306 " LICKS " WATEE CONSUMPTION 



ment and fed merely on grain, the supply of salt, phosphates, lime 

 and potash seems to be of great importance. 



"Licks," often consisting mainly of salt and sulphur, are largely 

 used by stock farmers. 



A commercial cattle lick, examined by the writer and extensively 

 advertised in South Africa, was found to consist mainly of common 

 salt, phosphate of lime and free sulphur, with small quantities of 

 silica, potash, sulphuric acid and magnesia. 



Another point of some interest is the bulk of the food, especially 

 for ruminating animals. American experiments have shown that 

 while it is possible to successfully feed cows on concentrated foods 

 (maize meal) only, for several months together, during which time 

 chewing the cud entirely ceases, yet with calves, rumination is essen- 

 tial and death ensues if coarse forage be withheld, 1 even though 

 abundance of milk and grain be supplied. 



iQuantity of Water Consumed in Proportion to Dry Food. 



This varies considerably in different animals and with different con- 

 ditions. According to Warington - the normal amounts are 



1 



For sheep 



horses 2 to 3 



, cattle 4 



With sheep, when fed on succulent food, no water to drink is, as 

 a rule, required. In dry climates, however, a sheep will drink from 

 1 to 6 quarts of water per day. With roots, in winter, much more 

 water than is necessary is taken, even though none be drunk, and the 

 addition of a little dry food meal or cake is decidedly economical. 



With horses, the proportion of water consumed varies greatly with 

 the amount of work done by the animal and with other circum- 

 stances. With the Paris cab horses, Grandeau found the average 

 proportion of water to dry matter in the food to be 2 f l : 1 when at rest 

 and 3*6 : 1 when working. 



With fattening oxen, American experiments 8 showed that from 

 1-6 to 3-4 Ib. of water per Ib. of dry matter were consumed and that 

 the largest amount of water was drunk when the food was richest in 

 protein. 



With milch cows, the average amount of water to each pound of 

 dry food is 4 Ib., according to American experiments ; but here again 

 a ration with a narrow albuminoid ratio requires more water than one 

 with a wide one. Thus, at the Wisconsin Station in 1886, it was 

 found that with food having an albuminoid ratio of 1 : 5'5 there were 

 4*33 Ib. of water drunk for each pound of dry matter, while with a 

 ratio of 1 : 8*6 only 2*41 Ib. were taken. A cow will usually drink 

 from 8 to 10 gal. per day, but if roots be supplied the quantity 

 will, of course, be considerably diminished. 



With pigs, the usual proportion of water consumed does not 

 appear to have often been recorded. In 1887, at Copenhagen, trials 



1 Vide Bulletins of the Utah (No. 46) and Illinois (21) Expt. Stations. 



2 Chemistry of the Farm. 



3 Georgeson, Bull. 34 and 39, Kansas Expt. Station. 



