22 BULLETIN 777, U. S. DEPARTMEISTT OF AGRICULTUEE. 



Table 11. — Snnniiary of four years' suDinicr fattening work — Continued. 



Group, ration, and year. 



Num- 

 ber 

 of 

 steers. 



Days 

 fed. 



Aver- 

 age 



total 

 gain 

 per 



head. 



Aver- 

 age 



daily 



gain 

 per 



head. 



Cost of 



feed 



per 100 



pounds 



gain. 



Cost of 



cattle 



per 100 



poimds. 



Selling 



price 



per 100 



pounds. 



Margin 

 per 100 

 pounds. 



Dress- 

 ing 

 per 



cent. 



Aver- 

 age 



profit 

 per 



head. 



II. Pasture and cottonseed 

 cake: 

 1912 



36 



26 

 20 

 30 



101 

 147 

 107 

 134 



Lbs. 

 129 

 309 

 214 

 257 



Lbs. 

 1.28 

 2.10 

 2.00 

 1.92 



§5.32 

 3.27 

 3.44 

 4.54 



S3. 87 

 5.25 

 5.00 

 5.50 



$4.75 

 6.00 

 6.35 

 6.10 



SO. 88 

 .75 

 1.35 

 .60 



Per cf. 

 51.62 



"so." so' 



54.21 



S4 61 



1913 



11.23 



1915 



9 61 



1916 



1 .05 







Average 





122 



227 



1.83 



4.14 



4.90 



5 80 



90 



52.21 



6 23 









III. Pasture with half cotton- 

 seed cake and one-half corn 

 chop: 2 

 1912 



25 



25 



106 

 147 



143 



252 



1 35 

 1.71 



5 14 

 3.51 



3 87 

 5.25 



4.75 

 6.00 



.88 

 .75 



51.91 



4.69 



1913 



8.27 







Average 





126 



198 



1.53 



4.32 



4.56 



5.37 



.815 



51.91 



6.48 









1 A loss. 



2 Corn-and-cob meal fed in 1913. 



The figures shown in Table 11 afford material for profitable study 

 by farmers and feeders. It is seen that the steers in group I made 

 gains very cheaply, but the total gains were not large and the steers 

 did not take on a high finish. Their unfinished condition is reflected 

 in the sruall margin on which they were sold and the low dressing per- 

 centages. Thus the profits they returned were smaller than for the 

 steers of the other two groups. 



The steers under group II made more rapid gains than the grass- 

 fed cattle, but their gains cost more. However, they were better 

 finished, as shown by the dressing percentages, and sold on the market 

 for a higher price per hundredweight, which paid for the relatively 

 expensive gains and returned a greater profit per head than was 

 realized on the cattle in group I. 



Since only two lots of steers were fed under group III, and because 

 corn chop was fed to one and corn-and-cob meal to the other, the 

 average results do not have the same weight as those of the first two 

 groups. As they stand, the data show that the substitution of corn 

 pound for pound for one-half of the cottonseed-cake allowance low- 

 ered slightly the rate of gains and increased the cost of gains. The 

 steers of this group, however, gained more rapidly, finished in better 

 condition, and brought higher prices and a larger profit per head 

 than those of group I. 



"Vi'liile the average profit per head for group III is greater than 

 for the other two groups, a comparison of the profits of group II 

 and III for 1912 and 1913 shows that the steers of group II returned 

 the larger net profit per head for those two years. 



