234 SCIENTIFIC FEEDING OF ANIMALS 



nature, are not, of course, to be strictly followed, 

 but they are meant to indicate whether larger or 

 smaller amounts of coarse fodder are necessary. 

 Variations of 10 % and more in these data are not 

 of great importance, provided the animals are 

 gradually accustomed to the changed food. The 

 supply of home-produced food-stuffs will determine, 

 in the first place, whether a more or less voluminous 

 food is chosen. When fodder is scarce it is often 

 difficult to find substitutes, and recourse to such 

 little-used materials as potato-tops, gorse, heather, 

 even sawdust, has to be had in order to provide 

 the animals with the necessary bulky stuff. A 

 mixture of ground peat moss free from sand with 

 diluted molasses has proved to be a suitable sub- 

 stance in such cases. Compared with the large losses 

 which a reduction in the stock of cattle brings at 

 the time of a scarcity of food the drawbacks associ- 

 ated with the use of indigestible materials pass into 

 the background. 



Whenever a change of food is made it should be 

 gradual, even an increase in the volume can cause dis- 

 turbances if suddenly made, for the natural expansion 

 of the digestive tract is limited. When the increase is 

 gradual, the digestive organs expand by the growth 

 of their walls, but for this time is necessary. 



In the use of new concentrated foods caution 

 is also necessary, for every food has its peculiari- 

 ties, particularly in its action upon the nervous 



