210 
On the Fattening of Oxen. 
The riglit hand columns in Tables I. and II., giving the gain 
per liead per week, and per 100 lbs. live-weiglit per week, of 
each bullock, show, that almost every animal of both the lots 
gained much more rapidly during the first than during the suc- 
ceeding two months after being put on fattening food. This 
shows how important it is not to place too nmcli confidence, 
as the basis of average estimates, on results obtained over short 
periods of time immediately after considerable changes in the 
mode of feeding. The sate of increase over the whole three 
months of final fattening, doubtless gives the fairest average. 
But as the foods, litter, and dung, were only weighed during the 
concluding two months, it will be necessary, in comparing the 
results of these experiments with those of the others, to reckon 
the amounts of increase and manure obtained, for given amounts 
of food and litter used, only over that concluding period. 
The relation of the increase obtained to the food consumed, 
will be considered more in detail further on. But before passing 
to a description of the food, and of the progress of the oxen, in the 
other experiments, attention should be called to the fact that, 
over both periods, the oxen of Experiment 2, fed upon the cooked 
linseed-compound, increased considerably more in relation to 
their weight within a given time, than those of Experiment 1, 
having uncooked crushed oilcake. In two out of the four sub- 
sequent experiments oilcake was again used ; but it was now 
mixed with barley and bean-meal, and the comj)ound cooked ; 
and thus the oilcake was more fairly tried against the cooked 
linseed-compound used in the other two of the experiments. 
Experiments 3, 4, 5, and 6, were made early in 1851 ; all 
with Herefords, that had been already some little time feeding in 
stalls, on cooked linseed-compound, clover-hay chaff, and roots. 
The exact arrangement was as Ibllows : — 
Experiment 3, with 5 Herefords ; from January 2, 1851, to 
February 28 = 57 days. Food — cooked oilcake-compound meal 
(equal weights oilcake, barley, and beans) ; with clover-hay chaff, 
and swedes. 
Experiment 4, with 5 Herefords ; from January 2, 1851, to 
February 28=57 days. Food — cooked linseed-tompound meal 
(equal weigli^s of linseed, barley, and bean meal) ; with clover- 
hay chaff and swedes. 
Experiment 5, with 6 Hereforjls ; from January 23, 1851, to 
February 28=36 days. Food — cooked " linseed-ccmpound 
meal ;" with clover-hay chafi', and swedes. 
Experiment 6, with 5 Herefords, from March 11, 1851, to 
April 15 = 35 days. Food — cooked "oilcake-compound meal;" 
with clover-hay chaff, and swedes. 
In Experiment 5, with cooked linseed-cam pound, straw only 
