8V)4 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



days of the test the steers in l<it 1 ( velvet-bean [mxIs) made a lulal L'uiii of TiO lbs. ; in 

 lot 2 (cassava) of 824 lbs., ami in lot 8 (cassava pulp) of :J(M ilis. 



" Velvet beans alone with ronghajj;e are inferior to a ration in which cassava is the 

 prc<loniiiiatin<,' ingredient. In this connection it is well to note that the general 

 aj)pcarance of lot 1 was deceptive, the oily character of the bean, or some other 

 jiroperty, giving a glossy appearance to the coat an<l imparting a general smoothness 

 of exterior imlicative of better condition than actual weights justified. The conclu- 

 sion seems to l)e warranted, therefore, that the atldition of cassava to the ration of 

 steers ranging on velvet-bean pasture in the winter would be a material advantage. 



"The refuse i)ulj) from the starch factories is a valual)le feed stuff closely approxi- 

 mating the results obtained from cassava root." 



Methods of steer feeding-, T. I. Maiks and A. K. Kisseu {Pennsylvania Sla. Bui. 

 64, 2>j>. <S'). — Continuing earlier work (E. S. K., In, p. 171), the relative merits of 

 feeding steers in barns and open sheds was tested with 2 lots of 12 animals each, 

 weighing about 8o0 lbs. Lot 1 was fed in a large pen or box stall in the college barn, 

 and lot 2 in a yard with a shed. 



The test began November 26 and covered 18 weeks. Both lots were fed similar 

 rations of corn stover and clover hay, with corn-and-t'ob meal and cotton-seed nu-al 

 12:1 in addition during the first part of the test, and later corn meal and cotton-seed 

 meal in the same proportion. In the case of the steers fed in the barn the average 

 daily gain was 2.12 lbs. and the cost of a pound of gain 9.53 cts. Similar values for 

 the animals fed in a shed were 1.97 lbs. and 10.372 cts. The amount eaten by the 

 lot fed in the shed was somewhat the greater, 6.07 lbs. of coarse fodder and 8.53 lbs. 

 of grain being required per pound of gain as comj^ared with 5.57 lbs. of the coarse 

 fodder and 7.83 lbs. of grain in the case of the lot fed in the barn. Self-registering 

 thermometers were used throughout the experiment to record the temperature in tlie 

 shed and in the barn. As was to be expected, the lower temperature was found in 

 the shed. 



According to the authors, "the general result of all these comparisons may Ije 

 summarized in the statement that the lot fed in the open shed produce<l a slightly 

 smaller gain and produced it at the expense of a somewhat greater amount of food. 

 It is not so clear, however, that the lower temperature to which lot 2 [fed in the 

 shed] was exposed was the cause of the difference. . . . 



" On the whole, while the barn-fed lot ajipears to have given slightly Ijetter results, 

 tlie differences are not very marked, and in view of the wide difference observed 

 between individual animals in each lot it is not at all impossible that the selection of 

 the animals, and the conditions other than temperature which surrounded them, had 

 quite as much to do with the differences as the mere exposure to cold. In other 

 words, the results of a single trial of this sort are never decisive, and they are pre- 

 sented here simply as a record of progress. It is proposed to continue the experi- 

 ments through several seasons in the hope of securing conclusive results." 



Feeding- experiments with, gluten feed and other feeds, D. A. Gilchrist 

 {Counli/ Cuiiiiril Xorlliiniibeii(()i(l, J-jlncdfiuii, (Ann., lipt. I'.iOS, pp. 16-82). — Using 4 

 lots, each made up of 2 Ijlue-grey heifers, 1 l)lue-grey steer, and 1 Shorthorn steer, 

 the author studied the relative feeding value of Buffalo gluten feed, rough cotton- 

 seed cake, and barley meal 1:1, decortii-ated cotton-seed cake and barley meal 1:1, and 

 linseed cake and barley meal 1:1. "Tht^ first 2 of these [rations] are practically the 

 same in chemical composition, but the last 2 are richer." Three to 6 lbs. of conc-en- 

 trated feeds were fed per head daily in addition to a basal ration of 8 to 10 lbs. of hay 

 with 28 lbs. of turnips. 



At the beginning of the test the animals in each lot weighed not far from 525 lbs. 

 each. In the 7 months of the trial the gains ranged from 1.73 lbs. with the lot fed 

 rough cotton-seed cake and l)arley meal, to 1.93 lbs. with the lot fed decorticated 

 cotton-seed cake and barley meal. The greatest profit was also obtained with the lot 



