COTTONSEED MEAL COMPARED WITH 

 VELVET BEANS FOR FATTENING 



STEERS 



BY ' 



G. S. Templeton ■} 



AND "' 



E, GiBBENS 



INTRODUCTION. 



The vclvcl bean is a comparatively new feed. The 

 crop is usually fed by turning cattle and hogs into tie 

 field after the vines have been killed by frost. This 

 method of harvesting is satisfactory on soils of a 

 sandy character, but on the heavier types of soils a 

 good many beans are wasted during bad weather and 

 the fields are damaged by the stock tramping them. 



The bean makes a very heavy vine growth and is 

 grown extensively by some farmers to add humus to 

 the soil. In this practice, after the frost kills the vines* 

 the mature beans are gathered by hand and the vines 

 are plowed under. 



The experiment reported in this bulletin was made 

 to determine the value of the velvet bean as a concen- 

 trate for fattening steers. This work is only a pre- 

 liminary report of the experiments in feeding velvet 

 beans. The test is to be repeated during the winter 

 of 1916-1917. 



Object of the Experiment. 



This exj)criment was planned with a view to coin- 

 paring the relative feeding value of cottonseed meal 

 and velvet beans in pods as the concentrate part of a 

 ration for fattening steers. 



The Cattle. 



The pictures of Lot 6 and Lot 7, taken at the time 

 the exi)eriment was started and when completed, give 

 a good idea of the type of steers used. Part of the 

 steers were raised on the farm at Allenville antl the 

 remainder were purchased in Marengo and neighljor- 

 ing counties. None of the steers were pure bred, bat 



