STOCK FEEDING 295 



generally placed at 1 to 5.2. Many farmers would find it better to 

 sell a part of their corn and purchase some food stuff, like linseed 

 meal, rich in protein instead of feeding so much corn. 



The feeding of unbalanced rations is often not only disastrous 

 to the farmer from a financial point of view, but it is also likely to 

 prove detrimental to the proper growth and development of the 

 stock. 



A Narrow Ration. When the amount of the carbohydrates and 

 digestible fat is relatively small compared with the amount of 

 proteid present, the ratio is narrow and the ration is designated as a 

 narrow ration. Oil meal has a ratio of 1 to 1.7, and a feed made 

 up of this alone would afford only a narrow ration. In fact, any 

 ration less than one to five may be designated as a narrow 

 ration. 



A Wide Ration. When the amount of carbohydrates and di- 

 gestible fat is relatively large compared with the amount of protein 

 on hand, the ratio is large and we have what is designated as a 

 wide ration. For example, . the nutritive ratio of oat straw is 

 1 to 33.7, which would make it a feed having a wide ration. Any 

 feed in which the ratio is much over 1 to 9 would be regarded as 

 a feed of wide ration. 



A Medium Ration. When the nutritive ratio is not less than 

 1 to 6 nor more than 1 to 10, the ration is designated by some 

 authorities as a medium one. Thus in common maize or Indian 

 corn, which has a ratio of 1 to 9.8, we have an example of a medium 

 ration. 



Feeding Standards. Many trials or feeding experiments have 

 been made for the purpose of determining the proper ratio of the 

 carbohydrates and fats to the amount of protein necessary, but the 

 standards generally accepted are those prepared originally by 

 Wolff and subsequently modified by Lehmann. (See Tables 1, 2, 

 and 3, Appendix.) These standards must not be followed slav- 

 ishly, but should be modified as circumstances may seem to 

 demand. Such standards, however, are useful as a basis of com- 

 parison and as guides in the selection of proper food stuffs in 

 making up rations. 



Compounding Rations. It is evident that we must combine 

 several kinds of foods in order to secure the proper proportion of 



