BUREAU OP ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 81 



was considered. However, the silage and cottonseed meal ration was 

 the cheaper of the two. It was also found more economical to winter 

 yearlino;s on silage, wheat straw, and cottonseed meal than on either 

 mixed hay and wheat straw, or silage and soy-bean hay, or silage, 

 rye hay, and cottonseed meal. 



At the Animal Husbandry Farm at Beltsville, Md., an experiment 

 was made to compare velvet beans in three different forms with cot- 

 tonseed meal as supplements to corn silage and a dry roughage, and to 

 determine the most economical form in which to feed the velvet beans 

 in fattening steers for market. Four lots of 10 steers each were used. 

 It was found that corn silage and velvet beans form a satisfactory 

 ration for fattening steers for the market, and that velvet beans com- 

 pare favorably with cottonseed meal, producing profitable gains when 

 the beans are used as the sole concentrate of the ration, and that it 

 is more profitable to soak the whole beans than to grind them; also 

 that beans would be consumed more readily if soaked before feeding 

 than if fed dry. 



CATTLE BREEDING. 



At the Canton, Collins, and Lewisburg stations the breeding herds 

 were maintained and the work carried on the same as during the pre- 

 ceding year. 



At the Kansas experiment station the cooperative Shorthorn 

 breeding work was carried on as previously planned, and showed in- 

 teresting results by having a number of the cows produce milk enough 

 to qualify in the Advanced Registry of the American Shorthorn 

 Breeders' Association. 



At Collins, Miss., records were kept of the pure-bred Hereford herd 

 to determine the cost of producing pure-bred cattle in that State. 



BEEF-CATTLE EXTENSION. 



Field agents in beef-cattle extension conducted work in 348 coun- 

 ties of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Caro- 

 lina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. They brought into 

 these States 914 pure-bred bulls, 2,848 pure-bred cows and heifers, 

 53,515 grade cows and heifers, and 8,769 grade steers, in addition to 

 the cattle brought in from the drought-stricken area of the Southwest. 

 They redistributed within these States, by private transactions, 61 

 pure-bred bulls, 41 pure-bred cows, 1,062 grade cows, and 785 steers; 

 conducted 21 sales of pure-bred cattle and one sale of grade cattle, 

 at which 334 pure-bred bulls, 584 pure-bred cows, and 263 grade cattle 

 were sold; conducted 63 beef -cattle feeding demonstrations with 9,228 

 cattle, 17 castrating demonstrations with 103 cattle, 5 dehorning 

 demonstrations with 49 cattle, and 360 permanent and 16 temporary 

 pasture demonstrations with native and unproved grasses ; organized 

 37 bull clubs with 316 members, 56 calf clubs with 1,255 members, 

 and 30 live-stock associations with 821 members; planned and con- 

 structed 522 sUos, 125 barns, 47 sheds, 5 scales, and 26 feed lots; 

 addressed 363 meetings with an attendance of 36,919 people; pre- 

 pared 17 articles for pubHcation; cooperated with 128 civic, indus- 

 trial, and commercial organizations; put on 23 special campaigns; 

 attended 12 State and county fairs; judged live stock at 67 fairs, and 

 conducted 11 stock-judging contests with 126 contestants. 



