Feeding Standards — Calculating Rations. 



109 



of the ratio. The nutritive ratio of corn stover given in Table III 

 is thus found : 



Diges. fat 

 0.7 X 



Heat equiv. 

 2.25 



Diges. carbohy. 

 31.2 



Second factor of 

 nutritive ratio 



23.4 



1.4 

 Diges. crude protein 



Nutritive ratios are expressed with the colon, thus, 1 : 23.4. The 

 nutritive ratio of corn stover is therefore 1 : 23.4 ; i. e. for each lb. 

 of digestible crude protein in corn stover there are 23.4 lbs. of 

 digestible carbohydrates or fat equivalent. A feed or ration having 

 much crude protein in proportion to carbohydrates and fat com- 

 bined is said to have a narrow nutritive ratio; if the reverse, it has a 

 wide nutritive ratio. Oat straw has the wide nutritive ratio of 

 1 : 31.8, corn the medium one of 1 : 9.8 and protein-rich linseed 

 meal the very narrow ratio of 1 : 1.6, the carbohydrates being less 

 than twice the crude protein. 



132. Concerning rations. — On the farm a ration is the feed allowed 

 or set apart to maintain a given animal during a day of 24 hours, 

 whether all thereof is administered or fed at one time or in portions 

 at different times. 



A balanced ration is the feed or combination of feeds furnishing 

 the several nutrients— crude protein, carbohydrates, and fat— in 

 such proportion and amount as will properly and without excess of 

 any nutrient nourish a given animal for 24 hours. 



A maintenance ration is one that furnishes a sufficiency of each 

 and all of the several nutrients but no more than is required to 

 maintain a given resting animal, so that it will neither gain nor 

 lose in weight, 



133. The Wolff-Lehmann feeding standards.— Example Table IV, 

 given below, taken from Table IV of the Appendix, presents the 

 nutrients required by certain farm animals according to the Wolff- 

 Lehmann feeding standards: 



Example Table IV, showing digestible nutrients required daily by farm 

 animals per 1000 lbs. live toeight. 



