No. fi. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 355 



he a doinoiistratioii of tlie bcsi method -of raisinj,^ hod' enttle in 

 IVunsvlvania and of its siipcrioi-ity over any other. Tt will b» a 

 frood thinii' for tho majority of onr farmors. 



DK. ARMSBY: 1 want to snj^i^ost that tiiere arc two phases of 

 the subject which, I think, will lielp us in this matter of returning 

 more or less to the fattening of beef cattle. One is the question 

 under discussion of the more extensive use of ensilage for food; the 

 utilization of the corn crop. The State College for the past three 

 years has been following up a line of investigation in this direction 

 which was suggested by Professor Hamilton, and one thing under 

 consideration is tlie matter of diminishing the labor cost by feeding 

 in bunches instead of putting up the cattle as has been the practice, 

 and the result of three years' experiment has been that the cattle 

 did just as well, after being dehorned; and in addition to that, there 

 was a considerable saving in the manure over the ordinary method 

 of handling — considerable less loss of the fertilizing material — and 

 that means a considerable economy in production. 



During the last winter we have been feeding one lot of cattle in 

 the barn and another lot in an open shed, but otherwise exposed to 

 the weather. We did not succeed in making the conditions quite 

 ideal, but the cattle outdoors did very nearly as well as those in 

 the barn, and gave them a little drj^er quarters, and I am convinced 

 from the results of numerous experiments that they would have 

 done equally well. This contradicts the idea about the necessity 

 for shelter, but it seems to be thoroughly established now by trying 

 experiments that the fattening steer is producing more heat than 

 he needs, and that he will be more comfortable and do better if he 

 is exposed to moderately cold weather. So that there is another 

 question, that is to say, we can approximate to the conditions that 

 have maintained in the West, where practically from necessity and 

 carelessness they make the conditions very simple, not much more 

 than enclosing their cattle and giving them lots to eat, making the 

 whole handling very simple. So that, in feeding operations, we 

 are progressing, and our results and those obtained in other states 

 will do a great deal towards rendering the beef cattle in Pennsyl- 

 vania and the Eastern states generally a more profitable and de- 

 sirable branch of animal husbandry than it has been heretofore. 



MR. BLYHOLDER: The next two questions in my hands are re- 

 lated, and can be discussed at the same time, and T will, therefore, 

 read them both now. The first is: 



''Is not timothy cut green for hay not underestimated?" 



The other is: 



"What is the best substitute for hay when the hay crop is short?" 



