286 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



one usually indicates health and activity in the other, insuring a good 

 use of food and rapid gains. Smoothness and symmetry, together with 

 quality and beef type, shorten the fattening period. As the gains in the 

 feed lot are expensive, this is an important factor in favor of the steer 

 which possesses quality. 



Not only should a great deal of attention be given to quality in feed- 

 ers because it insures less expense in finishing, but because it enhances 

 the value of the finished or fat steer. Quality in fat steers when com- 

 bined with beef type, means higher dressing percentage, even covering 

 of fat on carcass, large proportion of high-priced cuts, • better mixture 

 of fat and lean, or marbling of meat, less waste in cutting, and finer mus- 

 cular fibre, all of which make the steers with quality more valuable to 

 the killer than those which are plain and coarse. 



Besides the above conditions of type and quality it is 

 essential that the animals chosen for feeding be well bred; the 

 offspring of pure-bred sires is always to be desired. Such ani- 

 mals feed with more profit than low grades or scrubs. 



2. Methods of Feeding. — (a) Pasturing. — Grass is nat- 

 ure's own food for our domestic animals. Pasturing or 

 grazing is one of the cheapest methods of feeding. There is 

 none of our farm animals which cannot be kept profitably 

 during the warm season on good pasture. In some cases it 

 seems advisable to feed a small quantity of grain in connection 

 with the pasture. This is especially true for steers and pigs. 

 It has been demonstrated that it usually does not pay to feed 

 grain to milch cows when on good blue-grass pasture. 



Besides the grasses other crops are pastured, such as clover, 

 rape, cow-peas, soy-beans, and corn. Clover is good pasture 

 for all animals and particularly so for. young pigs. Rape is 

 excellent pasture for pigs and sheep, but some grain should be 

 fed in connection with it. Care should be taken not to turn 

 animals into rape when it is wet with dew because it will 

 cause the skin of pigs to chafe and will produce bloat in sheep. 



