36 



THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 



America, who " feed " clover regularly ; though 

 we fear it is not fully appreciated in Great 

 Britain. At all events, the albuminoid ratio 

 comes out as high as 1:3, with salts also in 

 high proportion. 



Among the animal products, the close re- 

 semblance in the composition of all lean meat 

 will be noticed, indicating that any animal 

 food may be used as economy dictates, unless 

 the subject of disease. Especially will be seen 

 the high food value of fresh bone, which is 

 greedily eaten when cut small. Raw bones as 

 obtainable from the butcher's are here under- 

 stood, but bones from joints only roasted or 

 boiled, and not stewed for soup, are almost as 

 good. Cut bone is nearly as rich in nitrogen as 

 flesh, and far richer in fats and earthy salts. Its 

 use, along with clover, is chiefly relied upon in 

 America for securing profuse egg-production, 

 even with such a grain diet as maize. The high 

 value of dried fish as an albuminoid corrective 

 and source of mineral salts will also be seen, 

 and accounts for the popularity of many foods 

 containing a large proportion of fish-meal. 



A glance over the table has thus shown us 

 generally the dangers attending hempseed, or 

 even maize, and the great deficiency in nutriment 

 of any diet in which bread, or rice, or potatoes 

 play a disproportionate part. Before drawing 

 such conclusions we must however remember 

 that, provided fowls have free range, such de- 

 ficiencies may be made up by insects and other 

 animal food. In such circumstances, no doubt 

 it very often is so, including even the nitrogenous 

 supply for egg-production ; and hence it is that 

 maize is so largely used in America without 

 injury. Nature herself, guided by natural ap- 

 petite or craving, will largely "balance" such 

 a dietary, and any of the ordinary cereals 

 may probably supply adequate food when thus 

 supplemented. It is in more or less confinement, 

 where the fowls are really dependent upon what 

 we give them, that such facts become important. 

 We have therefore, finally, to learn how our 

 table enables us to construct a dietary which 

 shall be properly " balanced " or proportioned. 

 It is evident that we can do so from very 

 various materials ; and that therefore in selecting 

 these we may study the market, as 

 regards cost of the total; and we can 

 also give variety, which is in itself 

 desirable for health and appetite. 

 Generally speaking, again, only one kind of grain 

 will be given at a time, and mostly at the even- 

 ing meal ; as a rule, therefore, we choose some 

 one grain for that meal, and " balance " this by 

 our soft food for the morning. The total food- 

 value of a week's diet, or ration for one day if 



Balancing 



a 

 Dietary. 



preferred, is found in the simplest way, by adding 

 together the figures for each ingredient as above, 

 divided or multiplied so as to give their relative 

 proportion as mi.xed in the dietary. Thus, if we 

 mix 2 lbs. or 2 stones of one ingredient to 



1 lb. or I stone of others, we must multiply 

 by two the figures for that ingredient, to get 

 the true proportion. In adding the fats and 

 oils, it must not be forgotten to take, not the 

 figure of the analysis, but that figure multiplied 

 by 2\, as given in the right hand of the column. 



We will take first a diet in which the evening 

 feed consists of maize, reckoning (as in other 

 cases) that an equal weight of meals (weighed 

 dry, before scalding) is given in the morning. We 

 know that we must " balance" the maize by food 

 containing more albuminoids. Let us try a 

 mash composed of half malt sprouts and half 

 middlings. To avoid fractions we will here take 



2 lbs. maize and i lb. each of the middlings 

 and malt dust. It works out thus : — 



This is not a bad dietary, except that most 

 of the albuminoids are confined to the mash. 

 The fat proportion is good, and the nutritive 

 ratio works out as 6o"2 : 287'3, or a little under 

 I : 4i. We can bring it up to that by a little 

 more malt dust, or pea-meal, the ratio of which 

 is nearly the same, and we thus see that maize 

 may be used in moderation when so " balanced." 

 We say " in moderation," because there is no 

 doubt that, beyond its analysis, there is some- 

 thing in the composition of maize which tends 

 specially to fat, and above all to internal fat, 

 which is worst of all. Again, let us suppose that 

 ground oats and horseflesh are available ; one 

 part minced flesh to two parts ground oats will 

 make things nearly right. Here we must take 

 three parts of maize to equalise the mixture, 

 and it works out thus : — 



