18 
BULLETIN 110, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
shows that a thin steer makes much more rapid gains during the 
pasture season than one in good flesh. The gains also show that the 
pastures used were good. 
Table 6. — Total and daily gains. 
April 7 to August 3, 1910 (118 Days). 
Lot. 
Ration. 
Average 
initial 
weight 
of each 
steer. 
Average 
final 
weight 
of each 
steer. 
Average 
total 
gain 
of each 
steer. 
Average 
daily 
gain. 
A 
Pasture alone 
Pounds. 
544 
576 
563 
Pounds. 
737 
809 
783 
Pounds. 
193 
233 
220 
Pounds. 
1.64 
B 
Pasture and cottonseed cake 
1.98 
G 
Pasture, cottonseed cake, and alfalfa hay 
1.86 
April 21 to September 8, 1911 (141 Days). 
A 
Pasture alone 
563 
565 
810 
805 
247 
240 
1.75 
B 
Pasture and cottonseed cake 
1.70 
In 1910 the steers of lot A which ran on pasture and had no feed 
in addition made the smallest gains, each steer increasing 193 
pounds in weight from April 7 to August 3. In lot B, where cotton- 
seed cake supplemented the pasture, each steer made a total gain 
of 233 pounds. The animals in lot G, where both cake and alfalfa 
hay were used to supplement the pasture, made greater gains than 
those which were on pasture alone, but did not gain as rapidly as 
the steers in lot B 7 where cake was the only supplement. In this 
case it did not pay to introduce the hay into the ration, as the gams 
were not increased and the final selling value of the steers was not 
enhanced. Alfalfa hay has a laxative tendency, and when it is fed in 
conjunction with pasture and cake this tendency is magnified. The 
steers gained at the average daily rate of 1.64, 1.98, and 1.86 pounds 
in lots A, B, and G, respectively. 
In 1911 the results do not agree with the results of 1910 in respect 
to the daily gains. It is noticeable, also, that the steers in lot 
A, where nothing was fed except pasture, made more rapid gains 
than those where cake was used as a supplement. The daily gains 
in lots A and B were 1.75 and 1.70 pounds, respectively. But, as 
will be seen in the financial statement, the feeding of the cake 
did have a favorable influence, as the cake-fed steers sold for 1 cent 
a pound more than the pasture-fed ones. The cake-fed steers also 
dressed out a slightly higher percentage of marketable meat. The 
cake-fed steers appeared to be in very much better condition and 
their hair was very much sleeker and glossier than that of the others. 
