MANUAL OF CATTLE-FEEDING. 197 



dation and to diminish the protein consumption as mucli 

 as possible while not causing any considerable fattening, 

 and we shall give the animal as much of this fodder as 

 possible, because the greater the amount of food of a given 

 composition eaten, the greater, other things being equal, is 

 both the absolute and the relative production. (See p. 167.) 



On the other hand, if we wish to fatten the animal, w^e 

 shall proceed differently. With any given immber of 

 pounds of protein in the daily fodder, the greater the 

 amount of non-nitrogenous nutrients taken into the sys- 

 tem the more fat is protected from oxidation and the less 

 becomes the protein consumption. In other words, having 

 once fixed on the number of pounds of protein to be given 

 per day and head, the more carbhydrates and fat we can 

 introduce into the system along wdth it the greater will be 

 tlie production both of flesh and fat. 



We shall consequently incline to make the nutritive 

 ratio of our fattening fodder wider than that for working 

 animals ; but in doing this we shall not forget that a cer- 

 tain absolute amount of protein is necessary. 



Leaving out of account the possible formation of fat 

 from carbhydrates, there is no doubt that a certain propor- 

 tion of protein in the fodder is essential to rapid and 

 profitable fattening, especially of ruminants, while it is, of 

 course, tlie only source of material for the formation of 

 ilesh. Since, now, an animal can consume only a certain 

 total amount of food, our first care will be to see that that 

 food contains enough protein ; while, in the second place, 

 we shall introduce into it enough carbhydrates and fat to 

 insure a production of fat and prevent any mmecessary 

 protein consumption. 



Thus it will be seen that a consideration of the fi-eneral 

 principles brought out in the last two chapters leads to im- 



