THE JOURNAL 



OF THE 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE 



Part II. — The General Feeding Characteristics of 

 Different Classes of Stock. 



The outstanding difference in the feeding characteristics of 

 the various classes of stock lies in their relative powers of 

 digesting and utilising the coarse, fibrous foods of the hay 

 and straw type. 



Such foodstuffs are dealt with most effectively by the 

 ruminant animals (cattle and sheep), since they are equipped 

 with the necessary powers of mastication and capacious 

 digestive organs. Pigs, on the other hand, cannot deal effec- 

 tively with any but the softest types of fibre, such as are met 

 with in juicy, green food; whilst horses occupy an inter- 

 mediate position in this respect. Thus the horse will masti- 

 cate and digest good hay almost as successfully as cattle, 

 but will be less successful with the harder type of fibre met 

 with in straw. 



Young animals, even cattle, are not adapted to deal with 

 fibrous foods until their digestive powers have been well 

 developed by feeding with easily-digested foods, of which the 

 mother's milk is incomparably the best and safest. Even 

 then the introduction of coarse food into a diet must be very 

 gradual and left largely to the natural instinct of the animal. 

 The further feeding characteristics of the various classes of 

 stock may be conveniently discussed separately. 



Young Animals. — The growth of the young animal is essen- 

 tially a rapid production of nitrogenous matters (muscle, &c.) 



Vol. XVIII. No. 12. 



MARCH, 1912. 



2* 



THE FEEDING OF FARM STOCK. 

 Charles Crowther, M.A., Ph.D. 



Leeds University. 



3 v 



