430 THE FEEDING OF ANIMALS 



out the unnecessary expense which these manipulations 

 would cause. Grinding any material that is not otherwise 

 thoroughly masticated doubtless increases the efficiency 

 of the food, but when the grinding costs as much as 10 

 per cent of the market price of the grain it is doubtful 

 if any advantage accrues. Cutting, unless for the pur- 

 pose of mixing, has the sole advantage of saving the animal 

 a little work. 



Wetting and cooking render certain foods more 

 tender and more palatable, and when this secures the 

 consumption of materials otherwise wasted these opera- 

 tions may become economical. On the contrary, similar 

 treatment of grain foods already much liked by the 

 animal is, according to the majority of testimony, an 

 occasion of loss rather than of gain. 



Practice differs as to the number of portions into 

 which the daily ration shall be divided. Some herds 

 are fed three tunes a day and some twice. While it 

 would be possible to feed too many times or too much 

 at any one time, it seems more than probable that if 

 animals are fed regularly the ration may be as efficient 

 when divided into two portions as when there are three 

 feeding periods. The adaptation of any system to the 

 requirements of farm work is a matter of more impor- 

 tance, probably, than any influences proceeding from the 

 number of feeding-periods. The warming of the water 

 consumed has been introduced to some extent with dairy 

 herds. Certainly it is bad practice to force cows to drink 

 ice-cold water, but it is also bad practice to warm the 

 water above the point of palatableness. The likes and 

 dislikes of animals must be considered, and to ignore them, 

 even to save the small food expense necessary for warm- 

 ing the ingested water, is not advisable. 



