282 The Feeding of Animals 



the ruminants. It is useless, however, to mention at 

 this point other instances of this character, or to com- 

 ment on their importance, further than to emphasize 

 the foolishness of trying to bring all species of animals 

 to a common basis in the supply of feeding stuffs. 



3. The physiological requirements of the animal 

 must be considered. A ration of maximum physio- 

 logical efficiency and economy must contain the several 

 nutrients in such quantities and proportions as will 

 meet the needs of the particular animal fed, without 

 waste. This statement is based upon facts given else- 

 where in this volume relative to the demands of the 

 animal body and the functions of the nutrients. 



It remains now for us to consider how to compound 

 such rations as are desired, or those that are adapted 

 in kind and quantity to the requirements which they 

 are to meet. Obviously, the first essential for doing 

 this is the adoption of standards to which rations 

 should conform, for if we do not have these there is 

 no possibility of concluding whether one food mixture 

 is better or worse than another for a particular pur- 

 pose. 



Such standards have been proposed, which we knew 

 first as German feeding standards. As found in the 

 tables published by German authors, they are the 

 result of numerous and elaborate studies of the bal- 

 ance of loss or gain to the animal organism when 

 rations of various kinds were fed to animals at rest, 

 at work, and when producing meat, wool or milk, in 

 desirable quantities. They relate entirely to physio- 

 logical demands without reference to the cost of the 



