136 THE DOMESTIC SHEEP. 



These masterpieces of sheep culture, as well as the quite 

 equal work of a full century of the English breeders, has only 

 concentrated the excellent feeding qualities of the best sheep, 

 and fixed the type so that it is inherited with certainty 



We cannot ignore the excellent results of feeding upon 

 the fleece. This, as has been said, is a similar product to 

 the hair of other animals. Every one acquainted with the 

 best breeds of cattle knows how the hair is softened, and in- 

 creased in thickness upon the skin of those animals having 

 the mellow touch due to the layer of fat immediately under 

 the skin. This is a similar instance, to be well considered, 

 for all animals are made of one blood, and amenable to the 

 same natural laws; and what happens in the feeding of cat- 

 tle must apply equally to the feeding of sheep. 



THE NUTRITIVE RATIO. 



We have mentioned the nutritive ratio. This term, how- 

 ever well understood by scientific people, is not so well so 

 by others. We therefore explain the meaning of the term 

 and the method of finding it from the known composition 

 of the various foods as given in the table on a succeeding 

 page. 



A great many, thousands in fact, of careful experiments 

 have been made especially by the German chemists at the 

 scientific stations, of the common food substances. These 

 bear a comparative value as the composition of each varies. 

 But as any feeder may desire to select any one or more 

 of the various foods for his use, moved thereto by various 

 good reasons, as the cheapness or dearness, or the supply of 

 different kinds, we have the means of easily determining 

 what quantity of this or that may be equivalent to others, 

 We therefore refer to the table of analyses of composition 

 of the various kinds of foods, and the amount of their diges- 

 tible nutriments, and by ascertaining the relative character 

 of each, we may easily compound a suitable ration with 

 fixed nutritive value, of any of them. 



For example: Let us take good meadow hay, and find its 

 nutritive ratio. Turnin,g to the table of compositions we 

 find that this kind of hay is made up of these nutrients: 



