Live Stock Breeders' Association. 



181 



It is never safe to accept as definite the conclusions drawn from 

 a single experiment, but when we have, during a succession of 

 three years, the marked contrast in daily gains, cost of production 

 and net profits in favor of alfalfa, as compared with prairie hay, 

 which the above table indicates, there would seem to be little room 

 to doubt the superiority of alfalfa when each is fed with corn alone. 

 There may be several reasons for this. Perhaps first in import- 

 ance is the fact that alfalfa is a so-called legume, having, like clover 

 and cowpeas, the power to take nitrogen from the air, storing it 

 within its cellular structure in the form of proteids, which material 

 is needed by the animal in the formation of lean tissue and bone. 

 Alfalfa in itself contains more protein than the average fattening 

 animal requires, an excess sufficient to compensate for that lack- 

 ing in corn, the two together, therefore, making a balanced lation 

 for fattening cattle. Prairie hay, like corn, lacks protein, and 

 when fed singly or together, they do not supply enough of that 

 nutrient to meet physiological requirements. This is best shown 

 by examining the following chart, the black lines representing the 

 digestible protein (lean formers) of each food and the white lines 

 the digestible carbohydrates (starches, etc.) and vegetable oils, 

 both of the latter forming animal fat and body heat. 



What is approximately a well-balanced ration for the average 

 two-year-old steer is indicated by the line having the nutritive 

 ratio 1 :7, by which is meant one pound of protein to seven pounds 

 of carbohydrates and fats. It will be noted how closely the ration 



