EXPERIMENTS WITH LIVE STOCK. 



The chief experimental work with live stock carried on by the 

 Experimental Farms has been confined to cattle and swine although 

 tests have been made in the use of different rations for working 

 horses. 



In 1889, herds of five breeds of cattle were established at the 

 Central Farm, made up of Shorthorns, Ayrshires, Holsteins, Jerseys, 

 and Aberdeen-Angus. A few years later, Aberdeen-Angus, Jerseys 

 and Holsteins were displaced by Guernseys and Canadians. In 

 1911 foundations were laid for herds of Jerseys and Holsteins. In 

 1890, swine were introduced including Yorkshires, Berkshires and 

 Essex. Since then, several other breeds have been experimented with, 

 but, for several years, all have been abandoned except Yorkshires, 

 Berkshires and Tamworths. 



At each of the other Farms, there have been maintained, almost 

 continuously since their inception, herds of beef and milking cattle 

 and of swine. At the Brandon, Indian Head and Nappan Farms, 

 tests in feeding beef cattle have been carried on from year to year. 

 At the Nappan Farm, series of tests were also conducted to determine 

 the most profitable methods of feeding steer calves. 



At the Central Farm, exhaustive experiments have been carried 

 on year after year with beef cattle, dairy cattle and swine. With 

 each class of stock, thousands of animals have been involved. The 

 work has been done in the most practical way, directed by an under- 

 standing of the scientific principles that underlie feeding. 



BEEF CATTLE. 



Both at Ottawa and at the Branch Farms, it has been 

 demonstrated beyond the shadow of a doubt that good cattle are 

 always the most profitable to feed. That is to say the good ones not 

 only make more rapid gains on a similar ration but they put on flesh 

 where it is most valuable to the butcher. By 'goodness' is meant 

 well-bred. The more nearly the breeding stock conforms to the ideal 

 beef type, the more certain is the progeny to yield a profit ,and the 

 better the animal, the greater the return. 



It has been shown also that condition at the beginning of fattening 

 has a marked influence upon the ultimate profits secured, feeders 

 carrying the most flesh, up to a reasonable limit, yielding the greatest 

 net return. 



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