456 MANUAL OF CATTLE-FEEDIKa 



irrespeetiv^e of tlie increase in weight, will, in eight to nine 

 months, yield animals weighing in the neighboi-hood of 

 lOU lbs., and well fattened. 



Eioher Feeding. — By richer feeding a still more rapid 

 gain may he obtained. 



In some experiments by Stohmann,"^' lambs seven to 

 eight months old were fed for live months upon straw, 

 potatoes, clover hay, and oil cake. These feeding-stuffs 

 w^ere combined into four different rations, two (Nos. 2 and 

 3) containing, per day and head, on the avenvage, 0.28 lb. 

 of digestible protein, and the other two (Nos. 1 and 4) 

 about 0.38 lb. The quantity of non-nitrogenous nutrients 

 was such that the nutritive ratio of one ration of each pair 

 was wider than that of the other, as shown by the table 

 on the opposite page. 



All the animals gained weight rapidly, but it was ol)- 

 served that the rations containing the larger amount of 

 protein, produced, as was to be expected, the greatest 

 effect (compare p. 399 &t saq,)^ and also that the wider nu- 

 tritive ratios gave better results than the narrower, a thing 

 which was also to be expected. The latter fact was espe- 

 cially noticeable after the animals were shorn at the end of 

 the fourth month. After this, 0.46t lb. of protein per day, 

 with a nutritive ratio of 1 : 3.9, not only gave a poorer result 

 than about the same quantity with a ratio of 1 : 4.3, but 

 hardly a better than 0.33t lb. of protein with a nutritive 

 ratio of 1 : 5.3. 



*Joiir. 1 Landw., 18(57, p. 138; "Erniihmng dei: Landw. Nufcz- 

 thiere," p. 439. 



f The quantities of protein first given are the average amounts for 

 the first four months. The actual quantity was gradually inci eased 

 with the growth of the animals, and hence the average for the last 

 month is higLei% 



