8 BULLETIN 762, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
The steers of all lots cost $5.25 per hundredweight in the fall. At 
the end of the feeding period they were appraised at $6.75 per 100 
pounds, or a margin of $1.50 per hundredweight was received for all. 
No charge is made for labor and no credit is given for the manure 
produced. 
The silage-fed steers were by far the most profitable. The steers 
of Lot 1, which received cottonseed hulls as the sole roughage, made 
the smallest profits. When the prices of feeds are considered the 
steers of all lots made exceedingly satisfactory profits. 
SUMMARY OF THE EXPERIMENT. 
1. The object of this experiment was to study the relative efficiency 
of cottonseed hulls, corn silage, and a combination of these two 
roughages when fed with cottonseed meal for finishing steers during 
a short feeding period. 
2. The steers used were mostly 3-year-olds showing a predominance 
of blood of the various beef breeds, and averaged 834 pounds per 
head at the beginning of the test. They were divided into three lots 
of 20 each and fed 84 days during the winter. 
3. The steers of Lot 1 were fed a ration of cottonseed meal and 
cottonseed hulls; those of Lot 2 received a ration of cottonseed meal 
and corn silage; while those of Lot 3 were given cottonseed meal, 
cottonseed hulls, and corn silage. 
4, During the 84-day feeding period the average daily gain per 
head was 2.48 pounds, 2.51 pounds, and 2.58 pounds, respectively: for 
the steers of Lots 1, 2, and 3. 
5. It cost $8.88 to produce 100 pounds of gain in Lot 1, $6.19 in 
Lot 2, and $7.89 in Lot 3. 
6. The net profits per head amounted to $5.99, $11.74, and $7.69 for 
the steers of Lots 1, 2, and 3, respectively. 
7. The experiment shows very clearly the superiority of corn silage 
over cottonseed hulls as a roughage for fattening steers. 
