92 LESSONS IX AGRICULTURE 



is a power house ; the cow is a milk factory ; the sheep, a 

 wool factory; the hen, an egg factory, and the hog, a 

 meat factory. In order to get these products from our 

 animal factories, we must feed them the raw materials 

 from which they can make these products. Herein lies 

 the problem of the whole system of stock feeding. The 

 farmer must determine the best and most economical food 

 to be used in order to produce the desired results. 



Foods are divided into three classes: fats, protein, 

 and carbohydrates. The following are examples of these 

 foods : 



Fat meats, butter, lard, and all kinds of oils, come 

 under the class of fats. The white of an egg is the best 

 example of protein. The sticky part of flour, the princi- 

 pal part of cheese, lean meat, glue, hides, hair, wool, and 

 feathers, are largely protein. Starch, sugar, and vege- 

 table fibre are the carbohydrates. The fats are usually 

 included under carbohydrates also, and may thus be 

 considered in these lessons. Carbohydrates are foods con- 

 taining carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen in combination. 

 The protein foods differ from the carbohydrates in that 

 they contain nitrogen in addition to other elements. 



Balanced rations. All the common stock foods have 

 more or less of the three kinds of materials mentioned 

 above fats, protein, and carbohydrates. A balanced 

 ration is one that has the proper amount of protein and 

 carbohydrates to secure the animal product desired. 

 The balanced ration usually given for a dairy cow 

 and a work horse is one in which there is about six 



