CHAPTER V. 



FOODS AND FOOD VALUES. 



Readers of the poultry and agricultural press are continually 

 coming across expressions the meaning of which they but dimly 

 comprehend. They read of "narrow" and "wide" rations, "pro- 

 teids" and "carbohydrates," "concentrates" and "coarse foods." All 

 this in most cases is so much Greek. I have talked with many 

 intelligent poultry keepers, but have rarely found one who could 

 tell why he fed as he did, apart from the fact that his ration had 

 justified itself in experience. And yet a little knowledge of the 

 elementary principles of scientific feeding may be of great value. 

 It will enable a man to feed more economically, as he can often 

 substitute for a high-priced food one much lower in price, and 

 also to feed so that he can secure the results he is after without 

 loss of time or waste in any way. It is my purpose in this chap- 

 ter to make the matter of foods and feeding so simple that any- 

 one can understand it. 



PROTEIDS THINGS THAT BUILD UP. 



The food that is eaten has three functions to perform. The 

 first is to build up. In the animal body a process of waste and 

 repair is continually going on. Old tissues are breaking down 

 and being replaced by new ones. It is evident that if an exact 

 balance is to be preserved considerable food must be eaten. But 

 besides this process of waste and repair another process may be 

 going on that of growth and manufacture. In the chick, for 

 instance, the frame is being built up rapidly, the feathers are com- 

 ing out, and the flesh and muscles receive their daily increment. 

 In the laying hen the egg is being formed. Now there are cer- 

 tain elements in the food that is taken that go to repair the waste 

 and build up the body ; they also enter largely into the manufac- 

 tured product the milk of the cow and the egg of the hen. 

 These elements are called proteids. They are absolutely neces- 

 sary to the life and health of the animal, and must be furnished in 

 sufficient quantities or decay and death will ensue. 



