376 MAJSrtTAL OF OATTLE-iaiEOIKG. 



body itself. It may be niciitioned, alsoj that the above 

 rations contained, on the average, about 0.05 11). of phob- 

 plioric aeidj 0.1 lb. of lime, and 0.2 lb. of alkaliefij quanti- 

 ties wliicli nmfot be abundantly sufficient to supply the 

 wants of full-grown oxen at rest. The daily amount of 

 water was, per 1,000 lbs. live weight, 53 to 64 lbs., averag- 

 ing 55 lbs. 



1^0 certain evidence could bo obtained in the above ex- 

 periments as to whether the fat of the body, like- the Aesh, 

 remained unaltered in amount : this could onlv bo assumed 

 as probable from the general appearance of the animals. 



The average nutritive ratio in these experiments was 

 1 : 13. Later experiments in Weende showed very de- 

 eibively that a much narrow nutritive ratio i'^ undesij*able 

 in the maintenance feeding of oxen. \\\ the average of thir- 

 teen experiments the animals digested, per day and 1,000 

 lbs. live weight, 1.18 lbs. of protein and 6.0U lbs. of non- 

 nitrogenous nutrients, the nutritive ratio being 1 : ^.%^ 

 The result was an average gain of 0.29 lb. of protein per 

 day (compare pp. 148-150), but a very decided loss of 

 w*eight, caused px'obably by a loss of fat. 



In two experiments, the animals digested only 0.4 and 

 0.6 lb. of protein per day and 1,000 lbs. live weight, yet 

 these small quantities sufficed to prevent any loss of fiesh, 

 thug confirming the results of the earlier experiments. 



The Feeding Standard. — As the direct result of the 

 Weende experiments we find that a ration which supplier 

 about 0.6 lb. of digestible protein and about 7.5 lbs. of 

 digestible non-nitrogenoue nutrients per day will suffice to 

 maintain a thousand pound ox without growth or loss of 

 weight. 



In all these e;xperiments, however^ th# terapemtur© of 

 the stall was considerably higher than it \$ usually priieti- 



