488 BuLLKTiN 93 



silage but did not relish it as well as the sweeter sorghum silage pre- 

 viously used, but after a few days they were eating heartily of the 

 corn silage. 



The animals in Lot II did not consume the 8-pound allowance 

 of whole cotton seed per head, and on March 16 it was reduced to 6 

 pounds. Beginning February 18, 6 pounds of crushed cotton seed 

 was fed to each steer in Lot III in place of the whole cotton seed. 

 After April 1 until the close of the test, the allowance of cottonseed 

 meal was increased 1 pound in Lots I, IV, V, and VI. 



ANIMAIvS USED 



Fifty head of common bred two year old range steers were pur- 

 chased from L. L. Bates at Prescott, Arizona, and shipped to the Salt 

 River Valley Experiment Farm January 15, 1921. In consequence 

 of the poor condition of the ranges during the past season, the animals 

 arrived at the farm in poor condition. They were a hardy, uniform 

 lot showing a predominance of Hereford breeding, and immediately 

 took to their liberal ration of alfalfa hay and silage. 



COSTS 



The animals cost $6.80 per hundred, which included shipping ex- 

 pense and cost of feed during the preliminary feeding period. 



The prices charged for the feeds used in the experiment were as 

 follows: cottonseed meal $30 per ton; wdiole cotton seed $10 per ton; 

 alfalfa hay and corn silage at $24 and $8 per ton respectively; cotton 

 seed (crushed) at $12 per ton, and cottonseed hulls at $12 per ton. 

 In handling such a small number of steers as 50 head no charge was 

 made for labor nor any credit given for the manure, it being considered 

 that this by-product will pay for the labor of feeding. 



The cattle in Lot I receiving a ration of alfalfa hay, silage and 

 cottonseed meal made an average daily gain of 2.71 pounds per 

 head, while it will be observed that Lot V receiving the same ration 

 gained 3.35 ])Ounds per head daily. The steers in Lot I were larger 

 and in better condition than the animals in all the other lots, which 

 accounts for the wide variation in the com]>arative results of Lots I 

 and \\ Two steers in Lot \^ which were undev size, made the average 

 initial weight per head of the animals in this lot less than the other 



