Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1921-04-07
WHY BALANCED RATIONS ARE
NEEDED.
BY Wall A. Hall, Manager,
International Sugar Feed Co..
Memphis, Tenn.

Prof. McCollum is authority for the
statement that to balance ration
properly 60 per cent of the ration
should be grain and the balance
should be leaves derived from palat
able plants. He has also demonstrat
ed that more than 40 per cent of the
leaves do not get best results.
When we mention grain we do not
mean any particular variety, but a
feeding commodity of equal strength,
containing the same nutrients as
corn, oats, barley, etc. These nutIi-
tents can be derived from cottonseed
meal, linseed oil meal, molasses, al
falfa, lespedeza and numerous other
feeding commodities with which we
are all more or less familiar.
We believe you readily appreciate
by this time the specific balancing
of feed for domestic animals is a
science within itself-that it requires
proper knowledge Of grains and
plants utilized, an elaborate chemical
laboratory. scientific machinery and
la heavy physical Investment.
A great many of US do not appreci-
ate the fact that we balance our
own rations at the dinner table. We
put butter on bread as a nabit, and
bread and butter make a balanced
ration. Protein in our foods is pro-
duced from lean meats, milk, fruits,
etc. Carbohydrates are obtained from
potatoes and all STRENGTHENING vege-
tables. Fats are obtained from but
ter, cheese, fats in our foods, ETC.,
but the poor domestic animals must
depend upon their master to do all
of these things for them. An animals
ration is the only salary it receives;
consequently, it behooves all of US
to give him the best ration that is OBJ
tainable-not from humane stand
point alone, but from a dollar-and-
cent standpoint in the operation of
our business.
Expert Testimony.
Prof. McCollum has thoroughly
demonstrated, after 10 years of ex-
perimenting, that there are certain
elements in feedstuffs which have
never been classified, and yet play
a more important part in nutrition
than any of the standard nutrients
with which we are all familiar at this
time. This is more conclusive evil
dence than any previous discovery
that the proper balancing of feeds is
more important than we have ever
been able to appreciate. He has said
that an animal fed on seed or grains
alone and provided with water free
from mineral substances will die.
Prof. McCollum does not stop with
the statement that the animal will not
thrive, but declares it will actually
waste away. fhis does not apply to
all seed or one grain alone, but to
any number of seeds. He has de-
veloped a scientific fact that even
variety will not overcome the trouble.
With this startling statement be-
fore us and still standing unquestion-
ed by our best. feed experts, it must
impress you, as it has others, that we
must give the question of balanced
rations more consideration.
Enormous Demand For Feeds.
Never before in the history of the
country has there been so great a
ueed for the economic conservation
of every material that can be salts
factorily used for animal mainte-
nance. Facts show that this country
requires more grain than is actually
We all know that mixed
feed is a tremendous Influence in the
conservation Of grain values; first,
because it makes possible the assimi-
lation by the animal of practically
the full nutriment of the grain fed