IOO PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING 



the really vital information bearing upon live stock 

 feeding is of a highly technical nature, and it is 

 not within the province of this volume to enter 

 into a scientific or technical discussion of the 

 facts. There are certain basic principles, how- 

 ever, underlying the science, which are essential 

 to success, and which are observed by all ex- 

 perienced feeders. These principles are based 

 upon the chemical composition of the animal body 

 and upon the chemical composition of the forage 

 and grain used to produce animal bodies. While 

 there are many subdivisions of these materials, 

 they may all be roughly divided into two general 

 classes, which are known as nitrogenous and non- 

 nitrogenous. The former composes, in a large de- 

 gree, the muscular tissue of the body, while the 

 latter class forms animal fat and serves to keep 

 up the body heat. The forages and grains com- 

 monly used in animal feeding may also be divided 

 roughly, according to chemical composition, into 

 two similar groups, one of which contains a pre- 

 ponderance of the materials used in building up 

 the muscular or nitrogenous parts of the animal 

 body, and the other containing a large proportion 

 of the chemical elements going to build up the 

 non-nitrogenous portions of the body. The science 

 of successful feeding consists of the blending of 

 these two classes of feeds in such proportions that 

 the best results will be secured in the animal 

 growth. Protein is a term commonly applied to 

 the muscle-building material in foods. The legu- 

 minous hays, such as clover, alfalfa and cowpeas, 

 and such grains as oats, wheat and barley, are rich 

 in this material. Carbohydrates is the term very 

 commonly applied to the fat and heat-forming 

 foods. Such forages as corn fodder, timothy and 



