170 



EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



rVol. 36 



lots, and some of the results of the experiment, are given in the following 

 table : 



Lamb feeding experiments loith different rations. 



Lot. 



Variable portion of ration per lamb. 



Average 

 daily- 

 gain. 



Cost per 



pound of 



gain. 



Final 

 value per 

 pound. 



Average 



profit per 



lamb. 



0.S9 pound corn, 1.35 pounds alfalfa hay, 1.09 pounds 

 sorghum silage 



0.9 pound corn, 1.53 pounds cowpea hay, 1.09 pounds 

 sorghum silage 



0.9 pound corn, 1.36 pounds alfalfa hay, 0.43 pound sorg- 

 hum hay 



0.9 pound corn, 1.78 pounds alfalfa hay 



0.9 pound Kafir corn, 1.36 pounds alfalfa hay, 1.09 pounds 

 sorghum silage 



0.9 pound ground Kafir corn, 1.36 pounds alfalfa hay, 1.09 

 pounds sorghum sliage 



Pounds. 



0.40 



.35 



.39 

 .39 



.35 



.36 



Cents. 



5.60 



6.19 



5.52 

 5.73 



6.03 



6.18 



Cents. 



8.05 



8.05 



8.00 

 7.90 



7.90 



8.05 



$1.02 



.82 



.99 



.86 



.73 



.84 



In figuring the cost of gains and profits the feeding stufCs were priced as 

 follows per ton: Shelled corn, $25; Kafir corn, $22; ground Kafir corn, $24; 

 cottonseed meal, $26; alfalfa hay, $10; cowpeas, $8; sorghum hay, $6; and 

 sweet sorghum silage, $4. The lambs cost 7.3 cts. per pound delivered at the 

 station, and the final values per pound in the above table are 0.6 ct. per pound 

 lower than market prices to cover the expense of shipping to market. 



[Feeding experiments with lambs] (California *S7a. Rpt. 1916, pp. 53, 55). — 

 In a compari-son of spineless cactus and corn silage for fattening lambs, F. W. 

 Woll found that the silage produced 17 per cent more gain with 10 per cent 

 less feed than the cactus ration. It required about 10 days to get the lambs 

 to eat the cactus readily. 



lu a test in which 125 lambs were allowed to graze upon a barley stubble 

 field at the rate of 1 lamb per acre for a period of five weeks, R. F. Miller 

 found that they made an average gain of 11 lbs. each, making the stubble field 

 worth about 75 cts. per acre. The barley yielded 25 sacks per acre, and had 

 been harvested with a combined harvester. 



These lambs were then separated into lots in a feed lot and fed barley and 

 alfalfa hay as a basal ration, supplemented with cottonseed meal, coconut meal, 

 alfalfa meal, and molasses, respectively, one lot being fed a commercial feed, 

 alfalfa meal, and molasses alone. The coconut-meal lot made the most econom- 

 ical gains, the cottonseed-meal lot being nest. Alfalfa meal and molasses 

 proved to be an expensive feed at $18 per ton. 



In another experiment with lambs, corn silage, milo maize silage, and sweet 

 sorghum silage as supplements to alfalfa hay and barley were compared, and 

 one lot was fed alfalfa hay alone. In economy of gain the ration containing 

 milo maize silage ranked first and that containing sorghum silage second. The 

 alfalfa hay lot made only about one-half the gains that the other lots made. 



The use of hogs in disposing of crops, F. Knokb (U. S. Dept. Agr., Bur. 

 Plant Indus., ^Yorlc Scottsbluff Expt. Farm, 1915, pp. 12, 13). — Continuing pre- 

 vious work (E. S. R., 34, p. 228), during the season of 1915 hogs were pastured 

 on alfalfa from early spring until September, being fed a supplemental ration 

 of 2 lbs. of corn per 100 lbs. of live weight. They made gains of 2,976 lbs. per 

 acre of pasturage and consumed 2.53 lbs. of corn per pound of gain. Valuing 

 the gains at 7 cts. per pound and the corn at 60 cts. per bushel, there was a 

 net return of $132.84 per acre for the season, an equivalent of $29.54 a ton for 

 the 1915 alfalfa hay crop. The three-year average has been $24,40 per ton. 



