266 SCIENTIFIC FEEDING OF ANIMALS 



almost twice as much heat as they do on a main- 

 tenance diet, and therefore if the temperature of 

 the stall is high they have difficulty in getting rid 

 of this excess of heat ; they then generally eat 

 badly and drink too much water. It is for reasons 

 of this nature that fattening is more difficult in 

 summer than in winter, but even in the latter 

 period the stall should not be allowed to sink below 

 10-15 C. (50-60 F.), except, perhaps, when a lot 

 of poor food of low starch equivalent has to be fed, 

 as, for example, in the United States, where often 

 ripe maize plants (straw and cobs) are used. 



The shearing of fattening animals is also some- 

 times of advantage, and for the same reasons as 

 those mentioned under the temperature of the 

 stall. As many investigations have shown, shear- 

 ing does not cause a direct increase of flesh or of fat, 

 but by facilitating the loss of heat from the body 

 causes the appetite to be maintained. It thus 

 acts as a preventative of overheating of the body, 

 which easily arises through rich feeding and a warm 

 stall, and which would lead to the intake of an 

 insufficient amount of food. In the colder periods 

 of the year shearing is only of advantage when very 

 intensive fattening is being carried on in a place 

 where the temperature is fairly high. When, on 

 the contrary, the ration is only a medium one and 

 the stall temperature low, there is no advantage 

 gained by this operation. 



