FOOD 101 



and 307 grains lime. Eather more than this daily require- 

 ment is contained in two gallons of milk. 



Cows in milk require more than fattening oxen, for the 

 reason they are losing so much through the secretion. It 

 has been calculated that a cow requires 1-44 oz. phosphoric 

 acid, 2-08 oz. lime, and 3-78 oz. potash daily, and this 

 amount is contained in 30 lbs. hay which yield 2 oz. phos- 

 phoric acid, 4 oz. lime and 6^ oz. potash. 



Fattening oxen require daily -8 oz. phosphoric acid, 

 1"6 oz. lime and 3-2 oz. potash. 



Growing sheep will use up daily 40 grains potash, 

 15 grains soda, 30 grains lime, 4 grains magnesia, and a 

 varying quantity of phosphoric acid which increases month 

 by month, from 20 grains to 45 grains daily. 



The function of the salts in food is the building up of the 

 body tissues, and furnishing the necessary material for the 

 secretions. A salt-free diet would result in death ; but it 

 would take a little time, as experiment shows that as soon 

 as any particular salt is deficient in the food, the system 

 doles out the deficiency very slowly from that which has 

 previously been stored up in the body. 



The final behaviour of salts in the body, viz., their diges- 

 tibility, is a question which is not fully worked out. A 

 great deal is excreted with the faces unacted upon, for 

 instance phosphoric acid and magnesia in the horse, and 

 lime in the case of ruminants. With the urine of the horse 

 a considerable amount of lime is excreted, and the whole 

 of that must have been absorbed from the intestinal canal 

 before it could gain exit by the kidneys. 



The foods richest in phosphoric acid are oil-cake and 



bran, while hay and straw are the poorest in these matters. 



Lime is largely found in clover, meadow hay, bean straw, 



and turnips, but only in small quantities in the cereals. 



Maize is so poor in lime that it would be an unfit food for 



a growing animal without soluble lime being supplemented. 



Potash exists largely in roots, hay, bean straw, bran, and 



oil-cake, but in the cereals it only exists in small quantities. 



Eegarding the use of Common Salt as an addition to the 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



