232 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS 



Barley. Barley, at one time a principal source of food 

 for the human family, is grown almost exclusively in the 

 United States for brewing and as food for live stock. It has 

 been grown successfully as far north as Alaska and as far 

 south as the tablelands of New Mexico. In altitudes where 

 the grain fails to fully mature, it is sometimes grown and fed 

 as hay. Westward from the eastern Rockies and southward 

 from Montana where corn and oats do not flourish equally 

 well, it is more largely fed to live stock than elsewhere in 

 the United States. The relatively high price paid for bright 

 barley for brewing tends greatly to restrict its use for feed- 

 ing. When stained by unpropitious weather at the harvest 

 season, and thus injured for malting, it is not injured, at 

 least to any appreciable extent, for feeding. For the latter 

 purpose, it is an excellent substitute for corn where corn 

 cannot be successfully grown. 



For calves and growing cattle, barley should seldom or 

 never form the sole grain ration, unless when fed sparingly 

 with adjuncts rich in protein. It seldom constitutes more 

 than one-fourth to one-third of the entire meal ration fed, 

 the other portion being bran alone, oats alone or both with 

 a trace of oil cake when profitably obtainable. Other ni- 

 trogenous foods, as gluten meal or cotton seed, may some- 

 times be substituted for bran and oats. 



For beef cattle, ground barley furnishes an excellent 

 meal adjunct. With luguminous fodders as clover and 

 alfalfa, it may be fed when the season is short rather than 

 long, so as to furnish up to three-fourths of the entire meal 

 ration, the other portion being preferably ground oats or 

 wheat bran. For prolonged feeding, corn added to the 

 barley in any proportion desired, somewhat improves the 

 ration in palatability and also for fattening. 



For cows in milk, ground barley has been found about 

 equal to corn. It Js somewhat richer in .protein than corn, 

 but has more crude fibre and is not quite so palatable. It 

 is too concentrated to furnish the exclusive grain food for 

 milch cows, but gives excellent results when fed with 



