I07 



COST. 



Those feeds are to be" employed which are in fact the 

 cheapest. It does not follow simply because a certain 

 grain or fodder costs but little, it is economy to feed' it. 

 The reverse is often the case, and the cheapest in price is 

 the dearest to employ. Purchasers must not be deceived 

 by the fallacy that the grain which gives the largest bulk 

 or heaviest weight per dollar expended, is necessarily the 

 most economical. There is no doubt that cottonseed or 

 linseed meal at a cost of $20 per ton, fed under proper 

 conditions and limitations, is a cheaper feed than bran or 

 corn meal at $15 per ton. Then again the market value 

 of a feedstuff does not depend upon its nutritive value. 

 Other influences than those of chemical composition ordi- 

 narily fix the relative commercial valuations of the various 

 grains and feeds. 



VARIETY. 



No matter how good any one certain kind of food may 

 1)6, it is no reason why it should be fed exclusively; 

 Whether the animal to be fed is horse, cow, pig or man, a 

 change from one diet to another is always relished and 

 welcomed. Any animal prospers better upon a variety of 

 foods than upon anj- single one. The same food eaten 

 day in and day out, week after week, and year upon year, 

 becomes distasteful to the consumer, and a change is 

 eagerly sought, even though it be from a better to a poorer 

 grade of fodder. This is well illustrated by what every 

 farmer has often observed, viz. the avidity with which 

 cattle kept long upon the best English hay, will consume 

 coarse meadow or salt hay or even straw. In truth variety 

 is the " spice of life." 



DIGESTIBILITY. 



It is what an animal digests that nourishes it, rather 

 than what it eats. A food may show a high analysis ; but 



