M.— AGRICULTURE. 223 



cross-bred bulls of the country. These animals were reared in the ordinary- 

 way followed in Northern Ireland, viz. : for the first six weeks they were 

 fed on whole milk, and for the next four or five months on separated milk 

 with concentrates. During the whole period of their growth they were 

 never allowed to lose their calf flesh. The animals were slaughtered 

 when from twelve to eighteen months old. The results of these experi- 

 ments clearly proved that when animals were well bred, the progeny of a 

 good pedigree sire, the production of baby beef was an economic success, 

 but when the animals were badly bred it was a complete failure. The 

 ill-bred calf simply grew but would not put on flesh. These experiments 

 have induced many farmers throughout Northern Ireland to convert their 

 calves into baby beef instead of pursuing the ordinary system of producing 

 stores, with the result that now special sales of baby beef are being held 

 annually in Northern Ireland and are largely attended by cross-Channel 

 butchers. 



The lesson which these experiments have taught is that unless the 

 breeding stock of the country is improved and graded up to a high 

 standard, the progeny will not mature quickly and will never be suitable 

 for baby beef production. If the demand for small joints of beef con- 

 tinues to grow and becomes permanent, and if we are to hold our own 

 against foreign competition, it can be met only by paying far more 

 attention to the improvement of our stock than we have done in 

 the past or are doing at present, and this will be chiefly through the 

 increased use of good pedigree sires. The strongest argument for the 

 elimination of inferior sires is that there is a growing demand for a higher 

 quality of meat and, therefore, a high standard of breeding and feeding 

 is necessary for further development. 



Advantages of Early Maturing Stock. 



In addition to meeting the market demand for small joints, early 

 maturity has considerable economic advantages, namely : — 



1. It gives a much quicker turnover, and is of material assistance in 

 eliminating intermediate profits. At present in the case of beef three 

 types of producers are frequently engaged in the production of the finished 

 article : the rearer, who sells at the age of nine to fifteen months to the 

 grazier of store cattle, who in turn, after a summer on the grass, sells to 

 the arable farmer for stall feeding. 



2. The young animal is the more economical converter of food. The 

 older an animal is, the greater is the amount of food required to produce 

 1 lb. of live weight gain. Moreover, after a certain weight is reached, 

 200-240 lb. in the case of the pig, and probably about 800 lb. in the case 

 of the fattening bullock, the daily live weight gain falls. It follows, 

 therefore, that as the demand is for small joints and as the consuming 

 public is paying higher prices for small carcases, it is greatly to the 

 advantage of the stock feeder to finish his animals off at as early an 

 age as possible. In this connection may I express the hope that our 

 Animal Nutrition Research Stations will soon be able to provide the 

 farmer with badly needed data for the several types of farm animals, 

 showing the amount of food required at varying weights to produce 1 lb. 

 of live and dead weight gain. For pigs the information is available. In 



