GO-2 AN ESSAY ON FAT AND MUSCLE. 
from the 10th of October to the 10th of March. Each sheep con- 
sumed on an average 20 lbs. of swedes daily. Another hundred 
were folded in similar pens, but without sheds, during the same 
time, and their daily consumption of swedes amounted to 25 lbs. 
each. The sequel was, that those sheep which enjoyed the pro- 
tection of the covered sheds had increased 3 lb. each more than 
those that were left unprotected, although the latter had consumed 
one-fifth more food*.” 
Example No. 3. — In the mountainous districts of Scotland, the 
necessity of artificial shelter for sheep has long been acknowledged 
— for, when the stormy season sets in, there is a necessity of 
feeding the sheep with hay, both morning and evening, the 
quantity of the fodder necessary being generally proportionate to 
the degree of cold. 
Rest also, as well as the necessary protection from cold, is an 
equivalent for food. The consumption of oxygen in a given time 
may be expressed by the number of respirations ; it is, therefore, 
obvious that in the same animal the quantity of nourishment re- 
quired must vary with the force and number of respirations, and, 
as the number of respirations is fewer in a state of rest than during 
labour or exercise, the quantity of food necessary in both instances 
must be in the same ratio. This can also be exemplified by the 
farmer’s daily practice, since he is well aware that the quieter an 
animal is kept when feeding, the quicker it fattens. 
Example No. 1. — It is uniformly found that a stall-fed cow in 
the summer will yield considerably more butter and milk than 
one fed in the field with a greater supply of food. The reason is 
obvious ; absence of oxygen prevents the inspiring of so large an 
amount of it as would take place in the open air. 
Example No. 2. — In the rearing of calves for veal in Holland, 
it is usual to confine them in suckling houses or pens so narrow 
that the animal cannot turn round. The calf is fed through an 
opening in the doorway, just large enough to allow the head of 
the animal to be thrust out : as soon as he is fed, the opening is 
closed, and the animal is kept in total darkness. In this manner 
it is found that calves get fat in a considerably shorter period than 
if allowed to move freely in an open stall. 
Example No. 3. — In the suckling of house-lambs of the early 
Dorsetshire breed for the London markets, the dams are fed 
with hay, oil cake, and cabbage in an enclosure, adjoining the 
apartments where the lambs are confined. The lambs are excluded 
from the light, except at the intervals when the shepherd suckles 
them upon the ewes. Some feeders confine their lambs in narrow 
* See Journal Royal Agri. Soc., vol. iv, p. 222. Professor Playfair’s Lectures. 
