PRAIRIE FARMER'S POULTRY BOOK 



The albumin of the blood is carried to the cells throughout 

 the body and used to repair waste and build new cells and 

 tissues for the body. Some of it is oxidized, but its chief func- 

 tion is that of supplying material for growth and maintenance. 

 It is a nitrogen-bearer, and there can be no protoplasm or 

 living matter without nitrogen. It is even used in the manu- 

 facture of fat, and this explains why fowls fatten readily when 

 there is a liberal allowance of protein in the food. 



Composition of the Animal Body 



The elements that enter into the composition of a fowl's 

 body are : Nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, calcium, phos- 

 phorus, sodium, potassium, magnesium, iron, chlorine, sul- 

 phur, silicon and fluorine. These elements also enter into the 

 composition of an egg. In the body they are combined in 

 many substances, some of them verj- complex. The process 

 by which these elements and compounds are made a part of 

 the living body is called assimilation. Oxidation, on the other 

 hand, is a process of burning or tearing down. The chief sub- 

 stances produced in this process are carbonic acid gas and 

 water. 



The Kind of Food Required 



Evidently a perfect ration should contain all of the above 

 named elements. We are accustomed to emphasize the pro- 

 tein and carbohydrate content of the food but forget that the 

 fowl just as surely needs water and the mineral salts in its 

 ration. 



Water is a food because it adds to the weight of the bodv 

 and is used to manufacture some of the compounds of the 

 body. 



The mineral salts, such as salt, carbonate of lime, phos- 

 phate of lime, sodium carbonate, sodium phosphate, and mag- 

 nesium phosphate are truly foods for they enter into structures 

 of the body. 



Food Constituents 



The substances entering into the composition of foods are 

 classified as nitrogenous and non-nitrogenous. The nitro- 

 genous substances are known as proteids. As the name 

 implies, they contain nitrogen. The non-nitrogenous sub- 



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