8 PROCEEDINGS OP THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF QUEENSLAND. 



the reduction of prickly pear nutrients used by experimental 

 animals when the supplementary feeds were increased. All 

 the rations are on the basis of consumption per 1,000 lb. live 

 weight : — * 



Table 5. — Individual Rations. Prickly Pear variously Supple- 

 mented. 



The replacement of prickly pear is not, however, strictly 

 proportional to the increased amounts of other feeds, and 

 generally the total nutritive value is increased by more liberal 

 feeding. The reduction in amount of prickly pear eaten is less 

 with meals than with hays, due no doubt to the bulkier charac- 

 ter of the latter. The daily conswnption per head of prickly 

 pear by the steers when fed with minimum but sufficient 

 quantity of other feeds ranged generally from 60 to 90 lb. 



Effect of Succulence of Prickly Pear. — The seasonal drjdng 

 out of the prickly pear during the second maintenance trials 

 was perceived to be accompanied by some alteration in the 

 amounts consumed daily by experimental animals. In order 

 to show the influence of the drying out of prickly pear on the 

 amounts eaten by the steers, Table 6 has been prepared. The 

 data are for thirteen animals over successive ten-day periods. 



