The leader., 1905-01-28
FARMER AND PI .ANTER.
FEEDING EXPERIMENTS.


Inc icXaS agricultural experiment
station has now in press and about
ready for distribution Bulletin No 76,
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:
Rice bran added to a ration of cot
tonseed meal and hulls in two out Of
three trials gave an increased rate of
gain at lower cost.
Rice polish added to a ration Of
cottonseed meal and hulIs slightly in
creased the rate Of gain at the same
cost.
substitute for eottonseed huIls, as the
steers did not relish them.
Rice hulls fed with cottonseed meal,
rice bran and molasses were unsatifac-
tory, as the steers could not be in
duced to eat fair ration.
Sorghum hay in a ration of cotton
seed meal and rice bran gave equal re-
suits in gain to cottonseed hulls, as
cne pound of the former gave results
equal to 1.02 pounds of cottonseed
hulls The daily rate of gain per head
was slightly in favor of the hulls, be-
ing 2.9s pounds, as against 2.S5 pounds
in the instance of the sorghum.
Gow-pea hay was not found as sat
isfactory as cottonseed hulls in ra-
tion Of rice bran and cottonseed meal,
as the daily rate of gain per head was
q SO pounds in the instance Of the lot
receiving hulls, and 2.3 pounds in the
trial with cow-pea hay. A pound Of
cow-pea hay was equaled by .94 pounds
OF hulls.
Peanut hay was very unsatisfactory
fed with rice bran and cottonseed
meal, owing to the fact that it was
very nutritive food, being too similar
to cottonseed meal in composition to
mix well with it.
Alfalfa hay was very unsatisfac-
tory addition to the rice bran and cot
tonseed meal ration, for the reason
that it is also rich 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 the best combination
in the corn belt A comparison of
these rations becomes interesting from
these facts. The steers receiving the
ration of cottonseed meal and hulls
ate daily per head 81 pounds of cot
tonseed meal and 22.4 pounds of hulls,
and gained 2.21 pounds. With the cot
tonseed meal at 500 a ton and the
hulls at $4 a 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 poundsof corn-and-cob meal and
16.9 pounds of alfalfa, and gained 2.53
pounds. With the corn-and-cob meal
at 40 cents bushel, and the alfalfa
at S. a ton, the feed cost of one pound
of gain was four 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
Molasses added to a ration consist
ing of cottonseed meal and hulls re-
suited in a greater and cheaper gain
from those steers receiving it, as they
gained 3.11 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 a little cheaper cost
The two-year-old steers gained 2.59
pounds per head daily, and@the year
lings 221 pounds.
In feeding steers on pasture it was
found that corn and cottonseed ra-
ton gave better returns than corn
alone. The substitution of 3,075
pounds of cottonseed meal for S,438
pounds of corn gave an increased gain
of S31 pounds on the lot of 10 head