PREPARING FOODS FOR STOCK 131 



foods or gruels fed warm, any benefit derived is more 

 due to their being fed warm than to the actual cooking. 



10. Condiments. These are generally vegetable 

 substances which give flavour and often aroma to 

 unpalatable foods, thus making them acceptable to 

 stock. Appetising foods appear to increase the flow 

 of the digestive juices, and encourage stock to eat a 

 larger quantity than they would otherwise do. In 

 fattening cattle this is very important, since, generally 

 speaking and within certain limits, the more food the 

 animal can be induced to eat, the quicker it will fatten, 

 and some saving will have been effected on the food, 

 more especially with regard to the maintaining of 

 the body temperature at approximately 40 F. above 

 atmospheric temperature for a shorter period than 

 would otherwise have been the case. 



In the case of horses doing hard work, they may 

 not eat a sufficient quantity of unattractive foods to 

 enable them to perform their daily work, consequently 

 they lose flesh, but with the addition of some condimental 

 food they may often be induced to eat sufficient food 

 each day to keep them fit and trim for the work. 



The same argument could be applied to young 

 animals which are growing rapidly. Hence for rapid 

 growth, fattening, and for work, even with concentrated 

 but possibly tasteless or unpalatable foods, it is advis- 

 able and often necessary to add spices to the ration to 

 make it more appetising. 



With inferior foods, such as hay which has. been 

 weathered and probably gone slightly mouldy, it is 

 very necessary to add spices or condiments to disguise 

 the flavour. Theoretically such hay should not be fed, 

 but in practice it is often necessary to use hay up 

 in this way. 



