Experiments in Fattening Cattle. 



119 



It thus appears that it pays well at the present relative prices of 

 corn and meat to give about 4: lbs. of bean-meal per day, cooked 

 with cut straw, to fattening cattle, but that the profit is converted 

 to loss if this rate is much exceeded. 



A comparison between Nos. 3 and 6 gives this farther result, 

 that an acre of swedes, when eaten by two lots of cattle receiving 

 equal quantities of bean-meal, given in the one case in a raw state 

 and in the other cooked with cut straw, will yield in the former 

 97. 75. 6^/., and in the latter 121. \0s. The greater bulk of the 

 cooked food is found to be a profitable and sufficient substitute 

 for a certain portion of the swedes, and the farmer's additional 

 profit is made in this substitution of a very cheap kind of food, 

 viz., cut straw and hot water when blended with bean-meal. 



4th. Nos. 9 and 10 are experiments to show the relative feed- 

 ing qualities of different kinds of fodder as auxiliary to swedes. 

 The increased weight of the lot No. 1 0, fed on turnips and hay, 

 as compared with that fed on turnips and straw, No. 9, bears no 

 proportion to the increased cost of the hay, and is conclusive 

 against the propriety of using rye-grass hay as fodder for turnip- 

 fed cattle. The hay was not of superior quality. 



5th. Nos. 11, 12, and 13 form a comparative trial of the effects 

 of different kinds of artificial food, of equal money value, as auxi- 

 liaries to swedes in the fattening of cattle ; 3 lbs. to 4 lbs. of good 

 oil-cake per day give a better return than a mixture of the same 

 money's worth of oil-cake, oats, and bean meal given dry, or of 

 oil and rape-cake in nearly equal proportions. 



Table II. 



This experiment was undertaken to show the relative advan- 

 tage of box, stall, and shed feeding. 



Particulars of Food and Management. 



All the lots were fed for the first 57 days on 114 lbs. swede tur- 

 nips per day, divided into 3 feeds, and 4 lbs. of bean meal daily, 

 along with the noonday meal ; and for the remaining 57 days 58 lbs. 

 swedes per day given morning and evening, and 3 lbs. cut straw 

 boiled along with 4 lbs. bean meal for the midday feed. All the 

 cattle consumed 4^ lbs. fodder per day, three-fourths of the time 

 oat and one-fourth wheat straw. 



The principle adopted in the above experiments was to test the 

 returns which equal quantities of food -would leave when consumed 

 under the different modes of feedino: mentioned. It was thouo^ht 

 that a trial made in this way would show clearly which of the three 



