FOOI>S ANIMAL PRODUCTION. 



371 



the effect (^f the length of period on dig-estihilit}-. The average results 

 follow: 



Coefficients of digestibility of corn fodder and corn stover. 



Corn fodder = ground corn and cobs and 



shredded stover, fed 4 days 



Corn fodder, feci H days 



i;orn fodder, fed 10 days 



Shredded corn stover, fed 4 days 



Shredded corn stover, fed 6 days 



Shredded corn stover, fed 10 days 



Per cent. 

 23.9 

 23.1 

 23.4 

 23.0 

 22. 2 

 22.5 



The author's conchisions follow: 



" When the earn are ground to corn-anil-col) meal, corn fodder .'^liows^ a liigheri)er- 

 centage of digestil)ility than any other common coarse food stuff, tlie digestiljihty of 

 the dry matter being 8 per cent higher than timothy hay and 14 per cent higher than 

 clover hay. The total digestibility of corn fodder is increased 6 per cent by grinding 

 the ears to corn-and-cob ineal previous to feeding, while the value of the ears alone 

 is increased nearly 20 per cent by grinding. In both its composition and digesti- 

 bility corn stover closely resembles timothy hay, and the edible jjortion of the stover 

 has a nutritive value fully ecjual to that of timothy." 



Bullock feeding experiments in Norfolk.,T. B AY oon ('loi/r. Bd. 



Agr. \L(»n(h,n\. C {1S09), N^j. -A pp. J11-JS3). ~ln the first test reported, 

 which was made in 1895-90, with 20 3-year-old Irish steers divided 

 into -i uniform lots of 5 each, the special object was to determine the 

 amount of roots which could be protitably fed. After a preliminary 

 period of about a month, the test proper began, Noveml)er 2S, 1895, 

 and continued 77 days. All the steers were fed 10 l])s. per head of a 

 grain ration made up of equal parts of linseed meal, cotton-seed meal, 

 crushed wheat, and crushed barley. Hay and chaffed straw were fed 

 ad libitu/ii, and the following amounts of Swedish turnips: Lot 1 1:2 

 lbs. per head daily, lot 2 84 lbs., lot 8 126 lbs. (only 107 lbs. being 

 consumed, on an average), and lot 1 all they ^vould eat, averaging 115 

 lbs. per head. 



The steers weighed on an average 1,251 lbs. :it the beginning of the 

 test. The average daily gains for the 4 lots were 1.8, 2, 2, and 2.2 

 lbs. per head, respectively. It was calculated that lot 1 converted 6.9 

 per cent of the dry matter consumed into beef; lot 2, 7.5 per cent; 

 lot 3, 7.1 per cent, and lot 1, 7.6 per cent. At current prices foi' 

 feeding stuffs, the profits on the 4 lots are calculated at 115.35, $18.23, 

 115.13, and $17.63, respectively. "The Norfolk practice of giving 

 bullocks all the roots they will eat appears, therefore, to be an eco- 

 nomical one, as it leads to a larger consumption of diy matter, a high 

 percentage of which is converted into beef." 



The comparative value of different commercial feeding stuff's was 

 tested in 1896-97, 1897-98, 1S9S-99. The first of these tests was begun 

 with 4: lots of 5 Irish steers, but one animal in each lot was dropped 



