198 MATTUAL OF OATTLE-FEEDING. 



portant practical conclusions. The application of these 

 general principles to the feeding of domestic animals, the 

 deternnnation of the quantity and proportions of the various 

 nutrients which are necessary to attain most speedily and 

 profitably the various ends of feeding, forms the object of 

 the science of cattle-feeding, and it is the clear recogni- 

 tion of this fact and the intelligent pursuit of this object 

 which has caiised the rapid advances of the past few years. 

 What has already been achieved in this respect will 

 form the subject-matter of Part III. 



g 6. Influence of Othbb Conihtions on the Pkoduotion of Fat. 



Influence of the Fat of the Body. — In a body rich 

 in fat the total fat-consumption, and albo the proportion of 

 the fat of the food which is OAidixed, is greater than when 

 the body contains little fat; in the latter case, the fat from 

 the food, or from the oxidation of the albuminoids, is more 

 readily stored up, while in the former case greater obsta- 

 (*les seem to stand in the way of a further accumulation of 

 xau. 



Excessive Drinking. — According to our present knowl- 

 edge, excessive drinking of water increases the consump- 

 tion of fat in the body, just as it does that of the protein, 

 (See p. 135.) Too watery fodder and too much drinking 

 are therefore to be avoided, especially in fattening, if we 

 wish to attain the most rapid and abundant formation of 

 flesh and fat. 



Too low or too high a Temperature of the stall 

 seems also to act unfavorably on faHening : the first, be- 

 cause an increased oxidation of food eonstitnents is neces- 

 sary to maintain the vital heat ; the second, because it 

 causes perspiration, which exerts two evil effects : first, by 



