Results oi- the Experiment 



371 



Fig. 4. — Steers in Lot I, February 12. 1020 



digestible nutrients, or therms to make 100 i)ounds of gain as the 

 cattle in Lot I. This would indicate that the addition of silage to 

 a basal ration of alfalfa hay balanced the feed constituents in some 

 way so that the animals could utilize the nutrients more efficiently. 

 Owing to the greater variety in the ration supplied to the steers in 

 Lot II, they consumed more feed, or else the ration was more con- 

 centrated so the cattle could make greater gains and at less cost. 

 Gain in Lot I cost $25.63 per 100 pounds and in Lot II only $12.58, 

 or a little less than half as much. The total cost of feed in Lot I 

 was higher than in Lot II, so that the cattle fed on alfalfa hay alone 

 required more money to buy the feed for them than where a combina- 

 tion ration was fed. Gains, however, were not in proportion to the 

 cost of the feed, and the increase in the value of the animals was also 

 less with the steers fed on alfalfa hay. This means that alfalfa hay 

 alone is not so good a ration as alfalfa hay and silage from the stand- 

 point of rate of gains, cost of the daily feed ration, cost of gains, or 

 increasing the value of the animals. The steers fed on alfalfa 

 hay lost an average of $17.27, while the cattle fed on alfalfa hay and 

 silage made an average profit of 35 cents per head. To break even, 

 the selling price would have had to be $10.72 per hundred for Lot II 

 and $11.98 for Lot I. In every particular it was found that the addi- 

 tion of silage to a ration of alfalfa hay was beneficial. 



