696 NUTRITION OF FARM ANIMALS 



and it is quite possible that they may, with safety, be con- 

 siderably reduced in some instances. 



Furthermore, the tables of the Appendix include no esti- 

 mates of the ash requirements. This is not because the 

 latter are unimportant, for it is not improbable that they may 

 at times be a controlling factor, but simply because study 

 in this field has not progressed far enough to permit of their 

 formulation. 



But while it has seemed desirable to emphasize here certain 

 defects of the feeding requirements as formulated, as a pre- 

 caution against their uncritical use, they are by no means to 

 be rejected as worthless but are capable of affording valuable 

 aid to the intelligent feeder. By their use he can get a general 

 idea of the feed requirements of his animals and can compute 

 rations which will approximately supply the requisite amounts 

 of protein and energy. His ability as a feeder will be shown, 

 first, in his power to estimate the conditions which will modify 

 the feed requirements of his particular animals and cause his 

 feeds to vary from the average, and second, in the skill with 

 which he can interpret the daily results and modify his feeding 

 in accordance with them. 



799. Dry matter. The amount of dry matter which the 

 ration contains must also be taken into consideration. The 

 total volume of feed which an animal requires, although rather 

 variable, has its limits. In computing rations the most con- 

 venient indication of the bulk of the feeds is the percentage of 

 dry matter shown in the first column of Tables VII, VIII and 

 IX of the Appendix. In very general terms it may be said 

 that a looo-pound ruminant should be given from 20 to 30 

 pounds of dry matter per day, 25 pounds being perhaps a 

 fair average, while for the horse smaller amounts will be 

 appropriate. 



An examination of the tables shows that concentrated feed- 

 ing stuffs contain much more protein and energy in proportion 

 to their dry matter than do the forage crops. Evidently, then, 

 in heavy feeding, where the purpose is to give the animal all the 

 feed possible, the ration should consist as largely as practicable 

 of concentrated feeding stuffs, because only in that way can the 

 required amount of nutriment be obtained without unduly in- 

 creasing the bulk of the ration. In light feeding, on the contrary, 



