FEEDING OF GROWING ANIMALS 285 



and this it only loses gradually. As with the 

 protein, so also with the mineral substances which 

 are necessary for the formation of the important 

 vital organs. In the above case the sucking-calf 

 retained 53% of the total ash of the milk which it 

 consumed. 



Of the phosphoric acid 72*5% was kept in the 

 body, of the lime as much as 97%, and of the other 

 mineral substances (potash, soda, oxide of iron, 

 magnesia) 20-40%, of which chlorine was the least, 

 only 4%. Lime and phosphoric acid were, there- 

 fore, retained to a much larger extent than the 

 other substances, in the case of the lime only 3% 

 passing into the excreta. According to this it 

 almost seems as though the milk of highly bred 

 cattle was too poor in this material, which is so 

 important for the making of bone. The eagerness 

 with which calves eat mortar, chalk, or other lime- 

 containing substances, points to the milk being 

 deficient in this respect and the advisability of 

 giving some precipitated chalk to animals of this 

 kind. 



With regard to the food metabolism after 

 weaning, investigations with lambs (Southdown 

 Merino cross) from the 5-24 months have given 

 results noted below. The ration which was given 

 kept the animals in good condition and they de- 

 veloped satisfactorily, digesting the following quan- 

 tities per head per day : 



