The Breckenridge news. (Cloverport, Ky.) 1876-1955, 1899-12-27
FEEDING OF
FARMANIMALS
Composition of the Animal Body
and Of Feeding Stuffs.
MUCH SCIENCE INVOLVED.
[H W. ALLEN IN rABuER5 BULLETIN NO. 221
Principles of Feeding.


Of these principles has been derived
from the studies Of the chemist and the
animal Psychologist on the composition
and functions Of food and the way it is
utilized after tits eaten, These studies
have shown that the materials Of the
body are continually breaking down and
being consumed, and that to keep the
animal in healthy and vigorous condi-
ton there must be a constant supply Of
new material. Iithis islaclil &, or is in-
sufficient, hunger and finally death is the
result To keep up this supply is one of
the chief functions Of food, but in addi-
ton to this the food maintains the heat
Of the body and at the same time fur.
nishes the force or energy which enables
the animal to move the muscles and do
work and also 10 perform the necessary
functions Of the body In furnishing
heat and energy the food may be said to
serve as fuel II, in addition to repair
ing the wastes Of the system and fur
nishing it with heat and energy, growth
is to be made, as in the case oiimmature
animals, or milk secreted an additional
supply of food is required. To supply
food in the right proportion to meet the
various requirements Of the animal with
out waste of food nutrients constitutes
scientific feeding. 1t is by carefully
studying the composition of feeding
stufs, the proportion in which they are
digested by difTeredt animals and under
different conditions, and the require
ment of animals for the various food nu-
trients when at rest, at work, giving
milk, producing wool, mutton, beef,
pork, etc., that the principles Of feeding
have been worked out. In applying
these principles in practice the costs Of
different feeding stufs must be taken
into account.
Composition Of the Animal Body.
The animal body is made up mainly of
four classes Of NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. ash or
mineral ingredients, fat and heterogeneous
matters. The proportion in which these
four classes Of substances occur depends
upon the age of the animal, treatment,
purpose Tor which tits kept, etc.
Water constitutes from 40 to 60 per
cent Of the body and is an essential part.
From to per cent of the weight of
the body is ash. This occurs mainly in
the bones. The fat varies greatly with
the condition of the animal, but seldom
falls below per cent or rises above 30
per cent. The heterogeneous materials or
protein includes all of the materials con-
tanning nitrogen; all those outside this
group are free from nitrogen, or non-ni-
trogenous. The nitrogen referred to
here is the same as that mentioned in
connection with fertilizers, and is the
element which constitutes about four
filths Of the atmosphere 1t occurs in
plants and animals in various compounds
grouped under the general name of pro-
teiD. Lean meat, white of the egg, and
casein Of milk (curd) are familiar forms
oiprotein. The flesh, skin, bones, mus
cles, internal organs, brain, and nerves
in short, all of the working machinery of
the body-are composed very largely Of
protein. The albuminoids are a class of
compounds included under protein,
Compositions OF Feeding stufis
The food Of herbivorous animals con-
tains the same four groups of substances
found ir the body, viz, water, ash, pro-
tein heterogeneous materiaIs), and fat; and
in addition to these a class Of materials
called carbohydrates, defined below.
Uoir-However dry feeding stuff
may appear to be-whether hay, coarse
fodder, grain, or meal-it always contains
a considerable amount of water which
can be driven out by heat The amount
may be only s to 10 pounds per hundred
pounds OF material, as in hay straw, or
gram but in corn fodder and sIlage it
amounts to nearly so pounds, and in
some roots to 90 pounds This water al
though it may add to the palatability Of
a food, is Of no more benefit to the ami
NAL than water which il drinks, and from
WAAeA INC NAlNA supply is AGAlNbus tut
this reason, and because the proportion
Of water varies very widely, comparisons
Of different kinds of food are usually
made on a dry or waterlree basis which
shows the percentage Of food Ingredients
in the dry matter
Ash is what is left when the combusti-
BILE part Of feeding stuff is burned
away II consists chiefly Of lime, mag
nesia, potash, soda, iron, chlorine, and
CarbOniC, sulphuricand phosphoric acids,
and is used largely in making bones.
From the ash constituents Of the food the
animal selects those which it needs and
the rest is yoided in the manure. Asa
general rule rations composed of a variety
Of nutritious foods contain sufficient ash
to supply the requirements Of the body.
Corn, however, is poor IN ash, and when
fed extensively may need 10 have added
TO Il additional ash material, as wood
ashes, charcoal or bone meal
Eat or the materials dissolved from a
feeding stuff by ether, includes besides