6 Cattle Feeding Experiment. 



tions were carried on the past winter with two-year-old 

 steers. The only departure made in the two-year-old test was 

 the use of alfalfa hay as a source of protein in the place of 

 oil-meal for the steers fed corn-stoyer. 



PLAN OF THE EXPERIMENT. 



On December 28, 1904, fifty range two-year-old steers, 

 mostly grade Shorthorns, were purchased in South Omaha. 

 These steers came from what is known as the North Park 

 country in Colorado, where they had all been handled in the 

 same manner, none having received grain previous to their 

 use in the experiment. When purchased they went under the 

 stock yards nomenclature of "hay feds." 



Upon arrival at the Experiment Station farm, the fifty 

 steers were placed in five separate lots with ten in each lot. 

 In making the division, the better steers were distributed in 

 such a way as to make the several lots as even as possible in 

 both quality and weight. 



SHELTER. 



At the north end of each feed lot was shed space with large 

 open doors on the south to permit the steers to pass in and 

 out at will. These sheds were kept bedded with straw and 

 the steers were thus encouraged to lie down when not eating, 

 a matter of importance in beef production. Within each 

 shed was placed a box which always contained salt. Both 

 hay and grain were fed in the lots, which were sufficiently 

 large to permit the steers to move about freely without being 

 unduly active. The yards were no drier than the average 

 feed lots in the State. No doubt still larger gains would have 

 been secured had the lots been better drained. 



WATER. 



Water was made accessible twice each day by giving each 

 lot of cattle the run of a yard in which was stationed a tank 

 fed by an elevated reservoir. The water came from a deep 



