208 ELEMENTS OF AGRICULTURE 



CHAPTEK XXXIX.— Calculating Rations for 

 Animals 



200. Rations. — The iood supplied an animal during 

 any stated period is called a ration; thus the food of 

 one da}' is called a day's ration. Calculating the differ- 

 ent amounts of the food to be included in a ration is 

 called compounding rations. The compounding of 

 rations means the mixing of the proper amounts of 

 digestible nutrients to keep the animal in good con- 

 dition. 



201. Feeding Tests. — Different animals require dif- 

 ferent amounts of digestible nutrients, and the same 

 animal under different conditions requires different 

 amounts. After a long walk we usually come home 

 hungry; we need food to renew the portions of our 

 body worn by the exercise of walking. The question 

 is how much food is needed. We usually settle the 

 question by eating till we are no longer hungry, and 

 by this method eat too much, and make ourselves sick. 

 Animals, too, if allowed the opportunity will oft^n 

 make themselves sick by overeating. Allow a horse 

 to help himself from an oat or corn bin, and he will eat 

 till he can hold no more; this usually results in a case 

 of colic. To keep stall-fed animals in good condition, 

 they must be supplied with the proper amounts of 

 nutrients, and no more. To overfeed an animal is as 

 bad as to underfeed it. In order to determine how much 

 food different animals require, a great many careful 



