COMPARISON OF ROUGHAGES FOR FATTENING STEERS. a1 
fed a dry-roughage ration of cowpea hay, oat straw, and corn stover, 
gained only 1.59 pounds per head per day. 
The use of a small amount of dry roughage fed with good sor- 
ghum silage failed to cause the steers to make larger daily gains; in 
fact, it had just the opposite effect. ‘The steers receiving silage alone 
consumed a larger amount daily and made larger daily gains. A 
roughage ration composed of one-third cowpea hay, one-third oat 
straw, and one-third corn stover did not prove satisfactory for fat- 
tening steers when cottonseed cake was the sole concentrate fed. 
QUANTITY AND COST OF FEED REQUIRED TO MAKE 
100 POUNDS OF GAIN. 
The following table shows the amount and cost of feeds required 
to make 100 pounds of gain: 
TABLE 10.—Quantity and cost of feed required to make 100 pounds of gain. 
(November 26, 1915, to April 1, 1916—127 days.) 
Pounds of 
Cost 
Lot Ration acy For of 100 
No. : ane of pounds of 
gain gain. 
Mattonsced mealees =< 2255 eet ee os eared apes oe eae mene ey I MRE oo ces 284 
d {eorcunra SEIS SAAR SS Aorta eee aoe SUM e SES Bone ee ie eS 1,978 HI 
PB LEOUSCEC TCA ees <= sek eet UN SI ihe A aN et ues ep UPA ae ea 312 
Ay be SEV CERT GMCS ES EXE) ag ee La 1 1,976 8.26 
BE ESIAAES FON CL gee ela cece ne Bie ecient mec eh Sa MAY lla I aia Tet 125 
Moapronseed meaAlee.~ 2s saseteees e eet bd e e a A ies G ‘ 322 
Sym PULL PETAL] 22 mee Sc eee ayy IE alam IE ee NL A ae 2,041 8.47 
BOSS SEMEL = everett acne! omic ier aera eS Tice eae = elcid See cree See 2 I a 103 
pebtonseed BOAT COr | Up ON gy te Se MC EU! OCR RE ee ance Ace SNS pa 383 
MUHA LUA oie cle cies oreo mre stele recy oS pale Gates eal mier even yey epey ara eee ener ay sth WISI 504 
4 i SULAW co's Socio eis ook ate eee oe Sore ee iets er Se es ea as oe 504 11.16 
RSOUTUSLOV ELS Seen oes eye ees ae ce 2 ce eiaue oh) ao a me ee te em eee 8 504 
Lot 1, which was fed on a ration of cottonseed meal and sorghum 
silage, required 284 pounds of cottonseed meal and 1,978 pounds of 
silage to make 100 pounds of gain. Each 100 pounds of gain was 
made at a cost of $7.52. The cost of producing the gains on this lot 
was lower than for any of the other lots. 
Lot 4 received 383 pounds of cottonseed meal and 504 pounds each 
of oat straw, corn stover, and cowpea hay per 100 pounds gain. The 
gains in this lot were made at a cost of $11.16. The steers in this lot 
not only made the smallest gains of all the lots, but the gains were 
the most expensive. Thesmall gains, which are accounted for by the 
lack of succulence and palatability in the roughage ration, are 
responsible for the high cost of gains. 
The rate of gains as well as the cost of gains in this experiment 
seems to indicate that the addition of such roughages as corn stover 
or oat straw do not add to the value of a silage ration when the 
silage is made of well-matured sorghum. The outcome of Lot 4 in 
this experiment emphasizes the value of silage in the fattening ration 
