St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1905-02-18
FARMER AND PLANTER,
FEEDING EXPERIMENTS.
The Texas Experiment station Gives
the Results Of Tw" Seasons
o. Steer Feeding.

The Texas agricultural experiment
station has now in press and about
ready for distribution Bulletin No. &c.
prepared by john A. Craig and F. r.
Marshall, of the department of animal
husbandry, on Experiments in Steer
Feeding" Among the results of two
seasons work with 11S head of steers
are the following.
tonseed meal and bulls in two out OF
three trials gave an increased rate OF
gain at a lower cost.
Rice polish added to ration OF
cOttonsced meal and hulls slightly in
creased the rate Of gain at the same
cost.
Rice bulls were not satisfactory as
a substitute for cottonseed hulls, as the
steers did not relish them.
Rice bulls fed with cottonseed meal.
rice bran and molasses were unsatifac-
tory. as the steers could not be in
duced to eat a fair ration.
Sorghum hay i'll a ration of cotton
seed meal and rice bran gave equal re-
suits in gain to 5cottonseed hulls, as
enc pound Of the former gave results
equal to 1.02 pounds of cottonseed
bulls. The daily rate of gain per head
was slightly in favor Of the hulls. be-
ing 29S pounds, as again st 2.35 pounds
in the instance Of the sorghum.
Cow-pea hay was not found as sat
isfactory as cottonseed hulls in a ra-
ton of rice bran and cottonseed meal,
as the daily rate of gain per head was
2 SO pounds in the instance of the lot
receiving hulls, and % pounds in the
trial with cow-paa hay. A pound OF
cow-pca hay was equaled by .94 pounds
OF hnlls.
Peanut hay was very unsatisfactory
fed with rice bsan and cottonseed
meal. owing to The fact that it was
very nutritive food, being too similar
TO cottonseed meal in composition to
mi: we'll with it,.
Alfalfa hay W;ss very unsatlsfac-
tory addition to the rice bran and cot
tonseed neal ration, for the reason
that it is also riAh in those constitu-
ents which are abundant in cotton
seed meal, making the ration too nitro
genous.
Cottonsedd meal and hulls make the
most generally fed ration in the cot
ton belt. while corn and alfalfa hay
are considered Che best combination
in the corn beE. A comparison Of
these rations becomes interesting from
these facts. The steers receiving the
ration OF cottonseed meal and bulls
ate daily per head 81 pounds of cot
tonseed meal and 224 pounds of hulls,
and gained 2.21 pounds. With the cot
tonseed meal al $40 ton and the
bulls at 81 ton. the feed cost of one
pound of gain was four and six-tenths
cents. The steers receiving alfalfa and
corn -an-cob meal ate daily per head
eleven pounds of corn-and-cob meal and
1G.9 pounds of alfalfa, and gained 2.53
pounds. With the corn and-cob meal
at 40 cents a Iushel, and the alfalfa
at S. ton, the=feed cost of one pound
of gain was foar and one-tenth cents.
1t will be seen from this that the
cost of fattening steers under the very
best circumstances for securing the
most economical rations is very SIM
liar
Moia sses added to ration consist
ing of cottonseed meal and hulls re-
suited in a greater and cheaper gain
from those steers receiving it, as they
gained Gil pounds per head daily
while those not receiving it gained 2.59
pounds.
Yearling steers In comparison with
two-year-old Steers on rations of cot
tonseed meal and hulls made about
the same gain at little cheaper cost.
The two-year-Dld steers gained 2.59
pounds per head daily, and the year
lings o21 pounds.
In feeding sIeers on pasture it was
found that corn and cottonseed "a
ton gave better returns than corn
alone. The substitution Of 3,075
pounds of cottonseed meal for 3,43S
pounds OF corr gave an increased gain
Of S31 pounds on the lot of 10 head.