THE MAINE EXPERIMENT STATION. 6l 



the corn silage produced somewhat more growth than a pound of 

 digestible matter from the hay, but the difference was slight. 

 The digestible matter appeared to be the measure of value of 

 the foods. 



THE RELATION OF FOOD TO THE GROWTH AND COMPOSITION 

 OF THE BODIES OF STEERS. 



The experiment had for its object a study of the effect of 

 widely different rations upon the rate of growth and composition 

 of the bodies of steers. Beginning at the age of four to six 

 months, two pairs of steers were fed from seventeen to twenty- 

 seven months on rations differing widely in their nutritive ratio, 

 one ration having a ratio of I : 5.2 and the other I : 9.7. One pair 

 ate 1884 pounds of digestible protein in the same time the other 

 pair ate 1,070 pounds. 



One steer of each pair was slaughtered and analyzed at the 

 end of seventeen months feeding, the remaining steers being fed 

 for ten»months longer, when they were killed and analyzed. 

 The chemical analysis included the entire bodies, excepting the 

 skin and the contents of the stomach and intestines. 



Results: At the end of fifteen months feeding, the pair of 

 steers fed on the ration richer in protein had gained 221 pounds 

 of live weight more than the pair fed the ration less rich in pro- 

 tein. The later growth with two steers showed a difference in 

 favor of the ration less rich in protein. 



The relative weights of organs and parts of the body was 

 practically the same with the steers of the same age, independ- 

 ently of the ration. 



The kind of growth caused by the two rations, viz., the pro- 

 portions of water, protein, fat and ash, was not materially differ- 

 ent with the steers of the same size. This is true whether we 

 consider the entire bodies, the dressed carcasses or the edible 

 portions of the carcasses. With steers fed for the same time, 

 the composition of the entire bodies, the proportion and com- 

 position of the carcasses, and the proportions and compositions 

 of the edible parts were practically alike. 



The older pair of steers, viz : those fed for ten months longer 

 time, contained a smaller proportion of water and a larger pro- 

 portion of fat than the younger animals. 



