DIGESTION EXPERIMENTS WITH SHEEP AND 



STEERS. 



J. M. Bartlett. 



The experiments here presented were undertaken for the pur- 

 pose of comparing the digestive capacity of steers with that of 

 sheep. They were begun in the winter of 1901 and completed 

 in 1904, and though the work was carried over a period of nearly 

 four years, not a great many experiments were performed for 

 the reason that only about four months of each year could be 

 devoted to the work, and each experiment required three weeks 

 time. 



By far the larger proportion of digestion coefficients obtained 

 in this country are those derived from experiments with sheep, 

 and in calculating rations it has been assumed that these were 

 correct, for all ruminants at least. The small size of sheep and 

 the ease with which they can be handled, probably accounts for 

 their more general use, but our experience with them leads us 

 to believe that, as a rule, they are much less desirable for this 

 purpose than steers. They are nervous, restless and more liable 

 to lose their appetite when confined in stalls, and parallel experi- 

 ments with two or more animals are subject to wider variations. 

 Out of a dozen different sheep the writed has used, only one 

 really satisfactory animal, equal to the steer, has been found. 



DESCRIPTION OF ANIMALS. 



The steers used were grade Durhams which were bought in 

 the country and had been rather poorly fed before they came to 

 the Station. They were, therefore, small of their age, weighing 

 about 300 lbs. at one and one-half years old, when the experi- 

 ments were begun. Although small, they were hearty and 

 rugged, ate their rations well and did not appear to mind the 

 confinement. 



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