EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 



265 



AVERAGE COST PER CWT. GAIN. 



Feeding trial No. 1 

 Feeding trial No. 2 

 Feeding trial No. 3 

 Averages 



Corn 

 Meal Lot. 



S11.82 

 7.89 

 6.90 

 8.87 



Corn Meal, 

 Beet Pulp Lot. 



S7.17 

 7.30 



Beet Pulp Lot. 



$8.97 

 5.96 

 6.59 

 7.17 



In every case the pulp feed steers gained at a less cost than the corn 

 meal steers, the average being |8.87 per cwt. gain when fed the corn 

 meal ration as against |7.17 per cwt. gain when fed the beet pulp ration, 

 a margin of |1.70 per cwt. in favor of the beet pulp for cheapness of 

 gain. 



The conclusions to be drawn from these three feeding trials, in com- 

 parison of dried beet pulp and corn meal for fattening steers are: 



1. Beet pulp produced gain cheaper than corn meal. The average 

 cost per cwt. gain for the steers fed corn meal was $8.87, and for beet 

 pulp was 17.17, |1.70 per cwt. cheaper with the dried beet pulp ration. 



2. The absolute gains produced by feeding beet pulp were practically 

 the same as from feeding corn meal. 



3. The gains of the pulp fed steers were in the nature of growth and 

 development, the corn meal produced fat and finish. As a result, at 

 the end of the feeding period, the corn meal steers were in better con- 

 dition for market than the others. 



4. For growing animals, beet pulp produced the greatest gains. For 

 animals in a condition for finishing corn meal gave the most rapid gains. 



From this it would be safe to conclude that in the earlier part of the 

 feeding period, beet pulp could be fed in a larger quantity to advantage, 

 because of its cheapness and at the same time ability to produce gain 

 rapidly. During the finishing period it should, however, be replaced 

 at least in a large measure by corn meal, which possesses more value 

 for finishing purposes. The corn meal is a much more concentrated 

 feed, hence its especial value for forcing at the close of the feeding 

 period when beet pulp could not be used on account of the bulky char- 

 acter rendering it impossible to feed sufficient quantity for the best 

 results. These trials show that a thousand-pound steer will not consume 

 over 10 lbs. of dried beet pulp in a day. 

 34 



