RESTFULNESS IN ANIMALS IO5 



When an animal is given an undue proportion of unnu- 

 tritious elements in the food fed to it, the labor put upon 

 it is excessive in digesting such food. Suppose it could 

 take enough to supply its needs, energy is thus expended to 

 no purpose, hence flesh-making, milk-giving or return in 

 physical work is so far hindered. Again an animal is being 

 fattened. It is given more concentrated foods than it can 

 properly digest. Energy is unduly drawn upon in the effort 

 of digestion to reduce and assimilate the excess, and again 

 in the effort of the secretions to carry off the waste. There 

 is thus a waste of energy, even though the power to digest 

 should not become impaired. Again, when food i given 

 not in the best condition of preparation for being easily 

 digested, the digestive powers are taxed unnecessarily. Po- 

 tatoes fed in the raw rather than in the cooked form to 

 swine that are being fattened, furnish an illustration of 

 such feeding. Happily, however, many foods as furnished 

 by nature are in the best condition for easy digestion as 

 nature has furnished them. 



The requirements of labor from the horse are excessive, 

 first, when more labor is required of him than his natural 

 physical endowment can endure, that is, when he is worked 

 beyond his strength; second, when more labor is exacted 

 than the food nutrients though digested can sustain ; third, 

 when the labor though not excessive in kind is excessive in 

 degree, either through being too violent in character as 

 when a horse is overdriven, or too long continued as when 

 he is worked too many hours. The law of equilibrium 

 between labor and rest demands that sufficient time must 

 be given from day to day to rest as well as to work, and 

 when this is not given the penalty of a lessened return 

 is exacted with unfailing certainty. 



Overwork in all these instances reduces the period for 

 profitable production and in proportion to the degree of 

 such overwork. The earlier in the life of the animal that the 

 overwork occurs, of course the more harmful it is, because 

 of the longer period that is affected by it. Animals are 



