1909] 



SHORT FED STEERS 



569 



Period 2, September 8 to 22; Period 3, September 22 to October 6; 

 Period 4, October 6 to 20; Period 5, October 20 to November 3 ; Period 

 6, included 19 days from November 3 to 21. 



TABLE 1. AVERAGE DAILY RATION PER STEER BY PERIODS (POUNDS) 



It will be seen from Table 1 that lot 2 cosumed the most feed. 

 This was also noticeable from the appearance of the cattle during the 

 experiment as lot 2 carried the best fill. We can attribute this to no 

 other cause than the method of feeding, as lot 1 could not be induced 

 to take more feed. 



The decreased consumption in Period 3 in the case of lot 1 was 

 lue to a change in ground corn which it was impossible to avoid. 

 While the m'eal seemed sweet and good in every way, it was ground 

 the burr process while the plate grinder had previously been used. 

 As a result, it took the cattle in lot 1 several days to become accustomed 

 to it, whereas with lot 2, the corn being mingled with the hay, the 

 falling off was not so noticeable. 



TABLE 2. PROPORTION OF CONCENTRATES TO ROUGHAGE 



Periods 



Lot 1 

 Lot 2 



The above table shows the proportion of concentrates to rough- 

 for both lots during different periods. The plan was to cater to 

 the appetites of the cattle in these proportions and as a result lot 1 

 took a larger proportion of hay than lot 2. When we consider that 

 the cost of digestible nutrients in the case of lot 1 is .9029 cents per 

 pound in form of hay and .8692 cents per pound in form of corn 

 (which is .0337 cents per pound greater in the form of hay than in 

 corn),* it is probable that this larger proportion of roughage would 

 work as a handicap to lot 1 in the cost of producing gain. It will be 

 noticed that from the first period on, the proportion of grain was 

 radually increased until at the close of the experiment the grain 

 ation was about three times that of the roughage. 



'Average Composition of American Feeding Stuffs Henry's Feeds and Feeding. 



