8 



EXPEEIMENT STATION RECORD. 



of any given woight wlu'u no work was required except that for 

 motion of forward prouressioii. and also when work was performed. 

 It was also necessary to measure the amount of work as accurately as 

 possible. 



It is interesting to note that as shown by the experiments the longer 

 the period of proper feeding the more satisfactory the production of 

 work. This explains whj^ it is better to depend on rations which build 

 up the body and put the animal in good training, rather than on those 

 fed at the time when the work nuist be performed. In connection 

 with the investigation of army horses attention has frequently been 

 called to the false economy practiced during periods when the horses 

 had little work to do. 



As a result of our investigations, we conclude that a horse perform- 

 ing ordinar}^ work requires 115 gm. of digestible protein and 1,100 

 gm. of digestible carbohydrates per 100 kg. live weight. When 

 severe work is performed, as during military maneuvers, marching, 

 or in time of actual war, the protein should be increased to 135 gm., 

 the carbohydrates remaining the same. In arriving at this deduction 

 it has been necessary to proceed slowl}^ and make many tests, for the 

 figures given by Boussingault, Baudement, and Wolfi' did not furnish 

 sufficient data for calculating the necessary standard rations. On the 

 other hand, the rations finally adopted do not differ very greatly from 

 those which have been suggested bj' experience. It is not surprising 

 that the published statement of the results of our latest investigations 

 differ somewhat from those conducted in 1888, since experimental and 

 analytical methods have been greatly improved, and in all the later 

 calculations digestible nutrients only have been considered. 



If the weight of the horse and the chemical composition and digesti- 

 l)ility of the feeding stuff's are known it is an easj^ matter to compute 

 standard rations. The following table, showing the maintenance ration 

 foi" army horses and mules, is an illustration of such calculations: 



Mainlcnanrc nilioii for (iniiy liorses <tud nudes. 



Cavalry horses, reserve 



Cavalry horses, line 



Light cavalry horses 



Horses of artillery and train 

 Mules 



Peace footing. 



Oats. Hay. 



War footing. 



0at,s 



Cframs. 

 .5.900 



5, 200 

 ■1,700 

 5,(500 

 4,900 



Grams. 

 4,000 

 3, .500 

 3,000 

 3,850 

 3,400 



Hay. 



Grams. Ch'ams. 

 6,670 I 4,000 



6, MO 

 5, 335 

 6,440 



3,500 

 3,000 

 3,850 



The calculation w'as found (>ven more satisfactory with h(\i\v draft 

 horses, since the weight of individual horses differs less from the average 

 weight than in the case of the smaller animals. For instance, a dray 

 horse weighing about TOO kg. Avould rtnpiire, for ordinary work, 805 

 gm. digestible protein on the basis of 115 gm. per 100 kg. of live 



