FATTENING CATTLE IN ALABAMA. 29 



The average of all steers in lot 2 shows that by giving a half ration 

 of cottonseed meal and hulls to the steers on winter range there was 

 no loss in weight, but a gain of 8 pounds each. The gain made 

 during the summer, 220 pounds, was not as large as that made by 

 the thin steers, but the total gain in weight for the whole period 

 was 228 pounds, as compared with 160 pounds for lot 1. Lots 1 and 2 

 are strictly comparable, as the total number of steers was 72 and 68, 

 respectively, and each lot was composed of similar groups of cattle 

 which were fed during the same period of time. 



STEERS WINTERED ON RANGE AND COWPEA HAY. 



The cattle of lot 3 were fed cowpea hay while running upon the 

 range during the winter. They averaged 724 pounds in weight and 

 lost 9.6 pounds each during the winter, or a daily loss of 0.11 of a 

 pound per steer. When put on pasture the following summer, they 

 made excellent gains. The daily gains made per steer were 1.52 

 pounds for the steers fed on pasture alone; 2.22 pounds for those 

 fed on pasture plus cottonseed cake; and 1.89 pounds for those fed on 

 pasture plus cold-pressed cottonseed cake. 



The average for all steers of lot 3 shows that while they lost but 

 0.1 1 of a pound per steer per day during the winter, the summer gain was 

 1.86 pounds per steer daily, making an average of 1.01 pounds per day 

 for the winter and summer. These steers made better daily gains 

 during the summer than those in lot 2, but when the summer and winter 

 periods are combined, they did not make quite as large daily gains. 



The steers of lot 3 made slight losses in weight during the winter, 

 but somewhat larger gains during the summer than did the steers 

 of lot 2. Good bright cowpea hay proved equally as valuable as the 

 cottonseed meal and hulls for wintering cattle, and when meal was 

 worth $26 per ton and hulls $6 per ton, cowpea hay proved to be 

 worth $13 per ton on the farm. 



STEERS WINTERED ON RANGE AND DAMAGED HAY. 



The cattle of lot 4, which were wintered on range and coarse 

 damaged hay, weighed 680 pounds each in the fall and 616 pounds 

 each in the spring. The daily loss in weight per steer was 0.67 of a 

 pound. During the summer months they made daily gains varying 

 from 1.59 to 2.22 pounds per head, depending upon which supple- 

 mentary feed they received. The average daily gain for both summer 

 and winter periods amounted to 0.77 of a pound per day for each of 

 the 43 steers in the lot. 



The steers of lot 4 lost 64 pounds each in weight during the winter, 

 but when grazed during the summer they made an average daily gain 

 of 1.83 pounds per steer, or slightly larger summer gains than steers 

 wintered on meal and hulls. Their average daily gain for the whole 

 period, however, dropped to 0.77 of a pound each per day, or slightly 



