368 THE FEEDING OF ANIMALS 



to concrete examples of steer-feeding will clearly show 

 the excessive requirements of the German standard for 

 fattening cattle. In 1891 to 1893 the Kansas Agricul- 

 tural Experiment Station conducted feeding experiments 

 with three-year-old steers, and as these are good exam- 

 ples of practical management, the data from them will 

 serve to illustrate the point under discussion. These 

 data are stated in a tabular form: 



Digestible organic matter per 1,000 pounds live weight . 13.8 15.3 



In 1895-1896 the Iowa Agricultural College fed steer 

 calves for fourteen months, during ten of which a record 

 was kept of aU the food consumed. During the second 

 period the steers were fattened for market. This particu- 

 lar experiment is cited because the animals were young 

 and all the conditions were favorable to the maxinmm 

 consumption of food in proportion to live weight: 



Table LXXXI 



First Second 



period period 



Number of animals . . 5 5 



Days fed 120 181 



Age of steers at beginning 9 to 10 mos. 16 to 17 mos. 



Pounds Pounds 



Weight per animal, average for period 766 1,197 



Coarse food eaten daily (partly roots and green fodder) 11 12.8 



Grain eaten daily (partly snapped corn) 9 19.5 



Dally gain per animal 2.04 2.11 



Gain per 1,000 pounds live weight . . 2.66 1.76 



Digestible organic matter daily per animal < . . . 10. 14.1 

 Digestible organic matter daily per 1,000 pounds live 



weight 13. 11.8 



