FARM ANIMALS. 



133 



The steer maintains a practically uniform rate of gain 

 from birth until two years old. The cost of the gain in 

 the second period is 50. per cent greater than in the first ; 

 in the third period twice that in the first; and in the 

 fourth period three times that in the first. These thor- 

 oughly established facts should be taken into considera- 

 tion by the stockman when deciding at what age to mar- 

 ket his cattle. Beef cattle are most profitable when 

 marketed between the ages of one year and two and a 

 half years. 



3 Ib. 



21b. 



lib. 



100 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. II. 1200 DAYS. 



RELATION BETWEEN DAILY GAIN IN WEIGHT AND AGE IN DAYS. 



Dairy type versus beef type. The Minnesota Ex- 

 periment Station has definitely proven that the produc- 

 tive capacity of the cow depends more upon type and 

 conformation than upon size or breed. By testing a 

 large number of cows it was found that those of the beef 

 type produced butter fat at a cost of 17^2 cents a pound, 

 while the spare cows having deep bodies produced butter 

 fat at a cost of 12.1 cents a pound. 



