WINTER RATIONS OF YEARLING STEERS. 



Table 2. — Composition of feeds used. 



Feeds. 



Corn silage 



Mixed hay 



Wheat straw 



Rye hay 



Soy-bean hay 



Cottonseed meal (.good) 



Analyses (actual) as made at the 

 West Virginia Experiment Station. 



Protein. 



Per ct. 

 1.86 

 6.60 



2.86 

 5.79 

 10.00 

 37.58 



Carbo- 

 hydrates, 



includ- 

 ing fiber. 



Per ct. 

 21.52 

 79.49 

 84.11 

 79. S2 

 68. CO 

 40.34 



Fat. 



Per ct. 

 0.53 

 1.90 

 1.38 

 1.19 

 3.02 

 8.29 



Ash. 



Per ct. 

 1.13 

 3.74 

 3.21 

 4.75 

 9.08 

 6.05 



Analyses (average) as given in 

 Henry's "Feeds and Feeding." 



Pro- 

 tein. 



Per ct. 

 2.1 

 8.6 

 3.1 

 6.7 

 16.0 

 37.6 



Carbo- 

 hydrates, 



includ- 

 ing fiber. 



Per ct. 

 21.7 

 70.7 

 81.8 

 78.0 

 64.0 

 39.9 



Fat. 



Per ct. 

 0.8 

 2.4 

 1.5 

 2.1 

 2.8 

 8.2 



Ash. 



Per ct. 

 1.7 

 6.1 

 5.2 

 5.1 

 8.6 

 6.4 



From the analyses it is evident that the feeds used, with the excep- 

 tion of cottonseed meal, were somewhat below the average in quality. 

 The cottonseed meal used was of 41 per cent protein the first year 

 and of 36 per cent protein the last three years. The^silage was made 

 from a mixture of dent and silage corn. 



Fig. 4.— Steers in Lot 2 at end of winter feeding, 1917-18. 



A three-year rotation of crops, consisting of corn, wheat, and hay, 

 is practiced pretty generally in the section under discussion. Timo- 

 thy is sown with the wheat in the fall, and clover is sown on the 

 same field in the spring. This provides in the year following the 

 wheat crop a mixed hay of timothy and clover. The mixed hay 

 used in this work was obtained in this manner. 



In making soy-bean hay the ground is prepared about the same as 

 it would be for corn. The beans are drilled broadcast, using 1J 

 bushels per acre. They are usually sown the last of May or the first 

 of June, after all danger of heavy frost is past. When the beans begin 

 to form in the pods, about the first of September, the time varying 

 with the variety of beans and the kind of season, the crop is cut and 

 cured for hay. 



