58 



MAINTENANCE RATIONS OF FARM ANIMALS. 



Computed to 500 kilograms live weight on the basis of what Wolff regards 

 as the normal weights of the animals, the foregoing maintenance rations are: 



Grams. 



Horse I 4, 143 



Horse II 4,260 



Horse III 4,167 



A series of similar experiments on horse III, weighing 475 kilograms, in 1885- 

 86, 1 computed in substantially the same way, gave results for the maintenance 

 ration agreeing well with those of earlier years, viz : 



Maintenance rations of a horse — Wolff, 1885-86. 



Period. 



Per head. 



Per 500 

 kilo- 

 grams. 



I 



Grams. 

 3,934 

 3.984 

 4,001 

 4,094 

 4,094 



Grams. 

 4,141 

 4, 194 

 4,212 

 4,310 

 4,310 



II 



Ill and V 



Vllb 



VIII 



Average 



4,021 



4,232 





In a succeeding period (IX), however, in which hay alone was fed, a de- 

 cidedly higher result was obtained, viz, 4,357 grams per head, or 4,586 grams 

 per 500 kilograms. 



In these earlier experiments, in accordance with the views then prevalent, 

 Wolff regarded the so-called nutrients as of equal value whatever their source. 

 The experiment with hay, just mentioned, however, suggested that such was not 

 the case and this suspicion was confirmed by later investigations which clearly 

 showed the superiority of the digestible matter of grain over that of hay. 

 This superiority was not apparent in the earlier experiments because the pro- 

 portions of grain and coarse fodder were not widely different in the several 

 experiments, the coarse fodder furnishing on the average fully one-half of 

 the dry matter fed. 



This difference, suggested by the experiment on hay, was demonstrated by a 

 comparison by Wolff 2 of his own results with those obtained by Grandeau and 

 Le Clerc 3 in experiments upon two cab horses receiving only a small amount of 

 walking exercise. The ration used by the latter experimenters consisted of 

 about 75 per cent of grain as against less than 50 per cent in Wolff's experiments, 

 and from it Wolff computes an average maintenance ration per 500 kilograms 

 of 3,626 grams of digestible nutrients as compared with the 4,000 to 4,200 grams 

 of the foregoing table. 



Direct experiments by Wolff 4 likewise show that the digestible nutrients of 

 concentrated feed (oats) are more valuable for work production than those of 

 coarse feed (hay). The experiments were made in the manner already de- 

 scribed, the draft being uniformly 60 kilograms. Although the measurements 

 of the work actually done are probably incorrect, it may be assumed to have 

 been substantially proportional to the number of revolutions of the dyna- 

 mometer. A ration of 3 kilograms of hay and 5.5 kilograms of oats served as 

 the basal ration, to which was added on the one hand 4 kilograms of hay and 



1 Landwirtschaftliche Jnhrbueher, vol. 13, Ergiinzungs Band III, p. 32. 



2 Ibid., pp. 73-81. 



3 L' Alimentation du Cheval de Trait, 1883, II, 86 and 131. 

 *Loc. cit., pp. 84-95. 



