THE FEEDING OF THE ANIMAL 251 



general, for horses and cattle, about 18 pounds 

 per day of dry matter per 1,000 pounds live 

 weight is required for maintenance. 



460. It is from the food eaten in addition to 

 that required for maintenance that the profit 

 comes to the feeder. Hence, if an animal re- 

 ceives no more than enough to sustain life, it 

 can produce no profit to its owner. Much less 

 is there profit if an animal is allowed to lose 

 in weight ; for common experience has shown 

 that when an animal is once allowed to suffer 

 loss in weight, the loss is regained only at an 

 increased expenditure of food above what was 

 originally required to produce it. 



461. The amount of food that an animal can 

 use profitably over and above that required for 

 maintenance, depends upon the capacity of the 

 animal and the purpose of production. Most 

 animals will make a return approximately in 

 proportion to the food consumed, up to a cer- 

 tain amount. Above that amount, the food 

 simply passes through the animal ; or the di- 

 gestive apparatus becomes disordered and the 

 animal refuses to eat. However, the capacity 

 of different animals in this respect varies widely. 



462. Assume that six pounds per day per 

 1,000 pounds live weight is about the average 

 amount of dry matter that an animal can profit- 

 ably use above that required for support. It will 



