FATTElSriNG STEERS OF PASTURE I2T THE SOUTH. 



17 



grass, white clover, and some crab grass. No stock had been on the 

 pastures before the experiment began, so that an abundance of grass 

 and clover was available for the cattle throughout the experiment. 



Heavy rains sometimes caused water to stand on parts of both 

 pastures, and the grass was considered too " washy " to produce the 

 best gains on the cattle. Parts of the pastures were clipped with a 

 mower late in July, causing some improvement. 



The two lots of steers were interchanged from one pasture to the 

 other, so that discrepancies due to a difference in pastures might be 

 avoided. Pasture was charged at the rate of 50 cents a head for a 

 28-day period. 



METHOD OF FEEDING AND HANDLING THE CATTLE. 



The steers of lot 2 were fed their cake in troughs in the pasture 

 about sundown each daj^ They came up well for their feed, and 

 relished it. Water was obtained from ditches and pools in the pas- 

 tures. Individual weights of all steers were taken at the beginning 

 and at the close of the test, and each lot was weighed at the end of 

 each 28-day period while the experiment was in progress. 



RESULTS OF THE EXPERIMENT. 



The main features and results of the test are shown in Table 8, 

 in which the two lots are compared with respect to rate of gains, 

 cost of gains, profits, etc. 



Table 8. — Results of summer steer feeding in Mississippi, 1916. 



Lotl. 



Pasture 

 alone. 



Lot 2. 



Pasture 

 and cotton 

 seed cake. 



Number of steers 



Days of feeding period 



Average daily ration per head: 



Cottonseed cake pounds . . 



Cost of pasture and feed for 100 pounds gain 



Cost per head to feed through sumir er 



Initial cost of steers per 100 pounds , 



Selling price of steers per 100 pounds 



Average profit per head 



Average Initial weight per head pounds. . 



Average final weight per head do 



Average total gam per head do 



Average daily gain per head do 



30 

 134 



$1.12 



S2.39 



S5.50 



S5. 85 



$5.88 



662 



876 



214 



1.60 



30 

 134 



4.32 



S4.54 



SU. 67 



85.50 



S6. 10 



» SO. 05 



664 



921 



257 



1.92 



1 A loss. 



DAILY RATIONS. 



Lot 1 had only pasture. Cottonseed cake was fed to lot 2 at the 

 rate of 2 pounds a head daily for the first few days. This was 

 increased gradually during the first 3 periods, until on August 1 the 



