62 



FARMER'S CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK 



Quantity of salt for different ani- 

 mals — The following quantities of salt 

 are generally considered sufficient to 

 meet the daily needs of different farm 

 animals: Medium sized cattle % ounce 

 to 2 ounces; horse V2 to 1 ounce; slurp 

 or swine 1-6 to 1-3 ounce; chickens not 

 to exceed 1 ounce for 100 fowls per day 

 or 5 ounces in every 100 pounds of food. 



A convenient and satisfactory way of 

 supplying salt is in the lump form as 

 rock salt. If left under cover where the 

 animals can get at it at will, they will 

 eat only the amount they require. If, 

 however, they are deprived of salt for a 

 long period and then allowed to eat at 

 will they may take an excess. 



Besides the actual physiological value 

 of salt in the animal system it plays an 

 important role in the preparation of 

 fodders, often making them palatable 

 where otherwise animals might refuse 

 to eat them. 



SUMMARY OF THE LAWS OF NU- 

 TRITION 



In order to get a clear insight into the 

 principles of animal nutrition it will be 

 desirable to summarize briefly in one 

 place what has been treated in preced- 

 ing pages more at length, together with 

 a further statement of the laws govern- 

 ing animal nutrition. We have seen 

 that animals and plants are made up of 

 like elements and that animals grow, fat- 

 ten, work and produce milk, eggs and 

 other products as a result of the food 

 (including salt and water) they con- 

 sume and the air they breathe. 



Foods taken into the body in the form 

 of grass, hay, and grain are not entirely 

 digested. It is only the digested food 

 that is of value to the animal. The re- 

 mainder is excreted as waste. 



Practically all normal feeds contain 

 sufficient mineral matter to meet all the 

 demands of animals and if the animals 

 are allowed free access to salt and water 

 they will attend to their needs in these 

 respects without further attention from 

 the feeder. 



The three constituents of feeding 

 stuffs which demand most consideration 

 on the part of the feeder are protein, 

 carbohydrates and fat. 



Protein i s absolutely essential to the 

 production and repair of muscles, blood, 

 nerves, brain and all the tissues of the 

 body. It is necessary to the production 

 of casein of milk and albumen in eggs. 



The greatest amount of protein is re- 

 quired by growing animals or animals 

 producing milk or eggs, but all ani- 

 mals of every age whether producing or 

 not require some protein. 



Carbohydrates cannot produce or re- 

 pair tissue. They can be used for the 

 formation of fat either in the body or in 

 milk and as a source of energy and heat. 

 For these purposes (energy, heat and 

 fat production) the carbohydrates are 

 equal in value to protein. While car- 

 bohydrates cannot take the place of pro- 

 tein, they do serve to protect the protein 

 in the body from consumption so that 

 when carbohydrates are fed with protein 

 a much less quantity 01 protein is re- 

 quired in the ration. 



Fat fulfills the same functions in the 

 ration for animals that the carbohy- 

 drates do except that as a source of en- 

 ergy and heat it is about 2.25 times as 

 valuable. Fat cannot be used in the 

 building or repair of tissue. It may be 

 stored in the body as fat or may serve 

 as a source of fat in mills:. It serves 

 likewise to protect the protein from con- 

 sumption so that when fat is fed in the 

 ration with protein a much less quantity 

 of protein is required. 



Any of the food constituents, protein, 

 fat, or carbohydrates may be used as 

 a source of energy and beat. Any may 

 be used for fat production, though the 

 chief sources of fat are the food fats 

 and carbohydrates. The carbohydrates 

 and fats may serve to protect protein 

 from consumption. Pi'otein is the only 

 food constituent that can build up and 

 repair tissue and maintain the vital 

 functions. 



Relative to the changes which foods 

 undergo in the body, it does not appear 

 that protein can be manufactured in the 

 body, but must come to the body ready 

 formed in the food. The food fats are 

 modified in the body into the charac- 

 teristic fat of the animal as lard, tal- 

 low, oil, etc, and the body can build up 

 fats out of simpler substances like the 

 carbohydrates. The stored energy of the 

 foods is made available to the animal 

 through chemical process by which the 

 more complex compounds are broken 

 down into simpler ones like water and 

 carbonic acid. The energy released in 

 these chemical processes, which are 

 largely those of cleavage and oxidation, 

 for the most part ultimately appears as 

 heat. 



