58 FEEDING WITH SUGAR BEETS, SUGAR, ETC. 



sary to keep up the animal's consumption. Furthermore it was 

 proposed that the ration should vary with each animal, as the 

 cube root of the square root of the animal's weight. All chest 

 measurements for weight of ration are also very empirical, as 

 the expansion of the chest is by no means constant and varies 

 from minute to minute; a variation of one inch in these meas- 

 urements makes a very considerable difference in the results 

 obtained. So all facts considered the standard may be the best 

 guide. It may, however, be desirable to have tables for an 

 average weight and to decrease or increase same, as may be, 

 remembering in all cases that a small animal eats more, propor- 

 tionately, than a large one does. 



Standards. Animals of given weight, age and kind, are capable of eating 

 a certain amount per diem. An average in each case has led 

 to certain standards upon which the whole art of cattle feeding 

 depends. Hence well-arranged tables point out just what 

 amount of protein and fatty substances should be fed to cows 

 being milked, or cattle going through the process of fattening. 

 To remain within rational limits, it is important to be con- 

 stantly watching the condition of excrements thrown out by 

 each animal fed, as if it is receiving that which it cannot digest, 

 there will soon be evidence of this in the excrements, and the 

 ration then should be altered until normal conditions are 

 reached. Practical experiments appear to show that the di- 

 gestive capacity of cattle is about 2 to 3 per cent, of dry matter 

 of their weight. Upon this basis one can approximate the 

 maximum feeding capacity of the product on hand for a given 

 period. 



All standard rations are based upon the supposition that the 

 stable is kept at a temperature that varies from 12 to 20 C. 

 In exceptional cases, during winter for example, the tempera- 

 ture is very much below this standard; under which circum- 

 stances it becomes important to increase the percentage of heat- 

 forming elements, and in such cases beets may render good 

 service. The caloric is thus furnished to the animal and he is 

 not obliged to abnormally exhaust those elements for heating 

 the body which should be otherwise utilized. The carbohy- 

 drates and fatty substances are particularly desirable. It has 



