318 ARID AGRICULTURE. 



the different foods, to guide us in computing a 

 balanced ration, and determining what is best to 

 feed under the circumstances. These standards 

 of feeding are highly valuable, often enabling 

 the farmer to save large sums by supplying his 

 animals the correct combination of foods from 

 the cheaper feeds on the market, and to reach the 

 best results -from his feeding in the shortest time, 



THE RATION Western stock foods are as different from 



those of the East as are our other conditions. 

 This means that recommendations made for 

 humid Eastern States are not suitable for the 

 solution of our own feeding problems. In the 

 West our fodders and grains are unusally rich 



O tJ 



in the nitrogen compounds, which we call pro- 

 tein. It is difficult to get enough of the fat- 

 forming elements in our food combinations. 

 Protein does not entirely take the place of car- 

 bo-hydrates and fat. This substance has been 

 the basis upon which rations were built because 

 it is scarce and expensive in most parts of the 

 world. It seems to be true that animals fed a 

 ration which is rich in protein make better 

 growth when young than those which do not re- 

 ceive this growth-producing material ; but older 

 animals do not lay on the fat or make the gains 

 they should if the ration is too rich in protein. 

 The problem in Europe and in the East is to get 

 enough protein; the problem in the West is to 

 get enough carbo-hydrates. 



