CHAPTER XIX 



THE SELECTION AND COMPOUNDING OF RATIONS 



THERE are several factors that must be considered 

 in selecting an efficient and economical ration, factors 

 which relate to both science and practice. It is gener- 

 ally desirable that a food mixture shall be "balanced," 

 but this gives no assurance that a ration can be fed 

 under particular conditions with satisfactory results. 

 Intelligent observation in the barn or stable really 

 takes the first place in formulating a method of feed- 

 ing, which is supplemented to a valuable extent by the 

 scientific insight of the chemist and physiologist. A 

 ration may be chemically right and practically wrong, 

 but, at the same time, it is worth much to the feeder 

 to be assured that the nutrients which he supplies to 

 his animals will meet their physiological needs. More- 

 over, commercial relations such as the prices of feeds 

 must be considered, and this is a business question 

 and not a scientific matter. 



1. A successful ration must be palatable. An 

 agreeable flavor is not a source of energy or of build- 

 ing material, but it tends to stimulate the digestive 

 and assimilative functions of the animal to their high- 

 est efficiency, and is a requisite for the consumption 

 of the necessary quantity of food. Common experience 



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