992 



THE COMPLETE GRAZIER. 



BOOK X. 



Cotton cake (decorticated) 



Linseed cake 



Beans 



Brewers' grain 



Malt dust 



Wheat bran 



Oats 



Pasture grass 



Barley 



Clover hay 



Meadow hay 



Maize 



Turnips . 



Potatoes . 



Mangel 



Barley straw 



" The advantage of knowing the albuminoid ratio of a food arises 

 from the fact that albuminoids play a specially distinct part in nutrition. 

 From the albuminoids the whole of the muscle and the other nitrogenous 

 tissues of the body are formed ; no other constituent of the food shares 

 in this function. The non-albuminoid constituents of food serve for 

 the production of heat and work in the animal body, and for the 

 production of fat. 



" The demand for albuminoids in the animal body is very different 

 at different stages of its existence. A very young animal requires for 

 rapid development a food rich in albuminoids : this fact is plainly in- 

 dicated by the composition of milk. The albuminoid ratio of the milk 

 of various animals is, on an average, as follows : 



" If, then, we wish to imitate nature, we must supply a young animal 

 with the diet rich in albuminoids. Linseed, and pea meal, are both 

 well known as excellent additions to the food of young animals. As 

 the animal grows, the proportion of albuminoids in its food may be 

 diminished. 



" When an animal is fully grown it can be kept in a store condition 

 most economically by feeding with a limited quantity of food poor in 

 albuminoids. The animal has now no increase in muscle to produce, 

 it has merely to replace the daily waste of tissue ; the other functions 

 of its body can all be maintained by the non-albuminoid constituents 

 of its food. If to such an animal any excess of albuminoids is given 

 over its actual requirements, the waste in the system becomes greater, 

 and the cost of maintaining the animal is increased. Store cattle and 

 sheep are generally supplied with straw chaff, and roots ; greater 

 economy is, however, obtained when the food is less bulky, and the 



