35 



consumed was so slight that it, doubtless, produced little effect upon 

 the cost and rate of growth. Certain calves were quite heavy feeders 

 upon all feeds fed and the consumption of corn silage by these calves 

 was in proportion to the amount of other feeds consumed. 



TABLE: XVI. Showing Cost and Composition of Ration Received 



by Lot I 



FOOD NUTRIENTS RECEIVED BY LOT I. In selecting feeds for 

 live stock, it is necessary to consider their comparative efficiency in 

 relation to their total cost. The average cost of raising the calves 

 on a skim milk ration, as shown in Table XVI, was $12.63 P er head. 

 Of the total cost, the skim milk consumed represents 39.9 per cent. ; 

 the alfalfa hay, 27.07 per cent. ; the dry mash, 16.38 per cent ; and the 

 whole milk, 15.5 per cent. The milk portion of the ration, which 

 includes both the whole milk and the skim milk, costs $7.02, or 55.5 

 per cent, of the entire feed cost of the calves in Lot I. 



The average daily amount of dry matter consumed by the 

 calves in Lot I was 1.27 pounds during the second week of the 

 test and 7.85 pounds during the twenty-sixth week. The increase 

 in the amount of dry matter consumed was as great during the first 

 nine weeks as during the last four weeks of the test. The increase 

 in consumption of dry matter was the least during the four weeks 

 following the eighteenth week. During the first part of the experi- 

 ment, it required, approximately, .7 pound of dry matter to pro- 

 duce one pound gain as compared with one pound of dry matter to 

 produce a pound gain at the conclusion of the test. The largest 

 amount of dry matter was supplied by the alfalfa hay as over 

 50 per cent, of the total amount consumed during the entire 

 period came from this feed. ' Skim milk ranks next as a source 

 of dry matter, supplying 25 per cent., and the dry mash, third, 



