7o6 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
THE BALANCED RA TION.” 
TIIK 8CIKNCE OF F P: E I) I N G STOCK. 
Part II. 
We all understand now that animal 
and human foods are made up of a 
g^reat variety of substances, part of 
which, when digested in the body, will 
make fat, while others make muscle or 
lean meat. Tlie fat-makers cannot be 
used to repair the muscles or to make 
new ones, and the muscle-makers are 
but slightly useful in making fat. We 
must have both IdtulJi in our food, and 
also have tliem in the rhjht j)ro{)orW)ii, in 
order to be properly nourished and do 
our woi’k without fatigue. In like man¬ 
ner, the cow, horse, sheep or pig must 
have both fat and muscle-making foods 
properly mixed before they can do our 
work or give us butter, milk, meat and 
wool. To repeat what was said before, 
a ‘ ‘ balanced ration ” is a mixture of 
these fat and muscle-makers, so arranged 
as to supply just what the animal needs, 
with the least waste. 
Now in order to make up a mixture, 
we must first know what the ingredients 
of that mixture are. Notice a woman 
teaching her daughter how to bake a 
cake. The first thing she does is to 
make her familiar with the substances 
we call flour, milk, eggs, sugar, salt, etc. 
The girl must first know what these 
things are and how to measure them be¬ 
fore she can mix a cake that is fit to eat. 
At a cooking school, they would take 
that girl even further, and show her 
that milk, sugar, flour, etc., are each 
composed of a good many different sub¬ 
stances, instead of regarding each as 
one substance. With such a knowledge 
of foods, it is easy to see that the girl 
could, by skillfiil mixing, make up com¬ 
binations of food that would be just as 
nutritious as, and a good deal cheaper 
than, o\ir ordinary bread, cake, vege¬ 
tables and meat. There are very few 
hU7)utH4i in this world who are given 
“balanced rations,” and that is one 
great reason why disease is so prevalent. 
So now let us make a combination of 
mother, daughter and cooking school, 
and take up the analyses of a few foods 
by way of illustration. Put before j'^ou 
in the simplest way, the chemist’s story 
is as follows. Hear in mind that these 
figures represent the per cent of these 
different substances—so many pounds to 
Witter. 
Beefsteak*.. 48.3 
A.sh. 
0.8 
Muscle- 
Makers 
or Pro¬ 
tein. 
15. 
Makers 
or Ciir- 
bohy- 
drates. 
Pure 
F'at. 
16.4 
Potatoes_ 78.9 
1. 
2.1 
17.9 
0.1 
Bread. 32.3 
0.9 
8.8 
56.3 
1.7 
Corn meal.. 14.4 
1.5 
10. 
62.1 
6.5 
Clover hay. 12*4 
0.10 
12.60 
39.60 
2.48 
Ensilage.... 80.47 
1.35 
1.51 
10.20 
0.70 
*In tlie analysis of the beefsteak, 19% per cent 
was bone and refuse and, therefore, not counted 
in. 
Now what does all that mean ? To 
fully understand the meaning of these 
terms, is the hardest part of the “bal¬ 
anced ration.” Let us take them up in 
order: 
Water. —Every one knows what that 
is, but many of us get so used to seeing 
it in a liquid form, that we are liable to 
forget that it enters into the compo.sition 
of almost everything we use except the 
metals or crockery, etc. It is easy 
enough to see that there is considerable 
water in ensilage, apples or vegetables, 
for we can see it squeezed out, but in 
what we would call dry corn meal, it is 
hard to realize that out of every 100 
pounds 15 are water. We can prove that 
is so by heating the meal and thus driv¬ 
ing the water out and finding the loss in 
weight. Water is found in all foods— 
more or less of it. It has no actual feed¬ 
ing value, yet foods like ensilage, roots, 
green grass, etc., have an excellent effect 
on the health of the animal because they 
supply what we call “ succulence.” 
Every one knows how fruits and fresh 
vegetables help oiit the human’s bill of 
fare, though they add but little actual 
food. 
Asii.—Hum a big log of wood in a fire¬ 
place until it is all consumed. It made 
you tug to bring it in, yet after it has 
been burned, you can take all that is left 
in a small stove shovel. It is a singular 
thought that over nine-tenths of that 
great log vanished in invisible vapors 
and smoke, leaving but a small fraction 
of its weight behind. Ash, then, is that 
part of the food which fire cannot con¬ 
sume. It is a very necessary part, for it 
contains the elements, like lime and 
phosphorus, that go to make up the 
animal’s bones. Unless we feed food that 
cojitains enough of these ash elements, 
the bones must become weak and brittle. 
Of course you can see from this that 
young growing animals in w'hich the 
bones are rapidly forming, must have 
food that contains a large amount of ash. 
Protein. —This is the name selected by 
the scientists for the group of substances 
that make muscle and lean meat in the 
body. You will also often see the word 
“ Albuminoid.s” printed to represent the 
same thing. That is because all these 
muscle-makers contain more or less of a 
substance called albumen. We have no 
desire to find fault with .scientists or 
their words, but hereafter, in discussing 
these matters in The R. N.-Y., we shall 
use the word muscle-rnokers to distinguish 
what the scientists call protein. It 
seems to us that this will give the begin¬ 
ner a clearer idea of the matter, and 
cause less confusion. Hear in mind, 
therefore, that “ nimcle-muker'’^ means 
the same as protein, and stands for all 
that part of the food Avhich can possibly 
make lean meat in the animal. 
Carbohydrates. — This is another 
scientific ^\ordtoo big to quarrel with, 
and too hard for the beginner to under¬ 
stand. It has the same meaning as 
“nitrogen free extx’act ” or “ether ex¬ 
tract” which yoxi will find in many tables 
of analyses. As it is now in such general 
use, we shall simply tack the words fiesh- 
foriners on to it, and make the two go 
together whenever we use them in 'Fhe 
R. N.-Y. Whenever yoxi see either in 
The R. N.-Y, I’emember that it refers to 
that part of the food which may be 
changed by digestion into the fat meat 
which you will find, not only in great 
chunks, but scattered all over the body. 
Pure Eat. —Now here is something 
that often confuses people. Why does 
the chemist make a distinction between 
“ carbohydrates ” and “ fat,” if the first 
named are “ fat formers ” *? That is just 
it. The carbohydrates are “ fat fonners ” 
while the “fat” is already formed. It 
may be likened to the difference between 
petroleum and kerosene oil—the former 
can be made into the latter, but the 
kerosene is already made and is, there- 
foi’e, different from the petroleum to 
that extent. The ‘ ‘ fat ” in the food is 
really what we call oil, and can be used 
at once to build up the fatty tissues in 
the body, while the “carbohydrates” 
can do this only after they are digested 
and made over. Hy calling these sub¬ 
stances “fat formers” and “ pure fat,” 
we think all will understand the dif¬ 
ference. Of course this “pure fat,” 
being at once available, is more effective, 
pound for pound, than the “ fat formers.” 
Therefore, in making up a x’ation, we 
would give an increased value to the fat 
as will be explained later. 
In a good many analyses you will find 
a table headed “fiber.” This may be 
called the frame or bone-work of the 
plant—the woody strings such as boys 
find in the corn stixlk from which to 
make a “corn fiddle.” This tough, hard 
stuff is so indigestible that we shall not 
consider it in these papers, but simply 
discuss the three most important parts 
of the food. 
Now, let's see if we know what we 
have been talking about. Go back to 
our table and look at clover hay. As far 
as we have gone, we know that 100 
pounds of average clover contains 12 
pounds of water, 6 I-JO pounds of ash, 
which contain the bone-making ma¬ 
terials, 12 3-5 pounds of “muscle-mak¬ 
ers,” 39 3-5 pounds of “ fat-/ormcrs,” and 
nearly 21^ pounds of pure fat. Hut you 
will .say that no two samples of hay are 
ever exactly alike. That is so, and we 
shall refer to that in good time. Do 
these figures show that clover hay is a 
“ balanced ration,” or should we add en¬ 
silage or corn meal ? What is the hal- 
(mce between the muscle-makers and the 
fat-formers and pure fat anyway ? tVe 
will try to get at that next week. In 
the meantime, see that you understand 
as far as we have gone. If you don't, 
ask questions about it. Try to get a 
table of analyses somewhere. The De¬ 
partment of Agriculture at Washington, 
I). C., publishes a very complete table. 
Wants a Science Primer. 
I will say one thing- about the Science Primer. 
If I have read aright, the Primer is to be based on 
the questions received. I suggest that that is not 
the best way to do it. A large ijart of the ques¬ 
tions will prob.ably come from those who are only 
“ conspicxious by what they don’t know.” They 
will come from many dilTerent sources, and must 
necessarily be disconnected. It seems to me that 
no systematic Science Primer can be made by 
answering such questions. The disadvantages 
seem to be manifold and manifest. Wliy not have 
Thk Rubai, make the Primer, and then let us ask 
questions about it that are suggested by it? I am 
aware that I have reversed the orderof the words 
Primer Science, but that is the way it ought to be. 
We need a Science Primer to .start on. .7. l. m. 
R. N.-Y.—This is a good suggestion, 
and you will notice that we are working 
on this plan in describing the “balanced 
ration.” We do not feel competent to 
get up a primer that would serve as 
a step to all branches of agricultural 
science. The questions give us an idea 
of what is wanted, and we are able to 
group the answers to a number of them 
in one general answer. The policy of 
The R. N.-Y., in so far as it aspires to be 
a teacher, has been largelj’ determined 
by the questions asked by its readers. 
We find that these problems over which 
men have thought and studied, interest 
the reader as nothing else will do, and 
lead him on to further investigation. 
Again, science to be of real value to 
everyday men, must be made exceeding¬ 
ly practical. An abstract di.scussion of 
general principles will not answer as 
will a pointed statement of the condi¬ 
tions that surround an actual case in the 
field. Give us the questions, please. 
W'e will do our best wdth them, and the 
Science Primer will take shape as w'C go 
along. 
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THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
Cor. Chambers and Pearl Streets. New York. 
