PREPARING FOODS FOR FEEDING 365 



them so that the ration shall be in approximate balance, 

 and yet there may be good reasons for feeding a ration 

 not strictly in balance (see p. 187). The nature of the ad- 

 ditions will, of course, be dependent on the ration. Where 

 leguminous fodders are plentiful, the balancing of the ra- 

 tion is usually much easier than when the opposite is true, 

 owing to the fact that the great food grain, corn, is so rich 

 in carbonaceous elements. 



Soaking food for stock. The value of soaking food 

 for stock will depend on the kind of food, the kind of stock 

 to which it is to be fed, and the object sought from feeding 

 it. As a rule food is seldom soaked when fed to horses, 

 cattle or sheep, but is very frequently soaked when prepar- 

 ing it for swine. 



It would seem correct to affirm that green fodders are 

 never soaked to prepare them for being fed to live stock, 

 and the same is generally true of dry fodders, but to this 

 there are some exceptions. When horses are hard at work, 

 it has, at least in some instances, been found advantageous 

 to feed meal on chaffed and moistened hay, as when so fed 

 the food could be more quickly consumed, that is, more of 

 it could be consumed during the limited time allotted to 

 horses for feeding, especially during the noon hour. With 

 cattle, no such necessity exists. When fodder is fed dry, 

 as compared with feeding it soaked, it is usually preferred 

 by cattle and also by sheep, and it is amply softened in the 

 various processes of digestion. Such food, however, will 

 better answer the end sought in feeding swine if it is first 

 soaked or steamed. Field roots and tubers also being of the 

 nature of green fodders, are not soaked preparatory to 

 feeding them, but in many instances cereals are soaked 

 either in the unground form or as meal, more especially 

 when fed to swine. 



Grain of any kind is seldom soaked for horses or cattle, 

 and the same is true of meal. Bran is sometimes made into a 

 mash for horses by adding water, frequently hot, and stirring 



