FEEDING STOCK. 347 



and where every pore of the skin and organ of the body will 

 perform their natural functions. 



It is a well established fact, that warmth is equivalent to 

 food. The heat of the animal system is kept up in the same 

 manner as flame is supported — that is, by a union of carbon 

 and oxygen. The animal derives its carbon from the food ; 

 "which, having undergone digestion, is taken up by the blood, 

 and thence conveyed to the lungs, where, by the act of respira- 

 tion, it is united with a portion of the oxygen of the atmos- 

 phere, and heat is produced. Exposure to a low temperature 

 dissipates the animal heat, just as heat is driven off from any 

 other body similarly situated. It is obvious that the natural 

 temperature of the body must be sustained, or the animal will 

 perish. As carbon is the only material by which this heat can 

 be furnished, that substance must either be supplied to the 

 blood from the fat and muscle already formed, or the blood 

 must obtain it through the medium of food. If the food is de- 

 ficient, the supply must be made up from a waste of the bodily 

 parts ; and the consequence will be, loss of flesh and weight, 

 which, if long continued, may cause the death of the animal, 

 either by finally cutting off the source of heat, or so weakening 

 the system, that it yields to the attack of some malady. To 

 sustain the animal in proper condition, then, requires a supply 

 of food proportioned to the degree of cold to which it is ex- 

 posed ; and it is therefore obvious, that, by avoiding exposure 

 to cold, we save food. 



The Ayrshire dairy farmer gives his cows a liberal supply of 

 dairy food, when dry, for if allowed to sink in condition during 

 that period, their milk will be so much diminished after calving 

 as to overbalance the saving efi"ected in their keep. He does 

 a little more than just what will " bring them through the win- 

 ter." A milch cow must have good board and lodging all the 

 year round, if her owner does not want to be penny-wise and 

 pound-foolish. 



We would also draw the attention of farmers to the fact, 

 that animals who have descended from ancestors which have 

 been well fed and well treated, require to be better fed and 

 treated, in order to keep their organization up to its highest 

 point of development, than the same kind of animals whose 



