ANIMAL PRODUCTION. 1155 



materially when tnrnod on grass after the first 10 days, slaughtered out to 

 better advantajic ihnn liie dry-fed cattle, aud were in a thriftier and better 

 condition tlirou,i,'hout the entire feeding i)eriod. This is sutlicient prcjof of the 

 fact that succulent foods can be fed to cattle maintained as stockers aud fin- 

 ished on grass. . . . 



"Cattle can be handled advantageously as stockers and finished on grass 

 on a margin of 25 cts. where silage or stover or other inexpensive forms of 

 roughness are used during the winter. Mixed hay proved so expensive that 

 there was a loss with it on a margin of 50 cts. 



"The cost of a i)ound of gain with the stall-fed cattle varied from 7.33 to 

 O.oi cts.; Willi the stocker cattle from 4.12 to 6.G4 cts. It cost . . . nearly 

 twice as much to make a pound of gain in the stall as where the animals were 

 finished on grass. . . . 



" The beef made per acre by the grazers varied from 4(i to HO lbs., or a return 

 of from .$2.12 to .$2.,S2 per acre. An acre in silage yielding S tons will provide 

 roughness for 4 animals for 180 days, which shows the importance of the silo 

 where intensive farming is practiced, and the fact that larger returns can be 

 secured from the land through the medium of the silo than were obtained 

 through grazing in these experiments. . . . 



" The deductions to be drawn from the experiments with feeders are as fol- 

 lows : Feed a small grain ration — not over 2 lbs. per head per day to com- 

 mence with, and increase it gradually until the cattle are ultimately con.suming 

 15 lbs. per head per day. A liberal ration of silage should be fed throughout 

 the test, decreasing the amount consumed toward the close of the feeding period. 

 Only a minimum amount, not over 2 to 4 lbs., of stover or other dry inexpensive 

 forms of roughness need be fed. 



" It w(mld appear that silage may constitute the chief source of roughness 

 for stockers ; that a grain ration of 2 lbs. per head per day is sufficient to insure 

 their making substantial and profitable gains during the winter; that the best 

 results will be obtained when the ration consists of equal parts of corn-aud-cob 

 meal and cotton-seed meal or some other food rich in protein. 



" The feeding value of silage is in a large measure due to its comparative 

 richness in nutrients especially suited for the nourishment of cattle, its ease 

 of digestion as compared with dry foods, its palatability due to its aroma and 

 succulence, and the fact that it aids in cooling the system and keeping it free 

 of effete material and kee])ing the circulation active." 



Baby beef, E. G. Ritzma.nn (U. S. Dept. Af/r., Bur. Anin). Iiidiifi. Rpt. 1005, 

 III). 181-212. pis. 2. flgs. 3: Circ. 10.'), pp. S't. flf/s. 6).— The feeding, care, and 

 management of cattle to produce early maturity — i. e.. baby beef — are discussed 

 as well as the i>resent condition of the industry in the United States and similar 

 topics. 



" Baby beef is a special article in which the essential characteristics are early 

 maturity, quality, finish, aud thickness of flesh. Nine out of ten yearlings sent 

 to market for slaughter do not class as baby beef, because they lack finish or 

 quality, while some are overfed or 'overdone.' This results from lack of a 

 proper understanding of the (lualities that constitute the condition known as 

 ripeness or ' finish." . . . 



" Maturity for the block in beef cattle means that condition when they have 

 reached full growtli of iiody and are thoroughly fat or ripe for slaughter. The 

 average age at which (-attle are now fully grown and fattened for the mai'ket 

 is between 2 and 3 years. Early maturity, therefore, means that the animal has 

 been fully grown and fattened in less than the average length of time re<iuired 

 by that class of stock. . . . 



" When early maturity is attempted by means of liberal feeding with nutritious 



