60 



Missouri Agricultural Report. 



Let us, however, inspect these total annual products more 

 closely. 



. Assuming that the 675 pounds gained by the steer will have 

 the composition shown by Jordan in his studies of the composition 

 of the gain made on animals from 17 to 27 months of age, *we 

 should have the following detailed exhibit: 



The 6,000 pounds of milk produced by the cow in the same 

 length of time might be safely estimated on the basis of: 



Water 



Butter fat 



Milk sugar 



Oaseln and albuinen — 



Ash 



Total dry matter. 



Per cent. 



Pounds. 



4.6 



4.75 



3.85 



.8 



5160 



276 

 285 

 231 



48 



840 



The water in the meat and in the milk is of no more value 

 for food than that which comes from the cistern or spring, and 

 we are, therefore, primarily interested in the quantity of dry mat- 

 ter produced. 



It will be observed that the cow's annual output of dry mat- 

 ter is 840 pounds, as compared with 386 pounds for the steer. 



A close scrutiny of the detailed figures given above will show 

 that the whole story is not yet told. The steer's product will need 

 to be still further reduced, because a portion of the gain made is 

 inedible, being in the form of increase in weight of bone, hoof, 

 horn, hide, vital organs, blood, etc. We have no reliable data from 

 which to estimate the amount of the annual growth of this ma- 

 terial on a steer, but it is certainly safe to assume that the six 

 per cent of ash shown by Jordan's figures in the above table would 

 not be an over-estimate of the amount that would be classed as 



•Jordan : "The Feeding of Animals." Page 340, 



