79 



cated on the farm and had personal supervision of all 

 the experimental work. 



OBJECTS OF THE AVORK. 



This work was outlined \\i(li the following objects in- 

 view : 



1. To study the problem of feeding steers during the 

 winter months with a view to fattening them on pasture 

 the follo\^-ing summer. 



2. To determine the profits, if any, in supplementing 

 sandy soil pastures with cottonseed cake during the sum- 

 mer fattening process. 



3. To study a common southern method of managing 

 and fattening common or scrub cattle. 



Steers can be purchased cheaper during the fall of the 

 year than at any other time, so many feeders prefer to 

 buy in the fall, ^^'hen cheap steers are so purchased, 

 a common practice in the South is to "rough" them 

 through the winter months as cheaply as possible, turn 

 them on pasture the following summer and sell them to 

 the butcher at the end of the pasture season. 



THE CATTLE. 



The cattle were all bought in Sumter and neighboring 

 counties, but those selected for Lots 4 and 5 were an ex- 

 cellent grade of animals, all having Shorthorn or Aber- 

 deen-Angus blood, while those placed in Lots X and Y 

 represented no particular breeding; they w^re, in fact, 

 scrubs, or the common cattle of the neighborhood. The 

 steers in Lots 4 and 5 were from 20 to 24 months old 

 when purchased in the fall of 1909, and had attained an 

 average weight of 616 pounds. The steers of Lots X and 

 Y were from 3 to 4 years old and weighed only 565 

 pounds each when the test began, December 6, 1909. 

 The cattle, both young and old, were dehorned as soon 

 as brought to the farm. 



The reader's attention should be called to the fact that, 

 while the results secured in Lots 4 and 5 are comparable 



