GENERAL FEEDING 459 



the form of legumes of high palatability lessens the re- 

 quirement in concentrates in proportion as the former are 

 fed; (10) this reduction may in some instances be fully 

 50 per cent, as when cattle and sheep that are being fat- 

 tened and cows in milk are being fed freely on high class 

 clover or alfalfa hay. 



It is to be borne in mind that the figures submitted 

 above are to be regarded as only approximate. They are 

 intended to be general rather than specific guides. 



Changing foods. In discussing this question, it is safe 

 to affirm: (i) That any marked change in the diet of 

 farm animals should be made gradually; (2) that a change 

 from dry food to pasture in the spring will result in a loss 

 in live weight if made suddenly and (3) that changing 

 from plentiful pastures in the autumn to dry feed will also 

 result in lessened gains for a time, unless made with great 

 care. 



Sudden changes in the food given to animals are to 

 be avoided, for the reason that the digestive system has 

 in many instances shown that it is unable to accommodate 

 itself at once to such a change, hence digestive derangement 

 follows, which in all instances means loss. Such changes 

 sometimes result in scouring, as when animals are changed 

 suddenly from a dry to a watery diet, as for instance from 

 winter to summer food, or when large quantities of field 

 roots are quickly added to the winter ration, also when 

 large quantities of the tops of field roots are added to the 

 autumn pastures. Sometimes they induce constipation, as 

 when changing from autumn pastures to a diet without any 

 succulence in it. In other instances they overtax the diges- 

 tion so as permanently to weaken it, as when animals unused 

 to grain are too quickly led up to a full feed of the same. If 

 the change is gradually made, after the lapse of a sufficient 

 time, the system can digest without hazard or harm, quanti- 

 ties of the newly introduced food elements that would as- 

 suredly have produced serious digestive derangement had 

 they been given at the first. 



