320 



only 5.24 pounds of hay when fed 25 pounds ear corn per steer daily. 

 The same thing is true in Lots 2 and 3. 



Table II also shows the daily consumption of food per 1000 

 pounds live weight in each lot. It will be seen that so long as the 

 grain ration was limited, Lot 3 received more concentrates per 1000 

 pounds live weight than Lot i. This was due to the fact that the 

 steers in Lot 3 did not gain so rapidly as those in Lot I. However, 

 clover hay was relished so much more than shredded stover and oat 

 straw that the steers in Lot I consumed 21.66 pounds dry matter 

 daily per 1000 pounds live weight as compared with 19.90 in Lot 3, 

 during the first month. A further study of this table will show that 

 there was a gradual increase in the daily consumption of dry matter 

 per 1000 pounds liveweight in Lots I and 2 receiving 21.66 and 21.59 

 pounds at the beginning, until the end of the third month, when they 

 were receiving 26.08 and 24.94 pounds dry matter per 1000 pounds 

 liveweight respectively. From the beginning of the second half un- 

 til the close of the experiment, at which time they were consuming 

 22.19 an d 22.81 pounds of dry matter per 1000 pounds liveweight 

 daily, there was a gradual decrease. The steers were not up to a full 

 feed and their appetites were increasing at a grater rate than their 

 weight until the end of the third month, after which time the increase 

 in liveweight was greater than the increase in food consumption. 

 Lot 3 has an entirely different record. The steers in this lot were not 

 at all times ready for their feed, but were never in that condition 

 known as "off feed." They varied so greatly in rate of gain and ap- 

 petite throughout the experiment that it is impossible to make any 

 consistent statement concerning the consumption of dry matter dur- 

 ing different months. 



Comparing the daily consumption of dry matter per 1000 pounds 

 liveweight in Lots I and 2 during the first and last 90 days of the 

 experiment it will be noticed that there is a remarkable similarity. 

 The smallest amount of dry matter was consumed during the last 

 half. This is due to the fact that a fat steer cannot consume as much 

 dry matter per 1000 pounds liveweight as a thin steer. The opposite 

 is true in Lot 3. The cattle in this lot consumed more per 1000 

 pounds liveweight during the second half of this experiment than 

 during the first half. The steers in Lot 3 did not begin to decrease 

 in food consumption per 1000 pounds liveweight until the end of the 

 fifth month, when they were in about the same condition as the other 

 lots at the end of the third month. 



The nutritive ratio and the amount of dry matter in the rations 

 in the various lots varies greatly from that recommended in the 

 German Feeding Standards. This will usually be the case with cat- 

 tle rations in the corn belt. The standards of fattening cattle call 

 for 28 to 30 pounds of dry matter daily per 1000 pounds liveweight 



