STATICS 141 



certain pecuniary economy can therefore be effected by using 

 considerable quantities of roots, but excessive amounts should 

 be avoided. Owing to their watery character, deficiency in 

 protein and other characteristics, it is probably not profit- 

 able, under ordinary circumstances, to give more than about 

 50 or 60 Ibs. per 1000 Ibs. live weight per day. Many men 

 of large experience prefer to give even less. 



The cost of the thermic energy in hay and cereal straws 

 works out to about i$s. to 17^. per 1000 kt. The digestibility 

 of both substances is of course taken into account in this 

 estimate, but the amount of protein they contain is not. When 

 the latter is considered, it will be found that, at the prices 

 mentioned, hay is much the cheaper of the two. Any deficiency 

 of protein must be made up from other and more expensive 

 foods, and the deficiency would be much greater in a ration 

 consisting largely of straw than in one of hay. Straws and the 

 inferior qualities of hay are not suitable for horses though they 

 may profitably enter into the rations of ruminants. 



Coarse fodders, such as hay and straw, are not suitable for 

 pigs, and even the maintenance rations 1 for these animals 

 must, therefore, consist largely of the finer meals and offals. 

 Several foods, e.g. rape cake, locust beans, brewer's grains, 

 sharps, bran, pollards, rice meal, and maize, can be obtained 

 at prices which work out at about i per 1000 kt., and some 

 of these are suitable. All the other foods, except wet brewer's 

 grains, are more expensive. Barley costs about 26s. and 

 potatoes about 19^. per 1000 kt., the latter being charged at 

 only 30^. per ton. According to the figures given in the tables, 

 brewer's grains in the wet condition are cheaper even than 

 roots ; they are also relatively rich in protein, but are not 

 suitable for maintenance rations, and there are other objections 

 to their use (p. 281). 



Too much importance should not be attached to these 

 conclusions. The composition of the foods is subject to con- 

 siderable variation, and market prices fluctuate from day to 



1 Pigs are not usually kept in store condition, but it will be shown 

 later that every animal must receive a sufficient maintenance ration, 

 whether it gets anything additional for fattening, etc., or not. 



