262 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY [IV, III
similarity between the changes in individual fineness and those in individual body-
weight (of. Tables I and VII).
TABLE VII.
Average fineness.
|
Group I |
Group II |
||||||
|
Animal |
Pre-exptl. |
Exptl. |
Per cent. |
Animal |
Pre-exptl. |
Exptl. |
Per cent. |
|
1 |
112 |
167 |
+49.4 |
2 |
89 |
144 |
+ 61.8 |
|
3 |
132 |
206 |
56.1 |
4 |
114 |
140 |
22.8 |
|
5 |
104 |
159 |
52.9 |
6 |
94 |
120 |
27.7 |
|
7 |
116 |
163.5 |
41.0 |
8 |
105 |
112 |
6.7 |
|
9 |
118.5 |
191 |
61.2 |
10 |
98 |
117 |
19.4 |
|
11 |
88 |
124 |
40.9 |
12 |
113 |
144 |
27.4 |
|
13 |
113 |
175 |
54.9 |
14 |
119 |
144 |
21.0 |
|
15 |
143 |
281 |
96.5 |
16 |
125.5 |
146 |
16.3 |
|
17 |
97 |
159 |
63.9 |
18 |
114 |
127 |
11.4 |
|
20 |
117 |
132.6 |
13.3 |
19 |
162 |
161 |
—0.6 |
|
Mean |
114.1 |
175.8 |
53.0 |
.. |
113.4 |
135.5 |
21.4 |
|
S. E. |
±5.02 |
±13.97 |
±6.64 |
.. |
±6.51 |
±4.95 |
±5.32 |
Differences of means : pre-experimental, 0.7 ; experimental, 40.3 ±14.82 ; percentage changes, 31.6 ±8.51.
These figures not only show responses of different magnitudes in the two
groups, there being less alteration of fineness in the starch-supplement group,
but also indicate a differential response as between length-growth and fineness.
In Group I the reduction of growth conditions to the basal ration led to a difference
in fibre-length production of 41 per cent. and a difference in fineness of 53 per cent.;
whilst in Group II the effect of the starch supplement was to limit the orders of
the reductions to 33.8 per cent. in length and 21.4 per cent. in fineness. That is
the administration of the starch supplement gave a level of fibre-production which
was nearer to that under pre experimental conditions, by affecting both fibre-
length and fineness ; but the proximity to the pre-experimental growth in Group II
(as compared with Group I) was achieved more by encouraging the coarser (less
fine) growth than by sustaining the fibre-length growth. In other words, the