THE EFFICIENCY OF RATIONS 313 



Armsby and Fries at the Pennsylvania Station ^ found 

 that a pure-bred Angus steer utihzed his ration more efficiently 

 than a scrub steer, primarily because the maintenance re- 

 quirement of the pure-bred steer was less, leaving more 

 energy available to produce flesh. 



Further, the mutton type sheep is a more efficient pro- 

 ducer of meat than the fine wool type. On the other hand, 

 the latter is a more efficient producer of wool. 



Fowls of the meat type are more efficient producers of 

 meat than those of the egg type, while the latter are more 

 efficient producers of eggs than the former. 



The conformation of the horse and the kind of work he 

 is doing have an effect on the efficiency. Thus, horses of 

 the draft type are most efficient for work of heavy draft, 

 light harness horses for work of locomotion, and saddle 

 horses for carrying a weight. 



The age of the animal has considerable influence upon 

 the efficiency of gains. Other things being equal, the 

 younger the animal, the greater is the efficiency. Older 

 animals usually make larger daily gains than younger ones, 

 but they are not made as efficiently as in the case of the 

 younger animals. This is shown quite clearly in a com- 

 pilation made by Henry and Morrison - from over 500 pig 

 feeding trials, involving more than 2200 animals. A modi- 

 fication of their table is as follows : 



1 Bui. 105. 2 "Feeds and P^ceding," p. 569. 



