n BULLETIN NO. 58. 



pounds of grain per day gained but 2 and 7 pounds more, respect- 

 ively, than those fed three pounds of grain per day, and that for 

 the 129 days of the feeding test. Leaving out of consideration lot 

 II, which for some reason did not do quite so well, we notice a 

 slight increase in the gain of the steers as the grain ration is in- 

 creased, but the increased gain in no wise compensates for the 

 extra grain eaten. Neither is this gain sufficient to give the better 

 fed steer any better finish for the market. It should be noticed, 

 however, that the gains made by the steers in this experiment were 

 the lowest gains made by any steers fed at the Station for the past 

 five years. The gains by years are as follows: In 1900 the aver- 

 age daily gain per steer was 2.27 pounds. In 1901 it was 1.82 

 .pounds. In 1902 the gain was 2.27 pounds. In 1903 each steer 

 gained 2.15 pounds. In 1904 each steer gained 2.16 pounds and in 

 1905 the gain was 1.3 pounds per day per steer. I cannot at this 

 time account for the difference, unless it may be due to the fact 

 that the steers fed the past winter were in a little better flesh at the 

 beginning of the experiment. 



FOOD EATEN BY THE STEERS AND COST OF FOOD. 



Table No. 2 gives the weight of food eaten by the steers and 

 the cost of the same. Considering, first, the {.est periol of 99 days, 

 the steers ate per day from 22.1 to 25.7 pounds of hay and from three 

 to 9 -pounds of grain. We will notice that there is a slight de- 

 crease in the amount of hay eaten per day as the amount of grain 

 increases, but the total food eaten is larger for those steers getting 

 the larger grain ration. In other .words, the increase in the grain 

 ration did not save, proportionately, a s. ; large, amount of hay as the 

 increase in" grain fed. ' The time covered "by this "test period" 

 starts when lot I received : the full grain ration of 3 pounds per day, 

 and it took one month after this to get lot IV up to 10 pounds of 

 grain, so that the average grain fed for the "test period," except 

 for lots I and II, is slightly below the maximum grain ration. 



Considering, next, the food eaten for one pound of gain, we 

 find that lot I ate 22.8 pounds of hay and 2.66 pounds of giain for 

 each pound of gain made. Lot II, with c pounds of grain per day. 

 required 28 pounds of hay and 5.43 pounds of grain. Lot III ate 

 22.5 pounds of hay and 6.02 pounds of grain for each pound of in- 

 crease in live weight, while lot IV, on a maximum grain ration, 

 required 18.6 pounds of hay and 7.53 pounds of grain for each 



