ANIMAL NUTRITION DISCUSSION AT DUNDEE 429 



cotton seed oil as a substitute for butter fat, was to demon- 

 strate the practical economy of using separated milk and oil 

 in place of whole milk in feeding ordinary commercial calves. 

 Cotton seed oil was chosen as a comparatively cheap and easily 

 obtained vegetable oil which is extensively used in human food 

 and is known to be wholesome. Another reason why it was 

 chosen was that certain practical men, even of the intelligent 

 and educated class, were profoundly sceptical as to its value as 

 a food for calves. Their suspicion appeared to be based on the 

 general unsuitability of cotton cake as a food for young stock. 



Three series of calves were fed during the experiments. 

 Each series consisted of three lots fed as follows : 



Lot I. Whole milk till time of weaning. 



Lot II. Whole milk till three to five weeks old, after which 

 either separated milk and cod liver oil or separated milk, cod 

 liver oil and a meal gruel were gradually substituted for whole 

 milk. 



Lot III. Whole milk till three to five weeks old, then the 

 place of whole milk was gradually taken by separated milk, 

 cotton seed oil and a meal gruel. 



After weaning, the calves were all treated similarly till about 

 two years old, when they were sent to the butcher fat. Records 

 of the weights were kept till the time of slaughter, when the 

 carcase weights and a report on the carcases by the butcher 

 were obtained. 



The following table gives a summary of the results : 



Lot I. Lot II. Lot III. 



Whole milk. Cod liver oil. Cottonseed 



oil. 



Total number of calves .... 14 15 15 



Average weight at start . . . . 1091b. 1131b. 1071b. 



» » weaning . . . 309 „ 290 „ 280 „ 



„ increase when weaned . . . 200 „ 177 „ 173 „ 

 Average cost of feeding to time of weaning 



(P er calf ) £3 i9s- Id. £1 7 s. £1 $s. gd. 



Average cost of food per pound of increase . 4-82^. v8$d. vjgd. 



„ weight when sent to butcher . 1,150-3 lb. 1,1171b. 1,0783 lb. 



„ increase „ „ „ . 1,041-3 „ 1,004 „ 97i'3 ., 



The table shows that there is little difference, on the 

 average, between the increases made by calves fed with cotton 

 seed oil and those fed with cod liver oil. The cost of the cotton 

 seed oil feeding was slightly less. There did seem to be a 

 distinct difference in favour of the whole milk calves till the 



