202 THE BREEDING OF ANIMALS 



Holstein Friesian cow produced 18,405 pounds of milk 

 in one year. This year's production from one cow con- 

 tained 2218 pounds of dry matter. At the same station, 

 the carcass of a 1250-pound fat steer was analyzed. The 

 steer was twenty-one months old and had been fed gen- 

 erously from birth. The steer's carcass contained 548 

 pounds of dry matter, or a little less than one-fourth the 

 amount of dry matter produced by the cow in one year. 

 The dry matter recorded for the steer was for the entire 

 carcass of the animal, including hide, horns, bones and 

 intestines. The actual net weight of the dry matter of 

 the edible portion of the fat animal was only 357 pounds. 

 In other words, the Holstein Friesian cow produced six 

 times as much edible human food in twelve months as 

 was produced by the fattening and growing steer in 

 twenty-one months. In the case just cited, it is true 

 that the cow was far above the average in efficiency while 

 the steer was a fair representative of a good average beef 

 animal. The example is nevertheless a most excellent il- 

 lustration of the very great development and improvement 

 of the dairy cow in the direction of desirable variations. 

 The foregoing records of the two animals did not include 

 the dry matter consumed in the production of milk and 

 beef. Such a record which would give the amount of 

 dry matter required to produce a pound of dry matter in 

 milk as compared with a pound of dry matter in beef 

 would be of great interest. Such records have been kept 

 at a number of American experiment stations. 



The feed and milk record of Pedro's Ramaposa 181,160 

 has been given by Eckles, 1 and from this the dry matter 

 in feed which is required to produce a pound of dry matter 



1 Eckles, Missouri Experiment Station, Research Bulletin, No. 

 2, p. 117. 



