ON AGRICULTURE TO CANADA 83 



or in other words, the stock bearing capacity of land. This has been 

 carried out on a 40-acre plot ; while in another experiment known 

 as the 200-acre farm the object is to measure and demonstrate the 

 fanning possibilities of this area of land when a definite system of 

 cropping is pursued and everything managed according to enlightened 

 ideas. These examples sullieientlv illustrate the scope and use- 

 fulness of the work in this branch. 



Equally useful to the agriculturists in a newly settled country 

 are the experiments and the recorded observations made with live 

 stock. The admirable equipment for this class of work at tin- 

 Central Farm has been, and is fully made use of. Cattle breeding 

 experiments and investigations into the production of beef and milk, 

 date from 1889, when forty-four head of cattle were bought. This 

 purchase included Shorthorns, Ayrshires, Holsteins, Jerseys, and 

 Polled-angus ; some of these have been discarded, but at the present 

 time the herd includes Shorthorns, Ayrshires, Guernseys and 

 Canadians. 



A brief recital of the experiments in beef and milk production 

 and results obtained will serve to indicate the scope and the useful- 

 ness of the work. 



Beef Production 



Under this heading some of the work carried on has been along 

 the lines of : — 



1. Breeding 



The experiments show that breeding affects very materially 

 the chances of profit from feeding steers. The more typically beef 

 type the breeding stock, the more certain and greater are the profits 

 on the progeny. 



2. Testing various Feeds as to their Value for Beef Production 



Practically every available feed, both rough and concentrated, 

 has been experimented with, but space will not permit of giving 

 results save in a general way. For roughage (bulky food) — corn 

 silage, mangels and turnips are about equally valuable as the 

 succulent part of the ration, clover hay and alfalfa rank first as 

 dry coarse feeds, while for concentrated food corn (maize) ranks 

 very high, although gluten meal is probably its equal. Mixed meals 

 give excellent results. Oats 100, bran 100, oil meal 100, constitutes 

 .a very excellent meal mixture. 



3. Testing Values of Rations 



Much has been done by way of testing the value of various 

 rations for beef production. Not to enter into details it may be 

 said that for a 1000-lb. steer under full feed the following ration 



