62 



Many of the clay soils of the State would be ruinect 

 by tramping if the cattle were permitted to stay on them 

 during the wet winter weather. The soil of Mr. Derby's 

 farm is a light sandy one, so the tramping of the cattle- 

 did not injure it materially. However, since this work 

 was done, Mr. Derby has come to the conclusion that 

 the winter tramping injures even a sandy soil, so here- 

 after he intends to feed in sheds and barns and haul the 

 manure to the fields. 



The steers were fed twice each day in open troughs 

 located in the fields. The troughs were made so that 

 they could be moved from place to place, thus insuring 

 an even distribution of manure, and avoiding too much 

 packing of the soil in one place. The steers were fed 

 in such amounts that the feed was all eaten within a 

 few hours after it was put before them. Many feed- 

 ers keep feed in the troughs constantly, but more satis- 

 factory results are secured when the steers are required 

 to clean the troughs after each meal. An abundance of 

 pure water and salt was provided all the time. 



At the close of the test the cattle were shipped to 

 the Louisville market for sale. The experimental farm 

 was located four miles from Whitfield, Alabama, the 

 nearest railroad station, and the cattle were driven to 

 that point to be loaded on the cars. 



PRICE AND CHARACTER OF FEEDS. 



In work of this character the financial state- 

 ment is not as satisfactory as could be wished, because 

 the price of feeds, as well as of cattle, fluctuate con- 

 siderably from year to year. Therefore the financial 

 outcome of a particular experiment may not be dupli- 

 cated by the cattle feeder owing to the difTerent condi- 

 tions under which he is operating. The prices listed in 

 this bulletin were the actual prices paid for the feeds- 

 (except silage which was made on the farm) and the 

 actual prices realized for the cattle. This test was con- 

 ducted during the winter of 1909-10; prices have not 

 changed materially since that date. The following were- 



