CHAPTER VIII 

 THE COMPUTATION OF RATIONS 



An Animal Uses Food for five distinct purposes : 



1. To replace the waste from all parts of the body. 



2. To produce heat to keep the body warm. 



3. To produce energy so that work may be done. 



4. To provide the building materials for larger 



growth or increase in muscle, fat, flesh, and 

 bone. 



5. To have materials in reserve for the formation 



of milk, wool, etc. 



These five purposes develop after the food is ab- 

 sorbed, and originate from the digestible nutrients 

 expressed in term's of protein, carbohydrates and fat. 

 To provide these nutrients in the quantity and pro- 

 portions that they should be fed, so as to satisfy 

 one or more of the five ends of feeding, makes neces- 

 sary the selection and compounding of rations. 



Three Kinds of Rations. As an example of how 

 a mixture of feeding stuffs may be devised so as to 

 yield the requisite amounts of the protein and 

 energy nutrients and at the same time be neither 

 too bulky nor too concentrated, one of the follow- 

 ing courses is generally open. Suppose a ration is 

 wanted for a herd of dairy cows. What class of food 

 shall be placed before the animals? In answer to 

 this question it is possible to furnish any one of 



