25!> THE FEEDING EXPERIMENTS 



It is obvious that from these results a great deal of evidence 

 can be obtained as to what goes on during the fattening process, 

 if we can assume that the particular animals selected for 

 analysis are typical of the ordinary run of live stock and 

 represent the normal change in composition of fattening 

 animals. It is obvious, for example, that the fattening process 

 is properly so called ; even animals in the store condition 

 contain rather more fat than nitrogenous substance, but as the 

 fattening process advances the proportion of fat to albuminoid 

 rises until it becomes two or even three times as great. 

 Of course the gross amount of albuminoid in the animal 

 continues to increase somewhat, but the increase in the fat is 

 so nnicli greater that the proportion of albuminoid in the 

 finished animal has been reduced. It will be seen also that the 

 fat animal contains less water than the same animal in the 

 store condition ; lean meat possesses, in fact, a considerably 

 higher proportion of Avater than fat does, so that the accumula- 

 tion of fat tends to reduce the proportion of water in the whole 

 body. 



From the figm^es obtained in these experiments the composi- 

 tion of the live-weight increase during fattening can be deduced. 

 This is set out graphically in the diagram Fig. 49, from which 

 it will again be seen how much of the weight put on by an 

 animal during fattening is made up of fat itself. In oxen, when 

 the fattening process begins while they are young, as is generally 

 the case noAvadays, the increase of weight will consist of about 

 one-third Avater and tAvo-thirds dry substance, the latter being 

 made up of about 15 per cent, of nitrogenous matter and 75-80 

 per cent, of fat. For the final fattening stage, Avhen the animal 

 is full groAvn, about three-quarters of the increase will be dry 

 matter, containing only about 10 per cent, of nitrogenous 

 matter and 90 per cent, of fat. 



In the case of sheep, rather more mineral matter is contained 

 in the fattening increase, because of the large content of avooI 

 in alkaline salts ; but despite the nitrogenous natm^e of wool, the 

 amount of nitrogenous matter in the increase is less for sheep 



