22 The Bulletin. 



trouble is undoubtedly the gi-eat bane of the feed-lot, and with the 

 short fattening periods, common in the South, it is doubtful if an 

 animal that suffers from a severe attack of it ever makes profitable 

 returns for the feed consumed. Therefore, the importance of extreme 

 care during the first few weeks of the fattening period cannot be too 

 strongly emphasized. 



Cattle right off the grass in October or November, that are con- 

 fined to a dry lot, should have all the shredded stover they will eat, 

 and about 15 pounds of silage. The silage should be increased about 

 one pound per day until each animal is receiving from 35 to 40 

 pounds daily. In case cotton-seed hulls are the roughage used, they 

 should be fed to the limit that the cattle will consume, during the 

 early part of the feeding period. 



With the grain feed more care must be taken. To start on, one 

 pound of cotton-seed meal and one pound of cotton seed per day are 

 sufficient ; but the increase should begin at once, and amount to about 

 one pound for each animal per week, until a full ration is received. 

 A full ration is usually regarded as about all the animal will eat up 

 clean, and such a ration usually produces the largest or most rapid 

 gains, but the gains obtained from a heavy grain ration are fre- 

 quently not made as economically as those obtained from a medium 

 ration of concentrates. 



FREQUENCY AND REGULARITY OF FEEDING. 



There is no more potent factor in determining results in the feed- 

 lot than regularity in all operations relating thereto. Few recognize 

 its full force, and many are prone to disregard it entirely. By regu- 

 larity is not only meant feeding at stated intervals, but also the feed- 

 ing of the same quantity and quality of feed. An animal that is ex- 

 pected to make the best gain must be fed at the same time each day, 

 and after he has once been put on full feed, he should also receive 

 about the same amount each time. The practice of placing large 

 quantities of feed before fattening animals, and keeping it before 

 them all the time, is an expensive one, begot by carelessness, and, so 

 far as I know, extensively practiced nowhere except in the South. 

 A keen appetite is conducive to good digestion, and usually an indica- 

 tion of it ; therefore, an animal should be given no more feed than 

 he will readily eat up at the time, if a good appetite and satisfactory 

 gains are to be maintained. Of course this requires more labor, but 

 labor is cheap in such cases. All sudden changes in the kinds of feed 

 are also to be avoided, for while a variety of feed is essential, this 

 does not necessitate sudden changes, nor indeed changes of any sort. 



The frequency of feeding is of less importance. The common 

 practice is to feed twice a day, and this is probably the most economi- 

 cal method. Possibly greater gains would be made by feeding three 



