770 the farmers' handbook. 



The pancreatic juice contains a number of ferments which continue the 

 conversion of starch into sugar, and of fats and albuminoids into digestible 

 substances. It also contains rennet, the substance which curdles milk. 



In the larger intestine, the process of digestion is continued and completed ; 

 fermentation takes place, producing a partial digestion of the woody fibre of 

 the food. 



Digestion is a very slow process in animals and takes from three to four 

 days at least. In the case of sheep it has been found that digestion was not 

 completed till seven or eight days after the food has been taken. 



Bulk and Flavour. 



The bulk of the food supplied is also a matter of considerable importance 

 in selecting a ration. All animals require a certain bulk in their ration, and 

 feeding with concentrated foods alone does not give satisfactory results.. 

 This is especially the case with ruminants, which require in their food a 

 large proportion of ingredients that are innutritious and that have only a 

 mechanical action. 



The ingredients which give bulk to the food are water and woody-fibre. 

 Natural herbage, hay, straw, &c, provide these in the proper proportion, but 

 when cake and more concentrated foods are resorted to, it is necessary to 

 avoid the extremes of over-bulkiness or coarseness on the one hand, and of 

 over-concentration on the other. If the food is too bulky the animal is 

 unable to eat enough to provide itself with the proper nourishment; thus, 

 rations containing an excessive amount of fibre are unpalatable, and those 

 containing excessive quantities of water are laxative. 



If, on the other hand, the ration given is too concentrated, it does not exert 

 the necessary mechanical action upon the stomach, and the digestive juices 

 do not act properly. 



Palatabdlity of the food supplied is another point which has to be con- 

 sidered in devising a ration. 



An animal fed on the same ration continually loses appetite, and does not 

 derive the full benefit from its food. A highly nutritious ration persisted 

 in without change may be of less economic value than a succession of less 

 nutritious foods properly alternated. 



Palatability is largely influenced by variety, and by the amount of water, 

 which gives succulence. 



The value of the excreta as manure is also a point that has to be taken into 

 consideration in selecting the most economical kind of food. 



The actual manurial value of the different foods varies enormously, rang- 

 ing from 4s. per ton in the case of turnips to £5 13s. per ton in the case of 

 cotton-seed cake. 



In the selection of an economical food, this point requires careful con- 

 sideration, since the value of the excreted matter varies, not only in the 

 foods themselves, but according to the proportions digested by different 

 animals. 



Classification of Feeding Stuffs. 



It will be convenient to classify the different fodders that are on the 

 market according to the particular ingredient in which they are especially 

 rich, or which gives them their character as a food. 



None of them are suitable for feeding without admixture for any length 

 of time, and the feeder's art consists in so combining them as to provide a 

 cheap and palatable food approaching in composition one or other of the 

 rations which experience has shown to be the most suitable for the particular 

 animal and the particular object in view. Feedinsr-stuffs can be divided 

 into six classes, according to their richness in the different ingredients. 



