REPORT OF MR. R. ROBERTSON 341 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



HORSES. 



Eight horses are at present on the Farm, kept exclusively as work animals, no 

 experiment of any kind being carried on with them. Six of them are for draft pur- 

 poses, one express horse and one driver. No change has been made in the number, 

 although an exchange was made during the year in the case of the driver, fora younger 

 animal. At least one draft horse will have to be added for the incoming year. All 

 are in good condition. 



CATTLE. 



With a view to carrying on an experiment with dairy cows to demonstrate tha 

 value and practicability of grading up the common cows of the country by the use of 

 a pure-bred bull of some of the established breeds of dairy cattle, twenty grade heifers 

 one and a half years old were bought in December of this year. They are being bred 

 in February and March, the intention being to commence this test about December 1. 

 1911. An Ayrshire bull was also procured for this experiment We thus have on hand 

 one Ayrshire bull and twenty grade heifers. 



STEER FEEDING EXPERIMENTS. 



As in past years, grade steers were put in in the fall for fattening purposes, with 

 the intention of selling out again in the spring. They were bought in October and 

 November, and the feeding experiment commenced December 1, they having been 

 dehorned in the meantime. The number being fed is sixty-two head The weight 

 credited to them, at the beginning of the experiment, was the weight found at 9 a.m. 

 without their having received any food from 7 p.m. the previous evening. Large quan- 

 tities of roots and clover hay were fed for the first month, without any meal, reaching 

 GO lbs. of roots per steer per day. From December 31 to date the roots have been 

 decreased 10 lbs. per day per steer each month, with meal, commencing January 1, y lb. 

 increasing 1 lb. per steer per day each month. 



In past years, after charging all foods consumed at market prices, whether bought 

 or grown on Farm, a substantial profit has been made, particularly on those fed in the 

 winter of 1909-10 (as per subjoined report of steers fed 1909-10), when the price paid 

 was $4.65 per 100 lbs., and the price received at selling time was $0.50 per 100 lbs. 

 This left an increased price of $1.90 per 100 lbs. The price paid this season, Novem- 

 ber, 1910, being so much in advance of previous years, leaves a serious doubt as to 

 whether the results will give a profit or a loss. 



No sale has as yet been made for spring delivery. 



Lbs. 



Total live weight of 62 steers, December 1, 1910 70,7 IS 



Total live weight of 62 steers, March 15, 1911 81,205 



Increase 10,460 



Average daily gain per steer 1 -60 



COMPLETION OF STEER-FEEDING EXPERIMENT, 1910, FINISHED SINCE LAST REPORT. 



On making my report March 31, 1910, the 64 steers were still on hand. 

 The following is a continuation and conclusion of said experiment: — 



