are more restless, and the appetite becomes more or less 

 capricious. A temperature varj'ing between 54° Fahr. and QQ° Fahr. 

 is the best calculated to favor the production and deposition of fat. 

 All violent exercise must be guarded against as it greatly increases 

 the decomposition of fat. Cattle undergoing a fattening process, as 

 well as those kept for the production of milk, should enjoy the great- 

 est possible amount of rest. Bleeding increases the decomposition 

 of the albuminoids and reduces the quantity of carbonic acid elimi- 

 nated, (owing to the diminution of blood corpuscles) ; this would 

 diminish the quantity- of fat destro3^ed, and therefore favor an 

 accunmlation of it in the organism. The smaller the proportion of 

 blood corpuscles the greater is the tendencv of an animal to fatten 

 i-eadily. The influence which the carbohydrates exert upon the pro- 

 duction and accumuhition of fat is very marked in the herbiverous 

 animals. The}' suspend the destruction of the fat already deposited 

 in the organism, and when they are present in sufficient quantity in 

 tlie fodder they economize the fat so that all coming direct!}' from 

 the fodder and that formed by the transformation of the albuminoids 

 is accumulated by the animal. No matter how great the increase of 

 carbohydrates may be, it seems, as far as most domestic animals 



