N. C. AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 



Weights of Steers. 



During the experiment the steers were weighed each week about eight 

 in the morning before any feed or water had been given. The initial 

 weight for each lot was derived by taking the average of two weighings 

 made on consecutive mornings. The final weights used were those taken 

 by the buyer of the steers. 



Shrinkage. 



The average shrinkage on steers coming from the mountains of this 

 State will be from seven to eight pounds per hundred pounds live weight. 

 This will usually be regained in six to eight days as a large amount of 

 the loss in weight is due to fill. The steers used in the experiments 

 were allowed to, regain their original weight before any experimental 

 data were recorded. 



Kind of Feeds Used. 



The cottonseed meal used was the ordinary commercial product. No 

 effort was made to secure a better grade of meal than is actually used by 

 the farmer feeders. The only requirement regarding the meal was that 

 it measure up to the standard required by the State. 



The roughage feeds used consisted of corn stover, corn silage and 

 cottonseed hulls. The quality of the corn stover and the corn silage was 

 somewhat better during the second than the first year, while the cotton- 

 seed hulls were practically of the same grade both years. During the 

 first year the corn stover was very dry and contained considerable dust, 

 while the corn silage was inferior principally because of the small num- 

 ber of ears on it. In the second year, the corn stover was cured somewhat 

 better, not being so dry and dusty; while the corn silage was superior 

 principally because of the larger number of ears it contained. 



In table 1 is shown the average composition of the feeds used in the 

 experiment. 



TABLE 1 SHOWING THE AVERAGE PERCENTAGE COMPOSITION OF FEEDS 

 USED IN EXPERIMENT. 



1 North Carolina Experiment Station chart by C. B. Williams. 



2 Feeds and Feeding Henry, page 567 tenth edition. 



3 Feeds and Feeding Henry, page 568 tenth edition. 



4 Feeds and Feeding Henry, page 572 tenth edition. 



Valuation of Feeds. 



The feeds used were rated per ton as follows : cottonseed meal $30.00, 

 cottonseed hulls $8.00, corn silage $2.75, and corn stover $8.00. 



The average price of cottonseed meal throughout the last two years 

 has been about $30.00 per ton. Considering that neither the corn silage 

 nor the corn stover were up to standard either year, the writer considers 

 this a liberal estimate on these feed values. 



