article to meet the special wants, may meet the case as fav as an effi- 

 cient support of the animal is concerned, yet it can only in excep- 

 tional cases be considered good economy. 



To satisfy the craving, of the stomach and to feed a nntritions food 

 are both requirements of a healthy animal diet, which, each in its 

 own way, may be complied with. The commercial fodder substances, 

 as oil cakes, meal refuse, brans, and our steadily increasing supply 

 of refuse material from breweries, starch works, glucose factories, 

 etc., are admirably fitted to supplement our farm resources for stock- 

 feeding ; they can serve in regard to animal growth, and support, in 

 a similar way as the commercial fertilizer in the growth of farm crops, 

 by supplementing our home manurial resources. To feed an excess 

 of fodder materials, as roots, potatoes, etc., which contain a large 

 proportion of non-nitrogenous substances, as starch, sugar, digestible 

 cellular substance, etc., means direct waste, for they are ejected by 

 the animal, and do not even materially benefit the manure heap. In 

 case of an excessive consumption of nitrogenous constituents, a part 

 of the expense is saved in an increased value of the manure, yet 

 scarcely enough to recommend that practice beyond merely exceptional 

 cases! The aim, therefore, of an economical stock-feeding must be 

 to compound our various fodder materials in such a manner that the 

 largest quantity of each of the three groups of fodder substances 

 which the animal is capable of assimilating, should be contained in 

 its daily diet to meet the purpose for which it is kept. 



To compound the fodder rations of our farm stock with reference 

 to the special wants of each class of them, is an essential requirement 

 for a satisfactory performance of their functions ; to supply these 

 wants in an economical wa^' controls the financial success of the indus- 

 try. From these and similar considerations it will be apparent that 

 the development of a more rational, and thus more economical, sys- 

 tem of feeding farm live stock, requires the following kind of in- 

 formation : — 



First. How much of each of the essential groups of food-constitu- 

 ents are contained in the fodder we feed? 



Second. How much of each of these essential food-constituents 

 are digestible under existing circumstances, and thus directly avail- 

 able to the particular animal on trial? 



Third. How much of each of the three essential food-constituents 

 does each kind of animal require to secure the best results? 



More than twenty-five years have passed by since these questions 

 have engaged the attention of skillful experimenters. Sufficient valu- 

 able information has been secured in the course of time to encourage 

 the use of the adopted methods of observation, and to impart to many 

 of the conclusions arrived at a just claim for a serious consideration 

 on the part of practical agriculturists. The fact that much needs 

 still to be learned to meet the reasonable expectations of those engaged 

 in the development of a more economical system of feeding farm live 

 stock, cannot be considered a valid reason why we should not make 

 intelligent use of what we have learned. 



