FARM ANIMALS 257 



as effective as the latter. It is, therefore, indicated 

 as a valuable food for producing mutton. In 

 states like Colorado it is considered that the purpose 

 of the farmer in feeding lambs is to obtain a profit- 

 able market for his surplus alfalfa, sugar beet pulp 

 and home grown grains. Even when sugar oeet 

 pulp gives only one-half the mutton production 

 which is secured by sugar beets its use is, never- 

 theless, cheaper than that of sugar beets on account 

 of the much lower market price. Beet pulp is a 

 very useful material for feeding with alfalfa, espe- 

 cially during the early part of the fattening period. 

 The mutton produced on beet pulp has an excellent 

 flavor, but is ordinarily not very fat unless some 

 grain is fed with it. In Colorado and neighboring 

 states, lambs may be made to produce mutton very 

 cheaply on sugar beet pulp and alfalfa with a small 

 ration of wheat, barley or corn. The feeding value 

 of sugar beets, however, is not so high as sometimes 

 supposed. If sugar beets can be sold for $4. 50 per ton 

 at the factory it does not pay to feed them to lambs. 

 It should not be supposed that sugar beet pulp or 

 sugar beets themselves can in any sense replace 

 alfalfa in the lamb ration. They should simply 

 be used as a supplemental feed in such rations. 

 Since sugar beet pulp contains about ninety per cent, 

 of water it is evident that there is less than two 

 hundred pounds of actual feeding material in a ton 

 and in feeding experiments a ton of sugar beet pulp 

 has proved to be about equal to three hundred 

 pounds of corn. It is too bulky, however, to feed 

 in large quantities and when fed to excess produces 

 soft mutton. In order to feed it to the best advan- 

 tage it must be fresh and this means that it cannot 

 be transported long distances. About four pounds 

 per day is a sufficient ration for lambs which should 



