24 MANUAL OF CATTLE-FEEDING. 



Besides its strictly physiological functions, it i& of use in 

 facilitating the pabbage of the albinninoids of the food from 

 the digestive canal into the bloody and to a certain extent 

 in facilitating the circulation and thus inci-easing the 

 energy of the vital piocesses. For this purpose a certain 

 excess of salt seems to be necessary, v^hich circulates 

 rapidly through the body, and is excreted in the urine in 

 quantity corresponding to the amount taken. This need 

 of salt is especially manife^ in certain kinds of herbivora, 

 and particularly in such as^ like our domestic animals, are 

 largely stall-fed and, by means of abundant fodder, arq 

 caused to pi-oduce largely either flesli and fat, milk, or 

 work. 



To this may be added that many fodders in common 

 use, such as potatoes, roots, grains, etc., are comparatively 

 poor in sodium chloride and rich in potash salts, which 

 latter, it has been found, cause an increased excretion of 

 salt through the urine. 



In view, then, of the absolute demand for a certain 

 amount of salt for the preservation of life and the great 

 advantages of a certain excess of it, it is plain that it is to 

 be regarded not as a luxmy but as a necessity. 



