19201 ANIMAL PRODUCTION. 771 



Composition and digestibility of clover hay and siinfloioer silage fed to steers. 



Feed. 



Composition (dry basis). 



Crude 

 protein. 



Ether 

 extract. 



Crude 

 fiber. 



N-free 

 extract. 



Ash. 



Digestibility. 



Dry 

 matter. 



Crude 

 protein. 



Ether 



extract. 



Crude 

 fiber. 



N-free 

 extract. 



Clover hay 

 [Clover hay 

 Sundower 



[ la.ce 



Simllowur 

 luge 



Perct. 

 13.77 

 13.19 



9.60 



y. 82 



Per ct. 

 1.68 

 1.65 



2.47 



2.40 



Per ct. 

 31.70 

 30.65 



30.67 



32.66 



Per ct. 



47.89 

 47.76 



48.65 



48.69 



Per ct. 

 4.95 

 6.73 



8.60 



6.41 



Per ct. 

 CO. 65 

 63.23 



60.35 



57.27 



Per ct. 



63.28 

 60.72 



55.23 



59.88 



Per ct. 

 37.75 

 46.49 



77.62 



70.63 



Per ct. 



51.79 

 50.73 



40.81 



42.16 



Per ct. 

 71.66 

 73.14 



71.48 



69.75 



It is concluded that the digestibility of the sunflower silage is approximately 

 the same whether fed alone or in conjunction with clover hay, and that the 

 coefficients of digestibility of sunflower silage resemble those of silage made of 

 immature corn. 



[Steer feeding evperiments in Canada] (Canada Expt. Farms Rpt. 1919, 

 pp. 82, 89, 95, 96, 1J,2, i55).— It is stated by J. A. Clark (p. 82) that tests at 

 Chaiiottetown, V. E. I., indicate that blood meal is not an economical supple- 

 ment in steer feeding. 



In a comparison of heavy and light steers fed identical rations at the Kent- 

 ville, N. S., I'^xperimental Station, reported by W. S. Blair (p. 89), it was found 

 that a lot of 12 steers, averaging 1,007 lbs. in weight, made an average daily 

 gain of 1.095 lbs. per head during the 168 days of the feeding trial, while 

 12 lighter steers, averaging 785 lbs. in weight, gained at the rate of 1.378 lbs. 

 per day. 



Two years' results at Nappan, N. S., are reported by W. W. Baird (pp. 95, 96). 

 In 1917-18, 34 beef steers, fed roots and grain in an open shed, made an average 

 daily gain of 1.58 lbs. per head. Three smaller groups (totaling 8 steers) were 

 kept loose in box stalls and fed similarly or with silage added or substituted 

 for roots; the daily gains varied from 2.4 to 2.67 lbs. per steer. In 1918-19, 

 three lots of 8 steers each were fed on roots and grain. A lot of good beef 

 type (averaging 1,067 lbs. at the start) housed loose in a box stall made a daily 

 gain of 1.62 lbs. per steer. A lot of poorer beef type (averaging 931 lbs. in 

 weight) gained at the rate of 1:87 lbs. The third lot, which was of mixed 

 Shorthorn and dairy breeds (weighing 1,014 lbs. per head), was tied in a barn 

 and made an average dally gain of 1.875 lbs. 



In tests at Mordon, Man., reported by E. M. Straight (p. 142), it was found 

 that 15 steers fed in a barn for 151 days made a total gain per steer of 194 lbs. 

 and that a similar group fed in an open front board shed gained 151 lbs. 



At Rosthern, Sask., it was found by \V. A. Munro (p. 155) that a lot of 

 23 steers fed oat and barley chop and hay made a total gain of 203 lbs., whereas 

 a similar lot fed the same ration plus 10 lbs. of turnips made a gain of 295 lbs. 



The occurrence of red calves in black breeds of cattle, L. J. Cole and 

 S. V. H. Jones {^Visc()nsin Sta. Bui. 313 (1020), pp. 36, figs. /,).— The authors 

 show from historical records that red or red and white animals formed part of 

 th(f*foundation stocks of the Aberdeen-Angus, Galloway, and Holstein-Friesian 

 breeds. Since black is a simple Mendel ian dominant to red, the occasional 

 production of red calves by registered animals of the black breeds is not sur- 

 prising and should not be considered a necessary or even a probable Indication 

 of recent crossbreeding, and the good name of a breeder should not be lmpiigTie<l 

 because of such an occurrence. It is pointed out that both parents are e«iually 

 16032°— 20 



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