18 



The Bulletin. 



One important factor brought out was the relation between cotton- 

 seed hulls and corn silage for steer feeding purposes. From the experi- 

 ment it is shown that two pounds of corn silage will replace one pound of 

 cotton-seed hulls. From these figures corn silage can be charged at $4 

 per ton against steers when cotton-seed hulls sell at $8 per ton, which was 

 about the average price paid this year by most of the feeders in the 

 State. Under these conditions the feeder Avould still have the advantage 

 of getting the extra quality and finish obtained from the use of corn 

 silage. A diiference of 20 cents per cAvt. would mean an approximate 

 increased profit of $50 per car on every load of steers fed. When cotton- 

 seed hulls can be purchased for less than $8 per ton these figures would 

 be altered to the extent of the difference in the price of the hulls. 



The cost per hundred pounds gain on the corn-silage-fed cattle was 51 

 cents less than on the cattle fed cotton-seed hulls. The difference in cost 

 is not as great as ordinarily obtained in feeding steers under these condi- 

 tions. The longer the feeding period in an experiment of this character 

 usually the greater the difference in the average cost per hundred pounds 

 gain. The profit per steer was $3.07 more on the cattle fed com silage 

 than those fed cotton-seed hulls. The relative difference only should be 

 considered in studying these latter fig-ures, as freight, labor, and bedding 

 are not charged against the cattle. 



AVERAGE DAILY GAINS DURING EXPERIMENTAL PERIOD. 



The following table shows the gains by months of the two lots of 

 steers fed cotton-seed hulls and corn silage. The average of one of the 

 three pens of corn-silage-fed cattle was very low the fourth month. This 

 makes the average for the lot during the fourth month less than the 

 average for the lot on cotton-seed hulls. This is an unusual condition. 

 However, the fault was not with the entire lot of corn-silage-fed cattle. 

 The two other pens in this lot made normal gains during the fourth 

 month. The almost inappreciable gain of the one pen reduces the aver- 

 age to .17 pounds less than the average for the lot of cattle fed cotton- 

 seed hulls. The average gain for the whole period of four months is 

 slightly more for the corn-silage-fed steers. 



Table 4— AVERAGE DAILY GAIN PER STEER BY MONTHS DURING THE EXPERI- 

 MENTAL PERIOD. 



