346 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



next table not only the total cost of food for each pound of growth, 

 but also the cost of each pound of growth after deducting the cost 

 of maintenance. 



Some facts appear from these feeding experiments with steers 

 that have a direct practical bearing. 



(1) Tlie amount of ha}' (mostl}' Timothy) necessary to maintain 

 an animal without loss or gain was in these experiments nineteen 

 (19) pounds dail}' for each thousand pounds of live weight. 



(2) The cost of producing a pound of growth, based on the total 

 value of food consumed, was least with the most liberal feeding. In 

 no case, however, was the value of the growth equal to the total 

 cost of the food. 



(3) The results of these experiments show, nevertheless, that for 

 the food which was consumed in excess of a maintenance ration* 

 the steers returned liberal pay. The cost of keeping a pair of steers 

 for 138 da3'3 on a maintenance ration, viz., 15 pounds of hay dailj', 

 was $20.70. On this ration the steers made only 10 pounds gain. 

 By increasing the qualit}' of the food in the case of ration C so that 

 the total cost was $28.56, two steers gained 313 pounds in 138 days. 

 The difference between the cost of the maintenance ration and ration 

 C was 87. 8G, and the value of the growth produced was at least 810. 

 In ration I) the cost of the food was still greater, being 816.84 more 

 than the maintenance ration, which was about the market value of 

 the growth produced. It seems, then, that a farmer does well to feed 

 growing stock a moderate excess of food above what is necessary to 

 enable the animals to "hold their own." 



♦This is a ration that maintains the animal without loss, but which produces no growth. 



