434 MAlSrUAL OF CATTLE-FEEBIKG-. 



Inorg-anic Nutrients. — A few words may, perhaps, be 

 added in regard to the supply of inorganic nutrients, the 

 importance of which has more than once been alhided to. 

 In some expei*inients on goats, made at Proskau, in which 

 the fodder contained no lime or phosphoric acid, the quan- 

 tity of milk decreased rapidly, and the animals sickened, and 

 died on the fifteenth day. It has also been observed that 

 animals which receive no inorganic food, but an abund- 

 ance of organic nutrients, die more quickly than those 

 which receive no food at all. 



As regai'ds the feeding of milk cows, however, the 

 matter is of little practical importance, since the ordinary 

 fodders contain an abundance of all the necessary ingre- 

 dients. 



According to the Weende experiments (p. 376) the daily 

 maintenance fodder of full-grown oxen contains approxi- 

 mately the following amounts of the more important inor- 

 ganic nutrients : 



Phosphoric acid 0.05 lb. 



Lime 0.10 '' 



Pofcas]i 0.30 " 



Adding to these the amounts contained in an average 

 daily yield (say 20 lbs.) of 'milk, viz. : 



Phosphoric acid 0.04 lb. 



Lime 0.03 '' 



Potash 0.04 " 



we get approximately the amount required by milk cows, 

 viz. : 



Phosphoxio acid , , 0.09 lb. 



Lime 0J3 ** 



Potash 0.34 H 



