NUTRITION OF FARM ANIMALS 



equal, then, it will clearly be desirable to have the water con- 

 sumption approximate as nearly as possible a continuous con- 

 sumption by having it constantly accessible, while if the stock 

 are watered only at intervals the temperature of the water may 

 need to be rather higher than in the other case. 



Shelter 



A protection from rain or snow and from wind may be of quite 

 as much importance as protection from low temperatures simply. 



541. Precipitation. An important factor in the case is 

 the amount of precipitation (rain or snow) to be expected dur- 

 ing the feeding period. In cold weather the low temperature 

 of the water which penetrates to the skin of animals is the cause 

 of a loss of heat which may be regarded as practically an ad- 

 dition to that due to the cold air, the extent of both losses being 

 affected by the thickness of the animal's coat. Far more im- 

 portant than this, however, is the expenditure of heat re- 

 quired to dry out the coat after it is wet, and this, as it would 

 seem and as some of the experiments with sheep seem to indi- 

 cate, would be greater with the heavier coated animal when it 

 has once become thoroughly wet. Still greater, relatively, is 

 the heat required to melt the snow falling on the animal or that 

 upon which it is compelled to lie. 



These effects, it will be observed, are largely independent of 

 the indications of the thermometer, and it is clear that the 

 nature of the climate as regards humidity and precipitation is 

 quite as important a factor as the temperature in its bearing 

 on the question of shelter, and that in many localities a roof to 

 shelter the animals from storms may be as efficient as a tight 

 barn. One advantage of the roof, already mentioned inci- 

 dentally, is that it provides the possibility of a dry bed, thus 

 not only adding to the comfort of the stock but avoiding ex- 

 penditure of energy in warming up or evaporating water or melt- 

 ing snow or ice. 



542. Wind. All are familiar with the greater severity of a 

 windy day as compared with a still one of the same temperature. 

 A large part of the protective value of the clothing of man or 

 the coat of an animal resides in the air entangled between the 

 fibers of the material. Wind tends to replace this air with fresh, 



