[ 634 ] 



in the rough, or properly washed, or cooked, or dried as hay 

 and (6) health. 



1.094. Digestibility is not affected by the following cir- 

 cumstances : (i) age of the animal ; (2) quantity given (f. e. t 

 by starving an animal a higher proportion of the small quanti- 

 ty given is not digested) ; (3) labour (i. ., bullocks at rest 

 and at work digest the same proportions of the different 

 constituents). 



1.095. The addition of the following substances to food 

 helps digestion : 



(1) Nitrogenous food, such as bran, oil-cake, wheat, bean- 

 meal &c. 



(2) Oil, at the rate of i Ib. per day per 1,000 Ibs, of live- 

 weight. 



(3) Starch or sugar, e. g.> potatoes, mangolds, provided the 

 albuminoid ratio of the whole food does not fall below i : 8. 

 The addition of search or sugar -ordinarily reduces the digesti- 

 bility of food, but when the albuminoid ratio is increased by 

 the addition of oil-cake : bean-meal &c., then the digesti- 

 bility of the food is increased by the addition of sugar or 

 starch. 



(4) Salt. 



(5) Agreeable flavour is also helpful to digestion, hence 

 the advisability of mixing fenugrek. 



(6) The proper proportion of water is of great value in 

 helping digestion. In the case of cattle the proportion of 

 water to dry food should be as 4 : i, and in the case of heep 

 as 2 : i ; but in this climate a higher proportion of water is 

 probably necessary. 



1,096. Grains, potatoes, and root-crops generally are 

 nearly completely digested. The higher the proportion of 

 nitrogenous matter contained in hay or straw the greater is 

 its digestibility. Of 100 parts of fat, proteids, carbohydrates 

 and fibres, in various food-stuffs, the proportions digested 

 are given below, though the figures must be understood in 



