N. 



what she eats, as well as a man ; and he tried always to give his 

 cows an occasional relish of carrots, turnips, small potatoes, or even 

 apple parings from the kitchen. " Of course," said John, " a cow 

 can live and will give milk if kept on the same feed day after day ; 

 but I have always found that she is grateful for a little personal 

 attention, and will pay for it with a larger yield of milk." David 

 had been paying $6.00 a month for the food of each of his cows, 

 actually more than the milk was selling for: John's ration cost him 

 but $5.00 a month per cow, yet he was getting double the amount 

 of milk which David did, and was making money. David was dis- 

 appointed ; John was well pleased. But the chief reason for John's 

 success was not because he gave his cows a greater variety of food 

 than David, but because he fed them those foods which are well 

 suited for the production of milk. David gave his cows a liberal 

 allowance of hay and corn meal. These are both good foods for 

 making fat but are not rich in those materials which a cow needs in 

 order to increase her flow of milk. They are better for fattening 

 steers than for feeding to milch cows. In other words, John had 

 been feeding a balanced ration, and David an unbalanced ration. 

 This leads us to inquire about some of the principles or reasons 

 which underlie the feeding of animals. 



1. An animal is a living machine. — There is always wear and 

 tear on its various parts. As we shovel in coal at the furnace door 

 to make the energy which will turn the great wheels of the shop, so 

 is food taken into the body to supply energ}' and to repair the waste 

 which comes from using the body. In the flrst place there must 

 be enough of this food, or fuel, to do all the work; and in the 

 second place, it must contain that which is needed to build up those 

 parts of the body which are breaking down. 



2. There are two purposes for xohich food are required : to main- 

 tain or support the animal., or the maintenance ration / and to lay 

 up extra or reserve materials.^ or the productive ration. — The main- 

 tenance ration is that which keeps up the bodily heat, and repairs 

 the normal wastes. The productive ration stores up fat, supplies 

 flow of milk, and the like. The profit in feeding comes in supply- 

 ing more than a mere maintenance ration. 



538 



