19171 ANIMAL PRODUCTION. 675 



period, those In the second lot 52.9 lbs., those in the third lot 72.2 lbs., and those 

 in the fourth lot 69.4 lbs. 



In a similar experiment at the Iredell substation one lot of steers wintered on 

 a daily ration of 20 lbs. of corn silage and 1 lb. of cottonseed meal gained 24 

 lbs. per head in 160 days. Another lot on a daily ration of 20 lbs. of corn 

 silage alone lost 55 lbs. per head during the same period. 



Work was carried on at the Edgecombe substation during the past winter to 

 determine the best feeds for wintering beef calves, especially to see if cottonseed 

 meal could be fed profitably. One lot of calves averaging 340 lbs. each in 

 weight gained 19 lbs. per head in 98 days on an average daily ration of 15 lbs. 

 of corn silage and 1 lb. of cottonseed meal. Another lot averaging 321 lbs. each 

 in weight lost 16 lbs. per head during the same period on an average dally 

 ration of 15 lbs. of corn silage alone. With silage at $4 and cottonseed meal at 

 $40 per ton, the respective feed costs per calf were $4.90 and $2.94. The cot- 

 tonseed meal did not injure the calves in any way. 



At the station farm the attempt is being made to determine the amounts of 

 cottonseed meal that can be safely fed to growing calves, with special reference 

 to the kinds of roughage and antidotes. During the past winter 20 grade Jersey 

 calves weighing from 150 to 450 lbs. each were divided into four lots and fed 

 the following daily rations : Lot 1, cottonseed hulls and 1 lb. of cottonseed meal 

 per 100 lbs. live weight ; lot 2, cottonseed hulls and 1 lb. per 100 lbs. live weight 

 of a mixture of cracked corn and cottonseed meal (1 : 1) ; lot 3, a mixture of beet 

 pulp and cottonseed hulls and 1 lb. of cottonseed meal per 100 lbs. live weight; 

 and lot 4, the same as lot 1 plus 1 qt. of iron sulphate solution per pound of 

 cottonseed meal. This experiment was closed May 1, as one of the calves in 

 the third lot died on April 12 as a result of cottonseed-meal poisoning and sev- 

 eral of the other calves were losing their sight. The calves in lots 2, 8, and 4 

 were then turned on pasture and weighed again on October 31. All of them 

 showed subsequent gains for the summer, and their eyes had apparently entirely 

 recovered from the trouble. A repetition of the above experiment ended with 

 practically the same results. 



In a cooperative experiment in Haywood County the attempt is being made 

 to solve the problem of maintaining beef cattle through the winter with a view 

 to finishing on pasture the subsequent summer. During the past winter 114 

 stockers were divided into five lots and wintered for 119 days as follows : Lot 

 1 was fed a daily ration of 3.15 lbs. of ear corn and 11.4 lbs. of a mixture of 

 corn stover, hay, and straw ; lots 2 and 3, a daily ration of 18 lbs. of corn silage 

 and 6 lbs. of the hay mixture ; lot 4, pasture alone ; and lot 5, which consisted 

 of calves averaging 270 lbs. each in weight, a ration of 0.5 lb. of shelled corn 

 and 0.5 lb. of cottonseed cake. The stockers in lots 1, 2, 3, and 4 averaged from 

 762 to 813 lbs. each in weight. During the winter the cattle in the first three 

 lots lost in weight 34, 41, and 40 lbs., respectively, per head, while those on pas- 

 ture alone gained 26 lbs. each. The calves gained 9 lbs. each. Counting pas- 

 ture at $1 a month per animal and the other feeds at local prices, it cost $12.14 

 to winter each steer in the first lot, $7 in lots 2 and 3, $5.30 in the winter pas- 

 ture lot, and $4.18 to feed each one of the calves. 



The cattle were placed on summer pasture from April 13 until August 31, 

 lot 1 also receiving 4 lbs. of cottonseed cake per head daily. All the steers made 

 good gains, but those fed cottonseed cake did not make much more rapid gains 

 than those on pasture alone and it did not pay to feed it. The steers in lots 2, 

 3, and 4 yielded a net profit of $21.63, $20.94, and $24.02 per head, respectively, 

 while the steers in lot 1 yielded a net profit of only $13.01 each. 



