Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1883-08-04
Feeding Animals.

The practice of feeding must be
lated by the science of feeding. It is
one of those operations which depend
upon principles, and the practice of it
must be governed by these. No man
can go through the endless number of
tests and experiments which would be
necessary for the knowledge of the
effects of food upon the condition and
products of his animals, blindly cropping
without a guide in a vain endeavor to
find what is best, under each of the
infinitely varying circumstances which
might occur. Life is too short for that.
And if it were possible, no one could
deduce from the results any law, OF
code Of laws, which would be a guide
for others, within reasonable and prac-
ticable limits. And SO each mans life
would be spent in a never-ending labor
Of experiment which must be taken up
by his successors and done over again.
Therefore, we must begin at the other
end, first learning by accurate study
the nature of our animals, and by analy-
sis the character of the foods, so that
when we know what our animals need
and the exact kind of aliment we have
to give to them, we have an easy point
to start from, and one from which we
can diverge in this or that direction.
And so all the Investigations into the
laws which control the nutrition, growth
and chemistry of an animal and those
which make known the chemistry Of
the various foods are of the utmost
value to farmers and others interested
in feeding live stock of all kinds.
In considering the subject of feeding
animals there are several differing
points to be noted. The nature and re-
quirements vary in young and growing,
mature and fattening, working and
milking animals, and each of these will
require special study. A young animal
adds muscle and bone to It's substance,
requiring food rich in proteine or
muscle-forming matters, and in phos-
phoric acid and lime or bone
producing matters, as we'll as suf-
ticient carbohydrates for supplying the
vital heat and what force may be ex-
pended. A fattening animal requires
principally the last of these, because
the object is to overload the already
formed frame and tissues with fat. A
working animal, generally matured as
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same, because the fat-formsng matters
may be expended in producing force
and the increased respiration and heat,
but some proteine matters will also be
needed to supply the waste of muscular
tissue. A milking animal also fully
formed requires such food as will enable
it to yield milk of the richest kind;
and as milk contains precisely the ele-
ments which go to make up the SUBJ
stance of a young and growing animal,
with the addition of food rich in fat, a
COW requires the feeding of a young
animal and that Of a fattening one
within certain judicious limits. It is
thus seen how complex and difficult q
matter it is to feed an ordinary mixed
farm stock consisting of horses, colts,
COWS, calves, oxen, beeves, sheep,
lambs, pigs, and poultry, without put
ting valuable food material uselessly-
and sometimes m~ischievously to the
animals-into the manure heap, on the
one hand, and on the other to satisfy
fully the varying requirements Of each
animaL-M Y. Times