270 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



of coru silage for fattening steers, and the value of shelter for silage-fed cat- 

 tle. Tlie average gains per head and day for 2-year-old grade Herefords and 

 Shorthorns for a period of 5 months were as follows : On full feed of grain and 

 one-half feed of corn silage 2.099 lbs., at a cost of 11.24 cts. per pound ; on two- 

 thirds full feed of grain and full feed of corn silage 1.9S lbs., at a cost of 9.75 cts. 

 per pound ; on a full feed of both grain and corn silage when fed to steers in 

 a box stall 2.138 lbs., at a cost of 11.05 cts. per pound; and on full feeds of 

 grain and corn silage when fed in an open shed 2.362 lbs., at a cost of 10.03 

 cts. per pound. The lots received shredded stover and mixed hay according to 

 appetite. The grain consisted of broken ear corn, shelled corn, and cotton-seed 

 meal. The cost of gains was based on the following prices: Corn 67.7 cts. per 

 bushel, and cotton-seed meal $34, stover $3.50, silage $3. and mixed hay $12 

 per ton. 



A study of the consecutive months during the test would seem to indicate that 

 with thin cattle a bulky ration is as efficient as one of more concentrated form, 

 but as cattle fatten concentrates become necessary if the rate of gain is to be 

 maintained. 



"The results show clearly that when corn is high in price it is more profitable 

 to feed a lighter grain ration with a greater proportion of roughage or, if the 

 heavy grain ration is fed, that the cattle should be marketed before they become 

 as fat as those in lot 1 were at the close of the experiment. The results agree 

 with those reported during the 2 preceding winters in that the chief demand in 

 Pennsylvania is for cattle that are not made fat enough to grade as ' choice' or 

 'prime' upon the central markets, but for those that grade as 'good butcher' 

 steers or ' good killers.' " 



The chief value of the large quantities of corn silage was to reduce the cost 

 of production and increase the rate of gain. " Steer feeding was a profitable 

 venture in Pennsylvania under conditions prevailing at the experiment station 

 from December 15, 1909, to May 3, 1910, the average price received for corn fed 

 to experimental cattle being $1.05 per bushel. The margin necessary between 

 buying and selling prices to prevent loss from fattening cattle on a bulky ration 

 was $1.23 per hundredweight, and on a concentrated ration, $1.68 per hundred- 

 weight. The difference in margin necessary for feeding in the shelter experi- 

 ment was 17.2 cts. per hundredweight in favor of outdoor feeding." 



"Protection from cold is as unnecessary for fattening cattle on succulent 

 feeds as when dry feeds are used." 



Analyses of feeds are given and also their fertilizing value. 



Baby beef production, H. W. Nokton, Jr. {Michiyan Sta. Bid. 261, pp. 185- 

 213, figs. 5). — These feeding trials, which were continued from the fall of 1905 

 imtil the summer of 1909, were conducted to compare the relative profits of the 

 two methods of handling an ordinary grade beef herd. In herd No. 1, which 

 consisted of 10 grade cows, the calves were nursed by their dams and also 

 received supplementary feed. After weaning they were finished and marketed 

 as baby beeves at 18 months of age. In herd No. 2, also consisting of 10 grade 

 cows, the calves were weaned at birth, reared on skim milk and supplementary 

 feed by the method previously noted (E. S. R., 22, p. 573), and finished and 

 marketed with the other lot, their dams being milked. 



The figures obtained for herd No. 1 were as follows: The average cost of the 

 feed per year for the cows suckling calves was $32.32. and that of the supple- 

 mentary feed consumed by the baby beeves $34.65. making the avei-age cost per 

 head of the baby beeves $66.97. The average weight per head was 995 lbs., 

 making the average cost for production per hundredweight $6.73, and no other 

 revenue was obtained from the cows. The corresponding figures for herd No. 2 

 were as follows : The average cost of the feed consumed by the baby beeves 



