450 MANUAL OF CATTLE-FEEBIKG. 



of tlie need of care in changing from a good to a poorer 

 fodder in tlie case of young animals. 



Feeding Standards. — It is probable tliat if the animals 

 had been able to eat as nmch of the second fodder as of 

 the first, or if some fodder which contained about the same 

 amount of nutrients but was more palatable to the ani- 

 mals had been used, the gain of weight would have con- 

 tinued regularly, decreasing gradually with increasing age. 



On the assuuiption that the results of the first, second, 

 and fifth periods are normal, the feeding standards given 

 in the Appendix have been ca^lcnlated by Wolif . They are 

 intended for animals of medium fineness of wool, and 

 which, when full grown, weigh 90 to 100 lbs. Such ani- 

 mals, when fed in this way, will, on reaching the above 

 weight, be in a well-fed condition and ready either for fat- 

 tening or for wool production. 



In the above experiments this result was obtained by 

 the use of hay alone, but this course will only succeed 

 wdien the hay is of very superior quality. When this is 

 not the case, and a good pasture is not available, an addi- 

 tion of grain must be made to the hay ration, in order to 

 bring the quantity of nntrients np to the standard. 



It will be noticed that, according to the feeding stand- 

 ards deduced above, the quantity of protein required per 

 day and head decreases as the age of tlie animals increases, 

 and that the amount of the non-nitrogenous nntrients re- 

 mains about the same, notwithstanding that the live-weight 

 is continually increasing. 



Young anhnals, as already stated (p. 438), need a rela- 

 tively large amount of total dry matter and of digestible sub- 

 stance in their fodder, and gain weight with corresponding 

 rapidity, while later, the necessary amount of food decreases 

 quite rapidly, as does also the increase of weight. The 



