110 Report of Farmers' Institutes 



Some practical conclusions are that maintenance of cattle re- 

 quires, per 1,000 pounds, slightly less than 9/10 pound of di- 

 gestible protein and 13 therms of metabolizable energy. Condi- 

 tion alone seems to have no effect on the cost of maintenance, but 

 previous full feeding will increase proportionately the subsequent 

 cost of maintenance. The cost of maintenance decreases with 

 age, and is least in spring and greatest in the winter, increasing 

 with greater activity, and relatively faster with increasing weight. 



Value of barley for cows fed alfalfa. (Cal. 256.) In certain 

 parts of California, cattle are given either green alfalfa or alfalfa 

 hay as roughage, either without or with grain, of which barley 

 is the one most commonly fed. In a test with fourteen cows of 

 the Station herd, divided in equal lots and fed for three three- 

 week periods — alternating alfalfa alone and alfalfa and barley — 

 the addition of the grain increased both body weight of the ani- 

 mals and amount of milk produced, but not to a profitable extent 

 when immediate results only are considered. The authors believe, 

 however, that because of the favorable effect of the grain on the 

 condition of the animals and their offspring, its use is good prac- 

 tice and economically sound. This is especially true for heifers 

 and young cows, and for heavy-producing animals which cannot be 

 brought to their maximum yield on roughage alone. 



Corn silage and alfalfa hay for beef production. (ISTebr. 151.) 

 In these tests with 48 steers, corn and alfalfa hay produced the 

 cheapest gains, so that even at $20 a ton the average profit on the 

 three lots fed alfalfa would have been 15 per cent greater than 

 that on the best lot not fed alfalfa. Cold-pressed cottonseed cake 

 added to a ration of corn, alfalfa and silage increased the cost of 

 gain and diminished the profits. Contrary to previous experi- 

 ments heavy feeding of silage was not detrimental, and the use 

 of silage in any amount had only beneficial effects upon the con- 

 dition of the animals, and was followed by only slight shrinkage. 

 Prairie hay was an inefficient and expensive substitute for alfalfa 

 hay. 



Winter steer feeding. (Ind. 178.) The addition of corn silage 

 to rations of shelled corn, cottonseed meal and either clover or 

 alfalfa hay decreased both grain and hay consumption, the saving 

 of grain being greater with the clover hay ration and of hay 



