52 BULLETIN 631, TJ. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



calves also sold somewhat higher because they were fatter; but 

 though prime calves could not be made when cottonseed meal was fed 

 as the sole concentrate, it was usually more economical and more 

 profitable to feed cottonseed meal alone than to feed a combination 

 of cottonseed meal and corn or a ration of corn alone. This is owing 

 to the comparative cheapness of cottonseed meal with corn when the 

 feeding value of the two concentrates is considered. As long as cot- 

 tonseed meal remains cheap and corn relatively high in price the re- 

 sults probably will be the same. There are some exceptions to this, 

 however. On farms where considerable corn is raised and can be 

 marketed only at considerable expense, the farmer can get a good 

 price for the corn by feeding it to his calves and hogs. The higher 

 the quality of the calves the less danger of loss there is in feeding 

 more expensive corn. Calves of high quality usually pay better re- 

 turns for the feed consumed than scrub calves. 



When corn was fed liberally the calves invariably finished out bet- 

 ter than the cottonseed-meal-fed calves and usually made larger daily 

 gains. They usually sold for somewhat more per hundredweight and 

 killed out a higher percentage of dressed meat. 



Although prime calves could not be made by feeding cottonseed 

 meal as the sole concentrate, the calves became fat enough and made 

 gains cheap enough to sell well and return a good profit year after 

 year. "While cottonseed meal continues relatively cheap, good profits 

 can be made by feeding it to fattening calves. 



Corn silage proved a much more satisfactory roughage for fatten- 

 ing calves than cottonseed hulls. 



The calves made a profit every year when feeds were charged in 

 at cost; but in some cases the profit was small, as the value of the 

 manure has not been considered in writing up these tests. 



GENERAL CONCLUSIONS FOR THE FIVE YEARS' CALF FEEDING. 



The calf-feeding work reported in this bulletin covers a period of 

 five years. The calves used in all of the experiments were very simi- 

 lar in age, size, breeding, and quality. Those fed during the first 

 four years of the experimental work reported in this bulletin were 

 fed in a very similar manner, as the general conditions under which 

 the feeding was done were very similar. The calves averaged from 

 six to eight months of age in the fall when they were put on feed. 



In all five years' work there has been a comparison of the value of 

 cottonseed meal and a combination of cottonseed meal and corn for 

 fattening calves for the market. In some cases the corn was fed as 

 corn-and-cob meal, in others as corn chop, and in still others as 

 shelled corn, but the comparison of cottonseed meal and corn has 

 remained throughout. 





