SECTION LX. CALCULATING RATIONS 

 FOR LIVE-STOCK 



A RATION is a supply of food for an animal for one day. 

 It is called a balanced ration when it contains just the 

 proportion of digestible protein to the carbohydrates and 

 fat that tests have shown to be best for that particular kind 

 of animal. A balanced ration for most animals contains 

 five or six times as much digestible carbohydrates and fat 

 as digestible protein. The proportion between digestible 

 protein and carbohydrates and fat is called the nutritive 

 ratio. It is obtained by multiplying the fat by 2\, adding 

 this product to the carbohydrates, and dividing the sum 

 by the quantity of protein. 



The table on page 321 shows what amounts of each of 

 these substances have been found best for different kinds 

 of animals. The longer table on page 322 shows how 

 many pounds of digestible substances there are in 100 

 pounds of the most common foods. From these two tables 

 can be calculated a ration that is best for a cow giving 

 milk, for a work horse, or for other animals. 



Examine both tables to learn whether a ration for a 

 horse at medium work could be made from corn and oat 

 straw. The shorter table shows that a ration for a horse 

 ought to contain about 6.2 times as many pounds of di- 



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