717 



DESCRIPTION OF THE CATTLE 



The cattle used in this trial consisted of twenty steers purchased 

 on the Chicago market, twenty-one steers from the Kansas City mar- 

 ket, and twenty-nine steers purchased in Montgomery county, In- 

 diana, that had previously come from the Kansas City market. 

 Eighty-six steers were purchased but in order to secure a uniform 

 drove for experimental purposes, sixteen uneven steers were dis- 

 carded. Of the steers placed on trial seven were black and sixty- 

 three red. Nearly all the red cattle had white faces, and almost all 

 of them carried brands. The cattle used in the trial were of choice 

 quality but did not carry enough flesh to make them sell near the top 

 of the feeder market. The cattle were divided equally into seven 

 lots according to size, breed, condition, and quality. Each lot of 

 cattle was valued at $5.40 per cwt. on the basis of the Chicago and 

 Indianapolis markets. Market quotations for feeding cattle at that 

 time were as follows : 



Selected, strong weight, fleshy feeders $5.40 $5.90 



Good feeders 900 to 1000 Ibs 4 . 85 5 . 35 



Selected stockers 500 to 700 Ibs 4.60 5.25 



Fifteen cents per cwt. were added to the market valuation of the 

 cattle in order to cover cost of shipping, thereby making the initial 

 value of the cattle in the yards $5-55 per cwt. 



METHOD OF VALUING CATTLE 



At the beginning of the experiment Mr. J. T. Alexander of the 

 firm of Alexander, Ward and Conover, Chicago, Illinois, Mr. J. H. 

 Moffitt of the firm of Volodin, Beeler, Morfitt and Co., Indianapolis, 

 and Mr. Frank Lichtenberg of Indianapolis visited the feed lots and 

 placed values upon each lot of cattle on the basis of the Chicago and 

 Indianapolis markets. At the end of the trial, Messrs. J. T. Alexan- 

 der and Allen Beeler of the same firms visited the feed lots and 

 valued the cattle on the basis of the Chicago market. All financial 

 statements are based on the market price for feeding cattle plus 15 

 cents per cwt., -and Chicago values for finished cattle less 40 cents 

 per cwt. 



QUALITY OF FEEDS 



The rations fed in this trial consisted of various combinations 

 of the following feeds : shelled corn, cottonseed meal, clover hay, 

 oat straw and corn silage. The corn used was of fair quality but 

 contained some rotten grains and was not dry enough for storing 

 in l-arge quantities. The cottonseed meal was of "choice" grade 

 guaranteed to contain 41 per cent, crude protein and 8 per cent. fat. 



