The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-12-11

orally. the cattle being finished in a second experiment in which heavy grain rations were used.
 Tn the experiment with snapped corn ness in each lot was as follows: I,ot l. prairie hay; Lot 2, prairie and alfalfa nay Lot 5. alfalfa; Lot 1. corn-stover tstalks without ears); Lot 5, corn stover and alfalfa, and Lot 6, corn rodder (stalks with ears attached), and alfalfa. As in the two former tests | ten steers were fed in each lot ana these were selected to make the sey. eral lots as uniform as possible. The steers were two-year- old grade Short horns and Herefords, from the north 1 western part of the State, where they had been reared under semi-ranRe con ditions.
 Without going into details. which may be had by sending for the. bull letin, the general results may be toId in brief as follows:
 The steers fed snapped corn and aI- falfa hay made the largest gains amounting to 2.O6 pounds per day, av- craze for three months while those on snapped corn, alfalfa and prairie hay gained POI pounds per day; those on snapped corn. alfalfa and stoyer 1,S6' pounds; those on norn- fodder and alfalfa, 41.S1 pounds. while the steers fed snapped corn and prairie hay gained but 1.2 pounds per day. and those fed snapped corn and stover 1.O2 pounds per day It will thus be seen that in each case where alfalfa formed a part of or all of the roughness the gains were materially increased. This accords with former experiments and emphasizes further the importance of supplying in the ration all the nutri- ents needed. Alfalfa, being high in protein, supplies that lacking in corn and that lacking in prairie hay and corn -stover. Not only were larger gains made in the lots fed alfalfa, but much less corn was re auired for each pound of gain when they wero thus supplied.
 But the vital thing for the consider ation of the feeder is the relative cost of gains. In the lots fed corn, alfalfa and stover. the cost of gains was the lowest. being All cents per pound of was made where the corn was fed on the stalk and the net profit per steer in that lot was S4.59 as compared with S4.20 on corn. alfalfa and stover.
 On snapped corn and alfalfa. each pound of gain cost A.49 cents (net profit per steer. $S.5el: on snapped corn. prairie hay and alfalfa. Ar cents (net profit per steer, $3.1OD; on snapped corn and stover 697 cents (net profit per steer. 13 cents) and on snapped corn and prairie hay, 7.5S cents (net loss per steer. 8 cents) The cheaper gains made with stoVer and alfalfa rather than with alfalfa alone or with prairie hay arc explained by the fact that corn-stover was figured at $2.50 per ton compared with prairie hay and alfalfa each at S6 per ton The snapped corn cost 35 cents per bushel of eighty pounds. and that fed on the stalk, unhusked. was figured at thirty-one cents. The results were slightly in favor of feeding as much corn as is possible on the stalk, though this is the first experiment covering this particular question and other tests should be made. as is intended. to make 1t at all conclusive Other compari- sons in the experiment. inasmuch as they agree with former results. would seem to make the following deductions safe viz. G), that priarie hay and corn without further supplements is an unsatisfactory combination both from the viewpoint of gains and that of profits; (2), that alfalfa and corn are capable of giving large gains without additional foods. but that the substitu- tion of corn -stover which has been cut and shocked Immediately after the ears ripen may be substituted for half of tho alfalfa with greater economy be- cause of the low market value in the corn belt of such roughness.
 The results of experiment. two. com paring bran oil-meal, cottenseed meal and alfalfa as sources of protein. will be published in the next issue of this paper.