424 THE FEEDING OF ANIMALS 



It may properly be said of the foregoing figures that 

 they are only averages and that the relation of food to 

 production varies with different animals of the same class 

 and with the conditions involved. While this is true, the 

 relations shown in the preceding calculations represent 

 differences too wide to be explained on any other ground 

 than that the various animal products have greatly 

 unlike food cost. 



The most noticeable fact brought out by this com- 

 parison is the low relative food cost of milk and other 

 dairy products. The growth of a pound of edible beef 

 solids requires a food expenditure nearly seven times as 

 great as is necessary for the elaboration of a pound of 

 milk solids. On the other hand, swine are fed with nearly 

 as great economy as are milch cows. In fact, when proper 

 allowance is made for the period of growth of the cow and 

 for the annual periods when she is giving no milk, she 

 seems to have no advantage over the pig except in kind 

 of product. Next, in the order of economical use of food, 

 comes the calf when fed largely on milk. Poultry prod- 

 ucts stand next in line. Sheep and lambs do not differ 

 materially from steers, meat products of these two 

 classes requiring the largest proportional food consump- 

 tion of any form of growth here considered. The order 

 of food efficiency as related to the several animal prod- 

 ucts is therefore as follows: milk, pork, veal, poultry 

 and eggs, mutton, and beef. 



It is suggestive, at least, to notice that the food factor 

 is inversely as the labor factor in these various lines of 

 production. For instance, labor is a large factor of the 

 cost of a pound of any dairy product and a small factor 

 in the cost of beef or mutton, while the reverse is emphati- 

 cally true of the food cost. 



