238 LIVESTOCK ON THE FARM 



and is getting 0.5 pound in its ration, it will be able to store up 

 in its body 0.4 pound provided there is no waste. However, 

 on account of the tendency of the animal body to establish 

 nitrogen equilibrium, this 0.4 pound that at first was used to 

 increase the store of protein and thereby add to the live weight 

 will gradually decrease. After feeding 0.5 pound for some time 

 there will be a tendency to establish nitrogen equilibrium so 

 that the animal body will be excreting more and storing less 

 protein in its body. In order further to increase the store of 

 protein of the body, it will be necessary to increase the amount 

 fed. 



Suppose now that the pig has come to a point of nitrogen 

 equilibrium by eating 0.7 pound of protein for every 100 

 pounds live weight daily. As it gets older the pig normally 

 eats a smaller quantity of feed per 100 pounds live weight daily, 

 which naturally also decreases the protein supply. In order to 

 show what will take place under these conditions, the ilus- 

 tration above mentioned will again be taken up at the pointl at 

 which it was left. Grant that the young man has come to a 

 monetary equilibrium when he is receiving a salary of $100 a 

 month. If now his salary is cut down to $75 per month, what 

 will take place? Having become accustomed to living at the 

 rate of $100 a month, he will on his reduced salary, at least for 

 some time, draw on his bank account to supply the deficiency. 

 But knowing that his bank account under these conditions will 

 eventually disappear, he may gradually accustom himself to 

 living less extravagantly, finally reaching an equilibrium at 

 $75 a month. This then will reduce the factor that is drawing 

 upon his bank account, and if he is of an economical disposition 

 he will reduce his living to a little less than $75 a month, again 

 enabling him to add to his store in the bank. The amount he 

 can save, however, will not be so great as it was at the begin- 

 ning of the period when his salary was increased from $50 to 

 $75 a month. This is true because it is a difficult matter to 

 reduce the expense of living to the point at which it was before 

 extravagant habits were formed. If now, his salary is reduced 

 to $50 a month, or to the point at which he started, the same 

 process of drawing on his bank account to supply the defi- 

 ciency will be repeated, and it will be with very great difficulty 



