32 BULLETIN 762, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
3. The steers used were mature twos, threes, and fours, carrying 
from one- fourth to three- fourths pure blood of the various beef 
breeds, including the Devon and Eed Poll. They were better steers 
than the average found in the State. 
4. The steers were divided into three lots of 20 each and fed as 
follows: Lot 1, cottonseed meal and sorghum silage; Lot 2, cotton- 
seed meal, sorghum silage, and corn stover; Lot 3, cottonseed meal, 
sorghum silage, and oat straw. 
5. Equal quantities of cottonseed meal were fed to the steers of the 
three lots, beginning at 2 pounds per head, and increased to 7.7 
pounds during the latter part of the feeding period. The steers of 
Lot 1 ate an average daily ration of 43.9 pounds of silage, while 
those of the other two lots consumed practically 6 pounds less daily 
per head, which amount was replaced by a daily consumption of 
2.9 pounds of corn stover per head in the case of Lot 2, and 2.2 
pounds of oat straw in Lot 3. 
6. The average daily gains per head for the 120-day feeding period 
were 1.85 pounds, 1.89 pounds, and 1.82 pounds for the steers of Lots 
1, 2, and 3, respectively. Thus it is seen that the addition of stover 
and straw had very little effect upon the rate of gains. 
7. The cost per 100 pounds gain was $8.49, $8.18, and $8.42, for 
Lots 1, 2, and 3, respectively. These gains were put on cheaply, and 
there is very little variation in the costs in the different lots. The 
addition of stover and straw to the cottonseed-meal and silage com- 
bination lowered the cost of gains slightly. 
8. The relatively cheap cottonseed meal and silage, combined with 
the extremely wide margin of selling, largely accounts for the high 
profits realized from feeding these steers. The average profit per 
steer, after deducting the cost of feeds and marketing, was $39.10, 
for Lot 1, $40.51 for Lot 2, and $36.08 for Lot 3. 
9. The steers in Lot 1 dressed out 57.81 per cent, those in Lot 2, 
58.19 per cent, and those of Lot 3, 57.74 per cent, which indicates 
well-finished carcasses. 
