Lucerne : If s Feeding Value. 



(By R. W. THORNTON, Government Agricultural 

 Assistant.) 



SPEAKING at the quarterly meeting of the Zwart Ruggens 

 Farmers 1 Association on the 27th October, 1908, Mr. R. W. 

 Thornton, Government Agriculturist, said : 



The reason for choosing this subject is, firstly, because Oraaff- 

 Reinet is a good stock district, and secondly, because your district, 

 like most o'; the Midlands, suffers from drought at different times, 

 .and quantities of foodstuffs are purchased from time to time. What 

 I wish to point out is the absolute necessity of changing diet for 

 our stock or the use of 



COMPLETE FOODS, 



and secondly, to find out the relative value of different fodders 

 offered on the market at different times, so as to enable us to see 

 which is the cheapest for us to purchase for any special purpose. 



Practically the only two complete foods we have are milk and 

 eggs. These contain nitrogenous matter and non-nitrogenous 

 matter in the right proportion to each other that support animal life 

 in all its parts. By nitrogenous matter is meant roughly the 

 material which gives muscle and strength. The non-nitrogenous 

 matter is composed largely of starch, sugar and fats, which produce 

 heat and force. The proportion between nitrogenous and non- 

 nitrogenous digestible constituents in a food is of the greatest 

 importance, as upon this the economical and successful feeding of 

 animals depends. This proportion is called the albumenoid or 

 or nutritive ratio. By working out this ratio from the analysis of 

 any food, its value for any special purpose such as fattening stock, 

 growing feathers, etc., can be arrived at, and by the unit system of 

 valuation the actual money value of a food can be ascertained. In 

 the unit value albuminoids are worth three times the value of 

 starch and sugar, and the . fat two-and-a-half times the value of 

 starch and sugar. 



