220 FARMING ON FACTORY LINES 



The fact that a large portion of the food supplied to 

 an animal goes to maintenance, in other words simply 

 serves to keep the animal living, whilst the surplus 

 goes to produce increase of weight, milk, etc., is all 

 important. 



MAINTENANCE AND PRODUCTION 



For instance, a bullock weighing 10 cwt. wants 

 about 1 st. of meadow hay and 3 st. of swedes per 

 day, practically half a daily ration, as a maintenance 

 diet. It is the food over and above this quantity which 

 is available for the putting on of flesh. Therefore, the 

 shorter the fattening period can be made — without, of 

 course, risking over-feeding — the less dead loss there 

 is as regards the maintenance dietary. 



In the case of pigs, sheep, and dairy cows, this loss 

 from under-feeding is more pronounced. Hence the 

 folly of a large number of farmers, in Ireland especi- 

 ally, of keeping dairy cows dry all winter — cows 

 which are dairy cows in summer and pensioners in 

 winter. 



THE REAL NUTRIENTS OF FOOD 



We can further subdivide the digestible portions of 

 food into three parts, known respectively as (1) albu- 

 minoids or as this part is sometimes called, proteids or 

 protein, (2) fat or oil, and (3) carbohydrates. Each of 

 these food ingredients has a definite function to per- 

 form in the animal body. 



Just as a man who sets about building a wall wants 



