110 Feeds and Feeding. 



is incorrect when he bases the total qnantity of food to be snp 

 plied on the organic substance contained, instead of the dry 

 matter, as originally stated by Lingenthal and Grouven. Again, 

 Wolff places the allowance of organic matter required by the 

 dairy cow at 25 pounds; Kiihn tells us this may vary between the 

 extremes of 20 and 33.5 pounds. Changes in the amount of dry 

 matter supplied should, however, always be gradual. Kiihn fur- 

 ther protests against prescribing exact quantities of nutrients as 

 norms or standards. ''For the individual nutrients, as for the 

 total amount of food, it is essential to determine the amount for 

 each individual case, and in doing this the particular conditions 

 should be considered." Wolff does not distinguish between 

 digestible albuminoids and amides; Kiihn holds that the lower 

 nutritive effect of amide compounds can no longer be doubted, 

 and that these amides can at best serve only as albuminoid con- 

 servers, like the carbohydrates, aud further that tl.e non- albu- 

 minoid protein includes compounds which do not even exert this 

 conserving action and whose nutritive function is very doubtful. 

 Grouven fixed the total protein (digestible and indigestible) 

 for the dairy cow at 2. 74 pounds, while Wolff places the standard 

 at 2.5 of digestible albuminoids and amides. Kiihn states that 

 the cow of high productive capacity during her largest flow of 

 milk requires more than 2.5 pounds of digestible protein, while 

 smaller amounts than Wolff names should be given with dimin- 

 ishing milk flow. Again, the ether extract or so-called "fat" 

 of food varies in nutritive effect according to its origin; that from 

 oil cake, for example, having a higher feeding value than that 

 found in coarse fodders. In the same way, nitrogen-free extract 

 includes substances of variable composition, some of which are 

 of questionable nutritive value, and to count all these as equiva- 

 lent to starch for feeding purposes is far from correct. Finally, 

 Kiihn lays stress on the importance of individual feeding, declar- 

 ing that the stockman must carefully study the requirements of 

 each animal and nourish it according to its individual wants, 

 instead of placing all members of the herd or flock on inflexible 

 rations constructed according to definite standards. He con- 

 cludes that fodders vary so greatly in composition that to use 



