FARM ANIMALS 109 



and by the experience of innumerable farmers that 

 beef can be excellently fattened without the use 

 of any other grain than corn. Such a statement 

 cannot be made of any other known grain. The 

 problem of the feeding of beef cattle, therefore, 

 consists largely in determining the form in which 

 corn shall be fed, the amount to be fed and the 

 amounts of other grains which may be economically 

 added for the purpose of increasing the appetite 

 of the steers or for arranging the ration more 

 economically at times when corn is extremely 

 high. During the early fall, in some parts of the 

 country, the frost may injure the corn so that it does 

 not properly mature. The question, therefore, 

 arises regarding the nutritive value of such corn as 

 compared with hard fully-matured corn. Careful 

 experiments have shown that such soft corn is 

 fully equal in feeding value to mature hard corn. 

 Cattle make about as good gains and show about 

 as fine a finish as on the mature corn. When 

 corn injured by frost can be purchased for thirty 

 cents per bushel and mature corn for fifty cents, 

 the production of beef is possible at a cost of 

 three and one-half cents less with soft than with 

 hard corn. Apparently, the amount of moisture 

 present is the only point in which soft corn differs 

 from mature corn in so far as feeding is concerned. 

 While corn, as already indicated, is considered to 

 be the king of all grains for the fattening of steers, 

 the use of other grains such as linseed meal, cotton 

 seed meal or gluten meal shows an increased rate 

 of gain and a slightly finer finish in the majority 

 of cases than does corn used alone. These feeds 

 are especially valuable in balancing the ration when 

 the roughage used does not contain much nitrogen. 

 The extent to which such feeds are to be used will 



