COMPUTING RATIONS FOR FARM ANIMALS. 



For more than a third of a century the subject of feeding to 

 farm animals a ' ' balanced ration ' ' or one that conforms quite 

 closely to a "standard" that has been fixed b}' carefully con- 

 ducted experiments with the kind of animals for which it is 

 recommended, has been before American stock feeders. The 

 general utility of feeding standards is almost universally 

 admitted by those who have given the matter study, and the 

 number of feeders who are endeavoring to conform their practices 

 to the standards is continually increasing. 



The tables of feeding stuffs and the methods of using them 

 have been much simplified of late years, but judging by the large 

 number of requests from farmers, received by the agricultural 

 papers and the Experiment Stations, for formulas of balanced 

 rations, adapted to the needs of the inquirers, the subject is still 

 too complicated, or the labor involved too great, to be readily 

 accomplished b}^ the ordinary farmer. It is with a view of further 

 simplifying the computation of rations and bringing it within the 

 range of every feeder that the accompanying tables have been 

 prepared. The effort has been to carry the computations as near 

 too completion as possible, so that the user will simply need to 

 take from the table the figures corresponding to the kinds and 

 amounts of the feeds used in the proposed ration and add them 

 together to be able to compare it with the standard. The only 

 advantage claimed for this publication is that by the arrange- 

 ment of the tables and by the computations made, the labor of 

 formulating rations is very materially reduced, and it is hoped 

 that many who have not heretofore attempted this work for 

 themselves will be encouraged to do so. 



Principles of Feeding. 



The various substances found in animal bodies may for con- 

 venience be grouped under four heads : water ; ash, or mineral 

 matter ; fat, and nitrogenous matter or protein. These sub- 



