92 AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. 



n. 



FEEDING EXPERIMENTS WITH STEERS (TWO), 



1889-92. 



Introduction . — The two new feeding experiments briefly 

 described within a few subsequent pages may be considered 

 as a continuation of a preceding one, reported in full in our 

 ninth annual report, 1891-92, pages 107 to 127. They were 

 planned chiefly for the purpose of ascertaining the cost of the 

 feed for the production of beef for the meat marhet in case of 

 growing steers, under existing local market conditions of the 

 supijly of coarse and fine feed stuffs and of cost of beef 



During our first experiment in the stated direction, four 

 young steers, grade Shorthorn, two one year old and two 

 two years old, served for our observation. They were 

 selected at difierent stages of growth, for the special purpose 

 of observing and comparing the feeding effect of one and the 

 same suitable daily diet on the rate of increase in live weights 

 and on the cost of the feed consumed per j^ound of live 

 weight produced, under specified conditions. 



The coarse fodder articles used on that occasion were home 

 raised, and consisted, from the beginning to the end of the 

 trial, of either dry fodder corn, or corn ensilage, or corn 

 stover, all obtained from the same variety of field corn, — 

 Pride of the North. The corn used for the production of 

 dry fodder corn and of corn ensilage was in both cases of a 

 corresponding stage of growth, — kernels glazing. The corn 

 stover Avas obtained from the fully matured crop. 



The^ne or grain feed used in that connection in the prep- 

 aration of the daily fodder rations consisted, as a rule, of 

 equal weights of cither wheat bran and Chicago gluten meal, 

 or of wheat bran and old-process linseed meal, or of wheat 

 bran, old-process linseed meal and corn and cob meal. The 

 total quantity of the grain feed mixture used daily, per head, 

 varied from seven to nine pounds ; it never exceeded nine 

 pounds. , The amount of _ coarse^ feed daily consumed per 



