FATTENING CATTLE IN ALABAMA. 5 



grasses. Crab grass and some Johnson grass had grown up between 

 the rows and furnished some grazing. The corn had been snapped 

 from the stalk and the entire stalks were left in the field. No cane- 

 brakes were available, and the cattle which were not fed had to 

 depend entirely upon the stalks in the cultivated fields and the native 

 grasses. 



The cottonseed meal fed to lot 2 was of the same grade as that in 

 previous years and contained about 38 per cent protein. The hay 

 used for lot 4 consisted of very coarse Johnson grass mixed with 

 weeds and was damaged to such an extent that it could not have been 

 sold at all. It could not be cut at the proper stage because of a pro- 

 longed rainy spell. The grass had to be cut, however, to permit the 

 next cutting to grow off, and instead of using the coarse grass for 

 filling ditches, as is often done in similar cases, the hay was raked 

 and stacked in a long rick just outside the hayfield, next to a field 

 in which the steers were to be wintered. 



The prices placed upon the feeds at the time of the test were as 

 follows, these being the current prices of hulls and meal at the time 

 the experiment was made: 



Cottonseed meal per ton. . $26 



Cottonseed hulls per ton. . 6 



Damaged hay per ton. . 5 



The duplication of the test of the previous year with cotton seed to 

 supplement the range could not be carried out as the price of this feed 

 had increased from $14 per ton to over $20 per ton, and at such prices 

 the seed could not be profitably used when cottonseed meal sold for 

 but a few dollars more per ton. 



No price was placed upon the stalk fields and the open range. No 

 revenue would have been secured from them if they had not been 

 grazed by the cattle. 



METHOD OF FEEDING AND HANDLING THE CATTLE. 



The cattle ran in the inclosed fields at all times and were not 

 penned at any time of the day or night. No shelter was provided 

 for them, but during bad weather they sought natural shelters, con- 

 sisting of plum thickets, rows of hedge trees, and hillside nooks, 

 which gave protection from the winds. The feed was placed in feed 

 troughs and racks, which had skids in order that they might be pulled 

 from place to place. By this method the manure was dropped in 

 different places and the animals did not have to stand in the mud 

 while eating. The troughs were placed as near the feed barn as 

 practicable, in order to obviate hauling the feed long distances. The 

 cattle were fed once each day, just before sundown. Salt was given 

 the animals at feeding time to induce them to come the more readily 



