.'STEER FEEDING EXPERIMENTS. 



67 



during 1904. On the average for all of the steers it cost 6.16 cents 

 for each pound of gain for 1903 and for 1904 the cost was 5.43 cents. 

 For the whole time of the feeding test it cost during 1903, 5.2 cents, 

 on the average, for each pound of gain put upon the steers. Dur- 

 ing 1904 the cost was 4.94, or nearly .3 cents less. The cheapest 

 gains in both years were made with the mixed grain ration. In 



1903 this ration produced a pound of gain for 4.17 cents, and in 



1904 the cost was 4.56 cents. 



TABLE No. VI FINANCIAL RESULTS AND SUMMARY, 1903-4. 



FINANCIAL RESULTS WITH STEERS. 



Table No. 6 gives the financial results with this lot of steers. 

 As noted above the steers made better gains, and, comparatively 

 speaking, more economical gains, during the time of this test than 

 they did the year before. However^ financially considered, the re- 

 sults did not return enough to pay for the feed given the animals. 

 These steers cost an average of 3.2 cents per pound live weight. 

 They were sold for 3^ cents per pound shrunk weight. This meant 

 slightly less than $40.00 per head net received for each steer and 

 meant a loss on the whole lot of $40.51. This was an average of 

 $1.26 loss on each steer, or, in other words, the steers failed to pay 

 for the feed given them, without considering the labor, by $1.26 

 each. This result bears out the statement of the year before that 

 profits in feeding steers cannot be generally made unless there is 

 n greater difference in the buying and 'selling price than was the case 

 with this car lot. I think others will remember that during this 

 year (1903) many steers sold in the market for a lower price in the 

 spring than they did in the fall, and with very many people the 

 losses were greater than are here shown. 



