11 G The Farmer^ s Business Handbook 



ACCOUNTS WITH RATIONS OF FARM ANIMALS 



There are other things besides those found in 

 the ledger which should be taken account of in 

 dealing with animals. It is not enough to note 

 the value of labor and food expended in the 

 stables, for if no attention is paid to the charac- 

 ter of the foods there may be loss which could 

 be changed into profit by a more judicious com- 

 pounding of the animal's ration. 



For instance, the milch cow does better when 

 fed a ration which does not depart widely from 

 1:5.4, while horses, at slow, laborious work, should 

 have the nutritive ratio widened to at least 1:7, — 

 that is, one unit of digestible proteids to seven 

 units of carbohydrates, including the vegetable 

 fats multiplied by 2%. It is evident that milch 

 cows, especially in the corn and timothy hay 

 districts, are likely to be fed too wide a ration, 

 that is, one which contains relatively too much 

 carbohydrates and too little protein. In districts 

 where alfalfa and oats are the chief food crops, 

 the work- horses are likely to be fed a too narrow 

 ration — one containing relatively too much pro- 

 tein and too little carbohydrates. In order to 

 give opportunity for the reader to take account 

 of feeding stuffs, and to discover how to feed 

 domestic animals scientifically and economically, 

 the following explanations and tables, prepared 



