50 VOELCKER on the Chemistry of Food. 



than that upon which store beasts may be fed with economy, and 

 thus the same food which may be valuable for store beasts will 

 often be found totally unfit for young stock. 



2. The various Kinds of Animals. We know by experience that 

 the best food for horses is by no means the best for cows or sheep, 

 and hence the nutritive value of an article of food will be different 

 in relation to horses from what it is in relation to cattle. The or- 

 ganization of the digestive organs of our domestic animals fully 

 accounts for the different effects which are often produced by the 

 same article of food when given to different kinds of animals. 

 Thus whilst beans are highly nutritious when given to horses, 

 their value for fattening cattle is far less striking ; and whilst cut 

 straw, given by itself, may support store cattle, it cannot sustain 

 for any length of time the life of sheep or horses. The nutritive 

 value of food thus varies with the description of the animals to 

 which it is given. 



3. The Natural Disposition or Temper of the Animals. Whilst 

 some animals, like the Herefordshire cows and shorthorns, are natu- 

 rally good fatteners, Welsh cattle and Kerry cows, to mention only a 

 few instances, never will become very fat, even if they are kept for 

 a long time on abundant supplies of the choicest food. The prac- 

 tical value of food thus is likewise influenced by the natural dis- 

 position of the animal which is kept upon it. 



4. The Purposes for which Animals are kept. The effect which 

 food is capable of producing is also influenced by the purposes 

 for which animals are kept on the farm. The value of food neces- 

 sarily will be a different one, if we speak in relation to working 

 animals, or fattening beasts, or cows kept for dairy purposes. 

 Thus, for instance, the same amount and kind of food which in 

 summer is hardly capable of keeping working horses in good 

 condition, is more than sufficient to render them plump and fat 

 in a short time in winter, when they are retained for days and 

 weeks together in the stable. The nutritive value of food thus is 

 influenced by the work done by the animal. The harder it is 

 kept at work, the greater the waste in muscle, and consequently 

 the richer the food ought to be in flesh-forming matters which is 

 given to working horses or bullocks. 



Highly nitrogenized food, however, though of great value when 

 given to working animals, does little good, and may even do harm 

 when given in too large a proportion to fattening beasts. Valu- 

 able food for fattening stock is food rich in starch, and still more 

 so, food rich in ready-made fat ; or, to speak generally, food not 

 so well adapted for working animals, because it does not contain 

 a sufficient quantity of muscle material. 



These few examples will show that the opinion which is enter- 

 tained respecting the nutritive value of food cannot be invariably 



