108 AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. 



One and two year old grade Shorthorn steers, two of each 

 kind, were chosen for the observation. The steers selected 

 were, as far as possible, of a similar general character with 

 reference to breed. They were chosen of a different age to 

 offer a desirable chance to determine the difference in the 

 cost of the feed for the i)roduction of a corresponding 

 increase in the live weight of both one and two year old 

 animals. 



The same kinds of fodder articles served at the same stage 

 of the experiment for all animals engaged in the experiment 

 alike in the compounding of their daily diet ; they were, 

 however, given in different proportion and in different quan- 

 tities to animals of different ages. The daily diet of one 

 and two year old steers was compounded with a due con- 

 sideration of the wants at the particular age of each lot. 

 Their respective daily diet consequently differed essentially 

 only in regard to quantity and proportion of the same fod- 

 der articles. 



The local market price of the various fodder articles used 

 at the time of the observation has been adopted as the basis 

 of determining the cost of the daily fodder rations. A loss 

 of eight per cent, of the essential fertilizing constituents 

 contained in the food consumed has been assumed a fair 

 compensation for the amount of nitrogen, phosphoric acid 

 and potassium oxide retained in the growing animal, and 

 thereby lost to the manurial resources of the farm. Accept- 

 ing E. Wolff^s statement of the chemical composition of a 

 live steer as the basis in our calculation of the loss of the 

 above-stated manurial substances, one hundred pounds of 

 increase in the live weight of the steers, at the present mar- 

 ket value of phosphoric acid, potassium oxide and nitrogen, 

 represents a loss of from 52 to 55 cents to the manurial 

 resources of the farm. From the previous statement, it will 

 be noticed that ninety-two per cent, of the essential fertil- 

 izing constituents contained in the feed consumed are con- 

 sidered available in the manure produced in connection with 

 raising steers for the meat market. The net cost of the feed 

 stated in the subsequent report of our financial results 

 represents, therefore, the cost of the feed consumed, after 

 deducting from its original market price ninety-two per 



