r5i 



Pro-fit in feedhu/. — At the present time the market vahie of the 

 steer is determined principally by his fatness, though in certain mar- 

 kets objection is made to cattle fed on cotton seed. It is, however, 

 beginning to be understood that more attention must be paid to the 

 effects that different feeds have on the quality of the meat. The 

 author of this article believes that '' the time will come soon when the 

 quality of the meat will det<^rmine its A^alue as much as its fatness." 

 In Texas, a native three-year-old steer weighing 800 pounds is esti- 

 mated to be worth li] cents gross, or $14. "When fattened to a weight 

 of 1,000 pounds, a small steer will be worth from $27.50 (2^ cents) to 

 $30 (3 cents) : in other Avords, a gain in value of from $13.50 to $16 

 is made by adding 200 pounds of fat. 



Our experiment indicates tliat 200 pounds gain in weiglit may be made from 

 $6 to $9 worth of silage, cotton seed, cotton-seed meal and cotton-seed hulls, 

 leaving a good margin for profit after deducting cost of labor, wear and tear of 

 plant and use of capital. 



" The high A^alue of cotton-seed hulls and cotton-seed meal for fat- 

 tening cattle is shown by this experiment." The best result was 

 obtained with a ration of boiled cotton seed. " Within the past two 

 years, feeding plants with capacity for feeding from one thousand to 

 three thousand head have been put into operation at the largest oil 

 mills, and the business promises to enlarge until all the hulls will be 

 consumed at the mills." It is thought that it would be better to 

 dehorn the range cattle and feed them loose under sheds rather than 

 to keep them in open yards, or tied up under sheds with their horns 

 on. " In this experiment the steers kept outside and not dehorned 

 made the lowest gain during nearly the entire time." 



Conclusions. — The following are among the conclusions drawn 

 from this experiment : 



(1) The value and necessity of shelter are clearly shown. This 

 lesult confirms the experience of other cattle feeders in the South. 



(2) Dehorning is essential to make the sheltering of range cattle 

 practicable. 



(3) For coarse food use corn, sorghum and pea-vine silage, hay 

 where it can be produced at Ioav cost, and cotton-seed hulls near oil 

 mills; for the more concentrated part of the ration use boiled cotton 

 seed, cotton-seed meal, with perhaps some corn, rice meal or rice bran 

 in sections where they can be procured cheaply. If the corn and 

 sorghum grown for silage are planted thin and not harvested until 

 nearly ripe, the silage will contain a considerable amount of grain, 

 and, fed with cotton seed and cotton-seed meal, will produce a better 

 quality of beef. 



(4) The indication is that silage and boiled cotton seed make the 

 cheapest and most rapidly fattening ration. Next follow in order 

 cotton-seed meal and cotton-seed hulls; cotton-seed meal, cotton-seed 

 hulls and silage; raw cotton seed and silage; corn and hay at the 

 prices given. 



