340 The Feeding of Animals 



The breeding or selection of animals of the most prof- 

 itable tj'pe that will supply the market with a high- 

 grade product, and stable feeding, so as to produce 

 rapid and continuous increase without disease or disas- 

 ter of any kind, require experience and an intelligent 

 application of all the factors involved. 



THE NATUEE AND EXTENT OF THE GROWTH IN BEEF 

 PRODUCTION 



Feeding steers or oxen for the market may be car- 

 ried on with young animals that are still making some 

 growth of bone and muscle, or with those so mature that 

 additional weight comes almost wholly from a deposi- 

 tion of fat in the tissues already formed. This is the 

 difference between feeding a two -year -old and a five- 

 year -old steer. In either case the predominating con- 

 stituent of the increase is fat. This fact is established 

 by the investigation of Lawes and Gilbert and by one 

 experiment in this country. Dr. Gilbert in his lec- 

 tures summarizing the Rothamsted work gives the 

 following figures: 



Couiposition of increase wlien steers are fattening 



Water Ash Protein Fat 



% % % % 



Oxen fattened very young 32-37 2% 10 50-55 



Matured animals, final period 25-30 1% 7-8 60-65 



American results with well-fed 

 steers, growth from 17 mos. to 

 27 mos. of age 42.4 6. 14.1 37.5 



These figures may be regarded as reliable, and they 

 show most conclusively that in beef production the 



