212 ELEMENTARY TREATISE ON STOCK FEEDS AND FEEDING 



other concentrate helps with this feed. The price of wheat will 

 not always permit its use, but when it sells for the same price 

 as corn it may be fed. ' 



Barley should always be ground before being fed. It is per- 

 haps a little below corn for fattening value and not so well liked. 

 When accompanied with corn is perhaps the better way of feed- 

 ing it. 



Summer Pasturing. Cattle fed on grain and hay during the 

 winter cannot be pastured on green grass entirely without caus- 

 ing shrinkage. For this reason some farmers make the change 

 from hay to grass gradually. There are two methods used in 

 turning steers to grass. One is to wait until the grass gets a 

 good growth and accustom the steers to the change by allowing 

 them a few hours a day on pasture, gradually increasing the 

 period until they become used to it By following this method 

 the heavy feeding of grain is still followed and may be reduced 

 when the cattle are on full pasture. 



Another method is to turn the cattle to pasture when the 

 first blades appear. By doing this the cattle cannot gorge them- 

 selves with grass and by the time the grass is abundant the cat- 

 tle will be accustomed to it. The objection to this method of 

 turning to pasture is that the grass does not have a chance to 

 get a good start because of the continual cropping. 



Size of Pasture. Most American feeders prefer one large 

 pasture to several small pastures. One large pasture does away 

 with the trouble of changing the steers, offers a greater variety 

 of grasses for grazing, and gives the animals more freedom and 

 contentment. 



Grain on Grass. The kind of grain to feed on grass depends 

 upon the grasses that make up the pasture. If clovers, alfalfa, 

 or other nitrogenous legumes predominate, corn may make up 

 the entire grain portion. If timothy, Kentucky blue grass, mead- 

 ow fescue, or other grasses relatively high in carbohydrates are 

 abundant, a little oil meal, cotton-seed meal, gluten feed, gluten 

 meal, etc., should be mixed with the corn for the best results. 

 Cattle fed in this way should be ready for market in the sum- 

 mer. 



