The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1899-12-19

contain @ large group OF substances
called carbohydrates, which the ami
NAL converts into fat-the fat in the
body and the carbohydrates in the
food both being composed chiefly OF
two chemical elements called carbon
and hydrogen.
Water: ALI foods, no matter how
dry they are, contain some water.
Grain and cured folders and hay con
tain 8 to Is pounds Of water in every
100 pounds of their weight, while in
every 1CO pounds of turnips, beets,
silage or green forage, 80 to 80 pounds
are water.
Ash: When food ia burned, that
part which disappears is called organic
matter, and that which remains ts
called mineral matter, or ash. 1t is a
mixture of lime. soda, potash, iron,
chlorine, magnesia, phosphoric acid,
etc These are valuable partsof q food,
as they help to build a strong bone and
to enrich the manure
Fats: This group embraces the ma
terials which may be dissolved fro m a
feeding stuff by either. It includes,
besides the true fats, wax and coloring
matter. Fat in the food may be either
stored in the body a fat. OF burned to
produce heat and energy.
Carbohydrates: This term includes
two groups, nitrogen free extract, such
as starch, sugar, gum, etc, and fiber
or the woody part of plants. The
former are quite freely digested, the
latter much less SO, though fulfilling
the same function to the extent it is
digested. The carbohydrates c0nsti-
tute the largest part of vegetable foods.
They are not stored in the animal body
as such, but are converted into fat or
used (burned) to produce heat and
energy.
Since the carbohydrates and fat
serve nearly the same purpose in the
animal economy, they may, for con-
venience, be grouped together. Ex-
periments, however, have shown that
fat is about 24 times as effective as a
food as are the carbohy drates. Hence
it is customary to multiply the amount
of fat by 24 to reduce it to a ''starch
equivalent" before ad ding it to the
amount of the carbohydrates.
Protein: The protein of foods, like
that OF the animal body. is character
jwaS hv 0orkoSrSpm rSAw00a~ TT khawo
fore, ia frequently termed heterogeneous
matter" The teri albumlnoids is
sometimes used to designate this group,
though it more correctly implies q Ger
tain class Of protein substances. The
function of protein in the food liz, first
of all, to build up and r. Air the work,
ing machinery of the body, and to sup
ply protein for the production of milk,
wool, etc. No other food constituent
can fulfill this function
The Importance of a s1M ,ient sup
ply of prot in in the ration is, there
fore, apparent. IL in excess of the
amount r CURED to build up and repair
the waste OF the body the protein may
be converted into fa5 and deposited az
such or used to produce heat AMI en-
ergy, les tf 3iency for these purposes
is about the same as the carbohydrates,
but as it is usually far more expensive
to supply than the carbohydrates,
economy would dictate that only so
much should be supplied to the animal
will suffice to repair the wastes Of
the animal machinery and build up
new growth in case of growing animals,
or for the production OF milk, wool, |
etc
Nutritive ratio ia a term used to de.
note the proportion of protein to the
carbohydrates in the ration. Since |
and ash are alWays abundant, |
and since the fat is composed of the
same elements as chs carbohydrates |
and may be grouped tOg9ther, we have
really bat two groups of substances |
that need to be considered in making
up a ration n amely, the carbohydrate, 9 |
(nciuding fats and the protein. The
relative quantities Of these two groupy
in any ration is called the nutritlve
Of that ration II there is l pound
OF protein to every 8 pounds of carbO
hydrates the nutritlve ratio ia 1 to 5
(wriEJen 1:5) A ration in which there
is a wide difference in the quantities OF
protein and carbohydrates ia said to
have a wide nutritive ratio; while one
in which this difference is narrow is
said to have a narrow nutriti7e ratio.
A ratio greater than / to 6 ia wide:
while one less than / to 5 ia narrow, !
the two q to 6 and 1 to 81 being con
sidered we'll balanced ratios Thev aro