368 THE FEEDING OF ANIMALS 



to concrete examples of steer-feeding will clearly show 

 the excessive requirements of the German standard for 

 fattening cattle. In 1891 to 1893 the Kansas Agricul- 

 tural Experiment Station conducted feeding experiments 

 with three-year-old steers, and as these are good exam- 

 ples of practical management, the data from them will 

 serve to illustrate the point under discussion. These 

 data are stated in a tabular form : 



TABLE LXXX 



In 1895-1896 the Iowa Agricultural College fed steer 

 calves for fourteen months, during ten of which a record 

 was kept of all the food consumed. During the second 

 period the steers were fattened for market. This particu- 

 lar experiment is cited because the animals were young 

 and all the conditions were favorable to the maximum 

 consumption of food in proportion to live weight: 



TABLE LXXXI 



First Second 



period period 



Number of animals 5 5 



Days fed 120 181 



\ge of steers at beginning 9 to 10 mos. 16 to 17 mos. 



Pounds Pounds 



Weight per animal, average for period 766 1,197 



Coarse food eaten daily (partly roots and green fodder) 11 12.8 



Grain eaten daily (partly snapped corn) 9 19.5 



Daily gain per animal 2.04 2.11 



Gain per 1,000 pounds live weight 2.66 1.76 



Digestible organic matter daily per animal .... 10. 14.1 

 Digestible organic matter daily per 1,000 pounds live 



weight 13. 11.8 



