350 



THE ROTHAMSTED EXPERIMENTS. 



Revieto of 

 results. 



Constitu- 

 ents of 

 labour 

 rations. 



especially the case in Birmingham, Liverpool, and Edinburgh. 

 Oats and maize, nevertheless, contributed most of the corn ; 

 the maize generally predominating, whilst at the present time 

 it will doubtless do so in a greater degree. 



Reviewing the whole of the results which have been 

 adduced illustrating the characteristic food requirements for 

 the exercise of force, it may in the first place be observed 

 that the evidence is cumulative and decisive that, with 

 normal feeding, and with only moderate exercise, there is 

 practically no increased demand for the nitrogenous con- 

 stituents of food ; whilst there is, on the other hand, an 

 increased demand for the more specially respiratory con- 

 stituents, largely in proportion to the amount of force 

 exercised. If, however, the labour is abnormally heavy — 

 that is, if it be pushed to the point of dilapidation, as 

 indicated by loss of weight — there will, in that case, be an 

 increased elimination of nitrogen in the urine, resulting from 

 the degradation of nitrogenous substance, and accordingly an 

 increased demand for the nitrogenous constituents of food. 



Lastly, it is of interest to observe, that where the subject 

 has been the most carefully investigated, the rations adopted 

 for horses include scarcely any of the more highly nitrogenous 

 foods, such as leguminous seeds ; but, in addition to hay and 

 straw-chaff, consist almost exclusively of the comparatively 

 low-in-nitrogen cereal grains, and would, therefore, be char- 

 acterised by containing a comparatively large amount of 

 digestible non-nitrogenous constituents in proportion to the 

 digestible nitrogenous substance of the food. It has, however, 

 been found that in the case of old or overworked animals, it 

 is advantageous to supply a somewhat larger amount of the 

 highly nitrogenous leguminous seeds. In fact, as we put it 

 in 1852 — " a somewhat concentrated supply of nitrogen does, 

 however, in some cases, seem to be required when the system 

 is overtaxed ; as for instance, when day by day more labour 

 is demanded of the animal body than it is competent without 

 deterioration to keep up." 



Summary on the Feeding of Animals. 



In introducing the subject of the feeding of the animals of 

 the farm, attention was first called to the amount of the con- 

 stituents of the crops grown in an ordinary four-course rota- 

 tion, which would, if the grain only were at once sold, be 

 retained upon the farm for further use — in fact, for the pro- 

 duction of meat, milk, and manure, and for the exercise of 

 force. There will, as a rule, be a greater or less amount of 

 grass in admixture with the arable land of the farm ; and, 



