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TABLE No. 5.

SUMMARY OF THE RESULTS OF EXPERIMENTS FOR EACH PEN, INCLUDING THE TOTAL GAIN, ETC.

Total Feed Con

sumed.

Total Value of Feed

consumed.

Av. Am't of Feed]

consumed per
Week, by each
100 lbs. of live
Weight.

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sumed per Week, for each 100 lbs. live weight.

Value of Feed con

Weight of Wool.

Value of Wool at 30 cents per lb.

after deducting the weight of wool, Ibs.

Incr. in live weight

each 100 lbs. incr. Feed for of live weight,ex. of wool

Value of

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In the foregoing table, (No. 5,) a summary of the results of the experiment is given for each pen, including the total gain, gain per cent., total feed consumed, value of feed consumed, average amount of feed consumed per week for each 100 lbs. of live weight; the value of feed consumed per week for each 100 lbs. of live weight, the weight of wool and its value, the total increase in live weight after deducting the weight of wool, and the value of feed consumed to produce 100 lbs. of increase of live weight exclusive of wool. In making this table, hay has been estimated at $12 00 per ton; corn at $1 00 per bushel, and roots at 10 cts. per bushel.

In the experiments of last year, roots were estimated at 16 cts. per bushel, which is undoubtedly much too high when compared with corn at $1 00 per bushel. The amount of dry substance is perhaps the best standard we now have for estimating the relative feeding value of different foods. From a comparison of the amount of dry substance in corn and roots, it will be seen that nearly nine bushels of roots will be required to equal a bushel of corn. With corn at $1 00 per bushel, roots should be worth about 11 cts. per bushel. As ten was a convenient factor to use in making the table, the price of the roots was fixed at 10 cts. per bushel.

By comparing the figures in the last column of the table in Pens No's 3 and 4, and in Pens No's 4 and 5, it will be seen that the relative value of the corn and roots is very nearly as estimated, so far at least as the results of this experiment are concerned.

The sheep were all sheared at the close of the experiment, June 6th, and the fleeces carefully weighed, with the exception of sheep No. 2, in Pen No. 1, and sheep No. 1, in Pen No. 5, which had been removed from the pen on account of sickness. The fleeces of these sheep were not in condition for accurate

weighing, and they were therefore entered on the record at a low estimate. It should be stated that the sheep were all thoroughly" tagged," several weeks before shearing. In Table No. 6, the weight of each fleece unwashed, is given.

TABLE No. 6.

WEIGHT OF FLEECES IN POUNDS, AND DECIMALS OF A POUND.

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NO. OF SHEEP. PEN No. 1. PEN NO. 2. PEN No. 3. PEN No. 4. PEN No. 5. PEN No. 6.

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The wool was of good quality, free from gum or dirt, and from the length of fibre, well adapted to the manufacture of delaines, or for combing purposes. The wool has not been sold. [See supplement at end of chapter.] The estimated value in Table No. 5, is, without doubt, considerably below the present market price.

The sheep in Pens Nos. 5 and 6, as has already been stated, were fed in the same pens in the experiment of 1867. In the following table (No. 7), the results of the combined experiments are given, including the total gain from the beginning of the first to the close of the last experiment, the total weight and value of wool produced, the total gain in live weight, exclusive of the wool of 1868, the total value of feed consumed, the total value of feed consumed less the value of wool, and the cost of 100 lbs. increase of live weight, exclusive of wool.

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In the preceding tables, the value of the animal, or its actual cost at the commencement of the experiment, has not been taken into account.

The results of our experiments in pig feeding, show conclusively that animals when properly fed, give a much better return for the feed consumed, during the first few months of their lives, than they do after they reach maturity. There is not within my knowledge any definite statement on record, of the actual cost of the growth of lambs up to the period of maturity. As this must be an important item in determining the profits of sheep raising, I propose to make it a special subject of investigation, as soon as facilities for conducting the experiments in a satisfactory manner are placed at my disposal.

In the absence of accurate data, the cost of the growth of the sheep, at the beginning of the experiments, has been estimated at two dollars per head at the age of six and one-half months, and at two dollars and forty cents per head, at the age of eight months. As the lambs had been in the pasture during the summer, without any artificial feed, the estimate will probably be considered high enough to cover the actual cost of their growth.

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