268 FEEDING ANIMALS. 



the weight and age are given, and no clue to the food ; the 

 kinds of food may be mentioned and nothing said about 

 quantity. A complete experiment is seldom to be found, 

 having all the elements stated necessary to determine the 

 cost of beef at any age ; and the reader may be a little sur- 

 prised to find that Dr.'Lawes himself, in speaking above of 

 the amount of dry matter in food required for one pound 

 increase in fattening cattle, should not give the proportions 

 of such food, that the reader might know his exact ration. 

 He speaks of a ration " composed of a moderate proportion 

 of cake or corn, some hay or straw chaff, with roots or 

 other succulent food, and well managed, etc." This he 

 states to have been determined partly from experiments of 

 his own, and it is hardly excusable that he should leave it 

 so indefinite. What is a "moderate proportion of cake or 

 corn ?" A dozen farmers would very likely each give dif- 

 ferent answers. He is the most painstaking experimenter 

 in England, and is said to keep most minute and accurate 

 notes of all details, but here he leaves it to the judgment 

 of every reader to determine the composition of the food, 

 of which he says 12K Ibs. is required for 1 Ib. of increase. 

 But if the mixed food contains a liberal amount of oil-cake, 

 clover chaff, and swedes, then 11 Ibs. dry subsance of food 

 will make 1 Ib. of increase. You must determine what is 

 "moderate" and what is "liberal" in cake and corn. 



Dr. Lawes' estimate of 12% Ibs, dry substance of food to 

 1 Ib. of gain, is no doubt an approximation to the facts of 

 feeding in England and in this country, although we have 

 had a better result than this in several cases of our own 

 feeding, and have examined a number of other cases, in 

 which the facts are authentic, with a higher result. We 

 will give some of these, as bearing upon this question of 

 the cost of beef. Some of these cases we have reported 

 elsewhere, and will here give only a summary of them. 



Mr. John Johnston, late of Geneva, N. Y. , emigrating 

 to this country from Scotland 50 years ago, and bringing 



