WINTER RATIONS OF YEARLING STEERS. 3 



from grass either' as stockers or feeders or as finished steers for the 

 market. There are some who hold the idea that it is profitable to 

 permit this loss of weight, which with older steers often amounts 

 to from 25 to 100 pounds. There are others who believe that cattle 

 wintered on silage, or on a ration of which silage is a part, will not do 

 well on grass the following summer. 



OBJECTS AND PLAN OF THE WORK. 



The objects of the experiments as a whole had these general prob- 

 lems in view : 



1. To ascertain the effect of different wintering rations upon sub- 

 sequent pasture gains. 



2. To determine the most satisfactory and economical method of 

 wintering. 



3. To determine the best method and the cost of raising beef cattle 

 in West Virginia. 



: '""r ! "*' :'*';' ""«■ :.. .' : ■'.':"'. ^la'K' 



Fig. 2. — The first day on pasture, April 29, 1918, after the cattle had been wintered on a ration of corn 

 silage, cottonseed meal, and wheat straw. (This picture shows the class of cattle, the general appear- 

 ance of pasture, and the nature of the country.) 



Two distinct phases of the problems as outlined in objects 1 and 2 

 presented themselves for solution: First, the wintering of yearlings 

 that are to be pastured the following summer and sold as stockers 

 or feeders; second, the wintering and subsequent grazing of older 

 steers to be sold from grass when fat. The first, however, is the 

 only one considered here, the second being reserved for further 

 investigation. 



The work was carried on for a period of four years, in order to have 

 an average of feedstuffs, cattle, seasons, and other conditions tend- 

 ing to produce variation. The general plan of these experiments, 

 including the rations used for the different lots of steers, is given in 

 Table 1. 



