GENERAL^ REMARKS. 57 



diem; if at the commencement of the season the animal weighed 

 770 Ibs.. its weight would be after six months about 1,000 Ibs. 



As many cows are worked during their gestation, it is of great 

 importance not to give them beets that are even slightly fer- 

 mented. It is the custom on some farms to prepare the ration 

 and allow it to subsequently ferment, but there is constant dan- 

 ger under these circumstances of bringing about a miscarriage. 

 Young oxen through this feeding may work and gain in strength 

 and weight; the ration then undergoes a slight change, and con- 

 tains a heavier percentage of coarser fodders. After the end of 

 the third year they attain their maximum working weight. 

 There are many arguments as to the comparative advantages of 

 working an animal that is to be subsequently fattened, and 

 of allowing it to remain idle for over two years. 



Oxen when doing light work do not require very much more 

 fodder than is needed for their maintenance; on the other hand, 

 if extra work is demanded of them, it is important to furnish 

 per 1,000 Ibs. live weight about 1.6 Ibs. protein and 12 Ibs. of 

 non-nitrogenous substances, the nutritive ration being then, 

 1:7.5. 



Rations in General. 



The Wolff tables are calculated on a basis of 1000 Ibs. live General'remarks. 

 weight per diem. Several French authorities justly point to the 

 fact that these figures are not based upon thoroughly scientific 

 facts. Little or no allowance is made for the difference in the 

 assimilating powers of certain races of large and small animals, 

 no account is taken of the age of the cattle being fed, and there 

 is no effort at economy of fodder used, when a little more or 

 less in certain cases would bring about very different results 

 financially. It is most difficult by using these standard rations 

 to ascertain their economic working. It is also pointed out that 

 a knowledge of the average temperature in the stables is neces- 

 sary, and that in reality the daily rations should vary with the 

 ambient temperature. When every fact is considered, it re- 

 mains to be thoroughly proved whether the best ration should 

 not be governed by the appetite of the animal being fed. We do 

 not in our present writing consider it worth our while to enter 

 into those very complicated theories based upon the caloric neces- 



