43 « 
Journal of Agricultural Research 
Vol. XXVI, No. g. 
After these preliminary studies it was deemed worth while to deter¬ 
mine the feasibility of the general plan by securing additional data and 
by trying out other grain mixtures and roughages. As in the previous 
experiment, the calves were weaned at about 60 days of age and con¬ 
tinued on the dry feed until 6 months of age. High-grade or pure-bred 
heifer calves were used exclusively. The calves were obtained as soon 
after birth as possible so that they could be kept growing at a normal 
rate. An effort was made to keep them in a thrifty, vigorous condition 
and as near normal in size and weight as possible. No records were kept 
of the feed consumed during this time, the plan being to give them good 
average herd care. The calves were fed whole milk until 3 weeks of 
age and then gradually changed to skim milk. At 10 days of age grain 
and hay were offered and the calves were encouraged to eat, so that they 
would become accustomed to the feed during the preliminary period. 
Both the hay and grain were weighed to each individual calf and any 
portion rejected was weighed back. Part of the time cut alfalfa hay was 
fed, but the calves seemed to prefer the uncut hay. Due to the coarse 
stems of some of the soybean hay, it was found desirable not to cut the 
latter, so that the calves could select the choicer portions of the plant. 
No effort was made to limit the amount of feed, except that a maximum 
of 5 pounds per day of grain was established until the hay consumption 
reached 5 pounds per day. 
In selecting the grain mixtures the chief point considered was to adopt 
one simple enough to be practical on the average farm and yet one 
which would contain all the essential factors in a balanced ration. The 
nutritive ratio of milk was taken as a guide. 
Lot I was fed a grain mixture composed of ground com 40 parts, wheat 
bran 10 parts, and linseed meal 10 parts by weight. The roughage fed 
was soybean hay. 
Lot II was fed a grain mixture composed of ground com 40 parts, 
wheat bran 10 parts, and ground soybeans 10 parts by weight. The 
roughage fed was alfalfa hay. 
The calves were weighed three days in succession when put on experi¬ 
ment and thereafter at 10-day intervals until the close of the experiment. 
Each 30 days the average of three successive days was used. The height 
at withers was taken as the index of skeletal growth. These measurements 
were made at the beginning of the experiment and at intervals of 30 days. 
The data on the normal growth of Holstein and Jersey females in 
weight and height as determined by Eckles 4 at this station were used as a 
standard of growth. Wherever “normal growth” is spoken of in the 
following discussion it refers to these data. 
In all, 30 calves were used in these studies. A summary of the re- 
suits obtained is given in Tables I to XII. While the two lots were fed 
slightly different rations, the difference in the results is not significant. 
As will be seen from Table I, the gain in weight made by Lot I during 
the experiment (calves at 2 to 6 months of age) was 64 per cent of the 
normal gain in weight, while the increase in height during the same period 
was 72 per cent of the normal increase. Table II shows that Lot II made 
slightly larger gains in weight, averaging 68 per cent of the normal gain 
in weight and slightly smaller gains in height, averaging 69 per cent 
of the normal increase in height. 
4 Eckles, c. H. the normal growth op dairy cattle. Mo. A gr. Exp. Sta. Research Bui. 36, 
20 p. t 5 fig. 1920. 
