COTTON-SEED CAKE. 129 



oished by the food. A perfect food must supply the 

 animal with these three classes of bodies, and in proper 

 proportions. The addition of a small quantity of a food 

 rich in oil and albuminous substances to the ordinary 

 kinds of feed, which contain a large quantity of vegeta- 

 ble fibre or woody matter, more or less indigestible, but 

 nevertheless indispensable to the herbivorous animals, 

 their digestive organs being adapted to a bulky food, 

 has been found highly advantageous in practice. Nei- 

 ther hay alone nor concentrated food alone gives the 

 best results. A certain combination of the two pre- 

 sents the most advantages. 



A Bavarian farmer has recently announced that heif- 

 ers fed, for three months before calving, with a little 

 linseed-cake, in addition to their other fodder, acquire 

 a larger development of the milk-vessels, and yield 

 more milk afterwards, than similar animals fed as usual. 

 Cotton-seed cake must have an equally good effect. 



Some of those who have used cotton-seed cake have 

 found difficulty in inducing cattle to eat it. By giving 

 it at first in small doses, mixed with other palatable 

 food, they soon learn to eat it with relish. 



On comparing the analyses II. and I. with the aver- 

 age composition of linseed-cake IV., it will be seen that 

 the cotton-seed cake is much richer in oil and albumi- 

 nous matters than the linseed-cake. A correspondingly 

 less quantity will therefore be required. Three pounds 

 of this cotton-seed cake are equivalent to four of linseed- 

 cake of average quality. 



During the winter season, as already remarked, a fre- 

 quent change of food is especially necessary, both as 

 contributing to the general health of animals, and as a 

 means of stimulating the digestive organs, and thus 

 increasing the secretion of milk. A mixture used as 

 cut feed, and well moistened, is now especially benefi- 



9 



