American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1874-09-12
The Cow and Her Food.

IT was once supposed that the material
for nourishing the various parts of the
animal body and supplying its varied re-
quirements was elaborated in the body
of the animal out of whatever food con-
sumed; that in feeding animals, for in
stance, it was only necessary to supply
them with such food as they could di-
gest and the vital functions would mold
it into any shape or condition to suit the
purposes of life; that the body was a
chemical laboratory in which fat or mus
Gle, nerve or bone could be formed out
of any digestible food. This theory was
followed by another that all the material
which enters into the composition of the
body must be ready formed and in a con-
dition suitable for assimilation before it
is eaten; and that all the animal has to
do in digesting its food is to separate the
several elements of food from the innu-
tritiOus parts and form each other and
appropriate them; that, in short, the ami
NAL is only machine for separating and
depOsiting the elements of nutrition con-
tanned in the food consumed. Neither
of these theories is wholly false nor
wholly true. 1t is true that food must
contain certain elements ready formed
or it cannot serve the purpose of life
and it is also true, to limited extent,
| that one kind may be converted into an
The supporters of respiration, gum
starch, sugar and fat, may change forms,
but all those forms must end in fat or be
burned in respiration. They can never
| form flesh or bone. They contain no
nitrogen to make flesh of, and no min
eral for bone. The albuminods, albu-
men, tibrid, casein and gluten may
change forms under the influence of the
vital force, but they alone can build up
the flesh and tissues of the body. They
are not, however, confined to this pur
pose. They can, by parting with oxy.
gen, support respiration or furnish fat
The extent to which albuminoids arc
thus convertible is limited, but that they
may serve to build up flesh and support
respiration also is well known. The
| farmers COW, like all other animals is
part chemist and part machine, and in
feeding her to derive revenue heI
double capacity should be kept in view
When considered as n chemist it is i'm
portant to have her food in a condition
to require the least possible change, tina,
time and her vital energy may be econo
miZed AS machine it is necessary tC
have her food in Il condition such that it:
nutritious elements may be easily
separated and dissolved out of the in
soluble and tibrous matter with which il
| is always connected.
When the chopper is preparing fuel In
the forest, if his timber cuts and split.
easily, he prepares Il large amount in
day; if it cuts hard and splits toughl,
he can do much less with the same %
any given amount of strength; will
the labor of digestion. If COW is fur
nishcd food easy to digest she can use
large amount and produce large results
If it is difficult of digestion it work
slowly, like the tough timber, and bu
little is effected in given time. But
may be asked what cattle food is easy o
digestion and what difficult. AS rule
young food whether dry or green is cas-,
to digest, also such foods as are succu
lent or have their nutritive propertie
combined with considerable amount o
water, such as roots and green solin
food Ripe heritage, as rule, is Difficult
of digestion. \ COW will digest as muc
nut riment out of green grass in an hou
as she can in three hours out of well
matured hay.
) Well-ripened food may he made cas-
of digestion by steaming or cooking
so that it may he substituted for gree
food. In its natural or raw state herb