6 BULLETIN 110, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



to their feed. No salt was given for several days previous to each 

 weigh day. 



All the animals were dehorned, tagged, divided into groups which 

 were uniform in quality and size, and each one was weighed on two 

 consecutive days at the beginning of the test. Thereafter each group 

 was weighed as a whole every 28 days until the close of the test, at 

 which time each steer was again weighed. 



The steers of lot 4, which received the damaged hay in addition to 

 the range, were not fed upon the same farm as the other steers. The 

 hay was 1J miles from the scales, and it was found after the test had 

 been in progress for some time that the hay could not be weighed 

 out and the refuse weighed back each day, so accurate feed records 

 were not kept for this lot. The weight records of these steers are 

 correct, however, and are shown herein;- not that any value is placed 

 upon them as far as the winter work is concerned, but in order that 

 the gains made by these steers the following summer may be studied 

 and compared with the gains made during the summer by the steers 

 of the other winter lots. This phase of the work will be discussed in 

 full in another portion of this bulletin. 



As soon as all the cotton had been picked the steers were divided 

 into groups, tagged, weighed, and started on feed. The test began 

 December 8, 1909, and continued until March 9, 1910, at which time 

 melilotus and grass had begun to grow enough to furnish grazing. 

 Melilotus grows luxuriantly throughout that portion of the State and 

 furnishes good early grazing. 



RESULTS OF THE WINTER FEEDING. 



The winter of 1909-10 was a severe one, it being much colder than 

 the average winter in Sumter County, with a great deal of rain and 

 one hard sleet durmg December, which covered everything with ice 

 for two days. Cold rains and winds made it hard upon the steers. 

 During January the weather was cold, but there was not much rain. 

 Light freezes occurred throughout the month. The month of Febru- 

 ary was about the average of several years. There were a number 

 of cold nights, with freezes and some rains, but the weather was not 

 as severe as during the first part of the winter. The feed on the range 

 however, was almost exhausted, while during December it was 

 plentiful. 



The following table shows the rations fed, the number of steers in 

 each lot, the average weight per steer at the beginning and the end 

 of the test, the total gain, and the average daily gain per steer for 

 the 91-day period. 



