ANIMAL PBODUCTION. 



667 



the first 30 days, 5 lbs. the second 30 days, and 6 lbs. the third 30 days. It ap- 

 peared that when 10 lbs. of dry feed is added to the silage ration it made but 

 little difference what roughage is added, provided it be palatable. 



In experiments to determine the effect of breed on gains, it was found that in 

 90 days " steers that were the result of 1 or more crosses of a beef breed made 

 39.2 lbs. more gain than steers in which dairy blood predominated. Beef- 

 bred steel's made 41 lbs. more gain than scrub steers. Not only did the better- 

 bred steers make more gains, but the gains were put on in the more valuable 

 beef cuts and thus made them sell at a wider margin and greater profit. . . . 

 Steers of very good feeder type made 18.1 lbs. more gain than the next grade 

 lower and 33.2 lbs. more than steers medium to poor in type." 



Report of the animal husbandman, C. A. Willson {Tennessee Sta. Rpt. 

 1912, pp. 57-59). — Continuing the above work, "the results from the experi- 

 ments thus far indicate that low to medium cotton-seed meal rations are equally 

 as efficient for a 90-day feeding period as large amounts of cotton-seed meal. 

 The same rate of gain was obtained when cotton-seed meal was fed at the rate 

 of from 4 to 6 lbs. per day as when it was fed at the rate of 7 to 9 lbs. per 

 day. . . . The experiments for the past year have shown that larger gains are 

 made through the use of silage with cotton-seed meal than can be made through 

 the exclusive use of cotton-seed hulls for the roughage part of the ration." 



In the experiment on the influence of type and breeding upon rate of gain, 

 " the results checked with former years in that it was found that steers of best 

 feeder type and with the greatest percentage of beef breeding made the most 

 gains. . . . Steers that showed one or more crosses of some beef breed made 15 

 per cent greater gains than steers that did not show some blood of any of the 

 beef breeds. . . . Steers that were of very good type made 23.6 per cent greater 

 gains than steers of poor feeder type." 



A beef producing capacity per acre was obtained from several crops as fol- 

 lows: Of soy beans and barley 387 lbs., cowpeas and barley 364, corn and bar- 

 ley 332, soy bean hay and barley 365, soy beans and wheat 654, soy beans and 

 oats 574, and alfalfa 300. 



Corn silage for fattening 2-year-old steers, H. O. Axlison (Missouri Sta. 

 Bui. 112, pp. 259-275, figs. 5). — Experiments were conducted with 24 2-year-old 

 steers to determine the relative feeding value of corn silage, clover hay, and 

 shock corn, and to study the value of a nitrogenous concentrate when fed in a 

 ration where corn silage is used. Five lots of grade Shorthorn steers were fed 

 for a period of 130 days, with the following results : 



Weights, gains, and profits on steers and pigs with various rations. 



The rates of gain in live weight were quite uniform, except that the steers 

 in lot 2 fell off materially during the last 40 days, losing appetite for the 

 silage and losing their fill. This was not the case in other lots which received 

 clover hay in addition to corn silage. Lot 4, fed on silage, carried the best 

 finish and was valued at a premium. 



