390 



FARMER'S CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK 



avoid the possibility of the steers get- 

 ting off feed. The use of a little cot- 

 tonseed meal mixed with kafir corn, 

 wheat or other feed stuff appears to add 

 to the palatability of the ration, and 

 therefore to secure a thorough mastica- 

 tion of the feed. Corn mixed with cot- 

 tonseed produces results almost equal to 

 wheat and is cheaper. In Oklahoma, it 

 has been found necessary to add cotton- 

 seed meal to the grain ration in order to 

 obtain the most economic results. At 

 the Oklahoma station, a number of dif- 

 ferent rations have been successfully 

 used containing cottonseed meal. These 

 rations included cottonseed meal in 

 quantities varying from 3 to 7 pounds 

 a day, in addition to alfalfa hay or prai- 

 rie hay and shelled corn or kafir corn 

 meal. The results obtained in Okla- 

 homa indicate that when corn costs as 

 much or even one-third more than cot- 

 tonseed meal it is still profitable to re- 

 place a portion of the cottonseed meal 

 with corn. 



According to observations made by 

 Craig and Marshall in Texas, it ap- 

 pears that cottonseed meal and hull3 

 constitute the most generally used ra- 

 tion in the cotton belt and correspond 

 in effectiveness and economy to a com- 

 bination of corn and alfalfa in the corn 

 belt. In a series of tests at the Texas 

 experiment station, the steers ate 5^2 

 pounds of cottonseed meal and 22 x /2 

 pounds of hulls daily, and gained 2.2 

 pounds a day. At the usual price for 

 cottonseed meal and hulls, a pound of 

 meat was produced for 4 cents. 



Cottonseed meal is not only used 

 throughout this country, but has also 

 been tested by many feeders in England 

 and in continental Europe. In Eng- 

 land, cottonseed meal has been found 

 somewhat lower in feeding value than 

 decorticated cotton cake. 



Complaint is often made that the 

 profitable feeding of beef cattle in the 

 south is impossible and in some southern 

 localities the farmers have been slow 

 in realizing the benefits and profits of 

 cattle feeding. Smith and Bray have 

 recently shown that beef cattle may be 

 fed at a fine profit on home-grown prod- 

 ucts in Mississippi. The hay used in 

 these experiments was a mixture of al- 

 falfa and Johnson grass and the grains 

 included corn meal, bran and cottonseed 

 meal. The steers which received cot- 

 tonseed meal and hulls were given 6 to 

 8 pounds of cottonseed meal and about 



25 pounds of cottonseed hulls daily. The 

 results indicate that a ration of cotton- 

 seed meal and hulls is superior to a 

 mixed ration of corn meal, bran and cot- 

 tonseed meal; while the mixed ration 

 had more variety it was more expensive. 



In Alabama, Duggar found that steers 

 on a ration of cottonseed and cotton- 

 seed meal gained 2.23 pounds a day, 

 while on cottonseed and shredded corn 

 stover the gain was only 1 pound a day. 

 The amount of cottonseed fed in these 

 experiments varied from 4.8 pounds to 

 D 1 /^ pounds a day. The amount of 

 shrinkage in steers shipped short dis- 

 tances was less in those which received 

 cottonseed meal than those which re- 

 ceived cottonseed. 



In North Carolina, good gains have 

 been obtained on an exclusive diet of 

 cottonseed meal and hulls for a period 

 of 81 days, the meal and hulls being 

 fed in a proportion of 1 :4. These ma- 

 terials may be used for different pur- 

 poses in proportion ranging from l:l l /2 

 up to 1:7. The ratio 1 :iy 2 is well 

 adapted for the purpose of rapid fatten- 

 ing. In further experiments in Texas, 

 cottonseed meal and hulls proved equal 

 or superior to any other available grain 

 ration. Eoasted or boiled cottonseed 

 was found more palatable and less laxa- 

 tive than raw seed, but the latter gave 

 the most economic gains. The best 

 ratio of meal and hulls for cheapness 

 was 1 :5 or 1:6; and for rapid gains 

 1 :3. The quality of the beef is not in- 

 fluenced in any pronounced manner by 

 the use of cottonseed meal, but the tal- 

 low is whiter than on other grain rations. 



In Arkansas, cottonseed has proved 

 to be the cheapest and best grain for 

 cattle. The whole seed is as good as 

 meal and hulls for a fattening period of 

 60 days, but in longer periods of feed- 

 ing, the large quantity of oil in the 

 whole seed causes a loss of appetite. 

 Cottonseed hulls should be fresh and 

 from dry seed, since otherwise they may 

 cause serious scouring. Dry hay is of 

 benefit in preventing scouring. In Ar 

 kansas, a ration containing 8 pounds 

 of cottonseed meal and 25 pounds of 

 hulls gives resiilts equal to grain feed- 

 ing. The relative value of cottonseed 

 and other grains has been studied in 

 Mississippi, where it appears that 1 

 pound of cottonseed meal is equal to 

 1.66 pounds of cottonseed or 1.9 pounds 

 of corn. In Mississippi, rations of 5V 2 

 pounds a day have been used for long 



