336 SCIENTIFIC FEEDING OF ANIMALS 



Under ordinary conditions, where the food-stuffs 

 are not tasteless, insipid, and without smell, then 

 the addition of 4 or 5 Ibs. of good meadow hay 

 makes the effect of the above-mentioned spices nil. 

 A very large number of experiments with these 

 different substances, either alone or mixed, have 

 proved this as well as with other materials, such as 

 caraway, coriander, fenugreek, sweet calamus, and 

 gentian roots, goat's rue, jaborandi leaves, and 

 other drugs, flowers of sulphur, antimony sulphide, 

 preparations of iron, phosphate of lime, sodium 

 bicarbonate, common salt. Many of the above alter 

 the properties of the milk, imparting to it a foreign 

 smell or taste, or make it unsuitable for cheese- 

 making, whilst some few, if given without care, 

 cause digestive disturbances. Fennel is of assist- 

 ance in case of obstinate retention of milk, but 

 under normal conditions the above-mentioned sub- 

 stances have no beneficial influence. A good 

 meadow hay is and remains the best spice. 

 j|. Many feeding-stuffs are said to raise the percentage 

 of fat in the milk, and on this point very numerous 

 experiments have been made, the results of which 

 have, however, been most varied. For example, 

 with palm-nut meal it was found in five of eleven 

 cases that the effect was beneficial, in one case it 

 was unfavourable, and in the remaining five neither 

 favourable nor unfavourable. In seven experi- 

 ments with cocoa-nut cake four were favourable, 



