386 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS 



animals more quickly probably than any other cereal, and 

 when fed in large quantities it will ripen them sooner. A 

 ration consisting mainly of 'roots and grain will not fatten 

 so quickly as one consisting mainly of corn and dry fodder. 

 Similar differences may be thus shown in various other 

 foods used in fattening. 



The intensity of the feeding exercises an important 

 influence on the length of the feeding period. Intensity 

 of feeding has reference to strong feeding. It means feed- 

 ing concentrates rich in nutrients for producing fat, and 

 feeding to the full capacity of the animal to take such food. 

 But little roughage is fed. Such feeding leads to increase 

 more quickly than feeding concentrates less rich, or if rich, 

 in moderate quantities, and along with these feeding con- 

 siderable quantities of roughage. But it also leads more 

 quickly to cessation of profitable increase, and the attendant 

 danger is greater that the .derangements in digestion will 

 be of more frequent occurrence than when feeding is less 

 intense. 



The value of foods in relation to meat values should 

 always be considered. When food values are high and 

 meat values low, the shorter the period of feeding within 

 reasonable limits, the greater will be the relative profit. 

 Seasons do occur, but usually at rare intervals, when finish- 

 ing is not attended with any profit, unless when it can 

 be accomplished through some cheap food such as grass. 



Capacity in the animals to make a high finish and 

 to furnish a carcass that will command a high price is also 

 important. When a steer for instance of dairy form is 

 placed upon the market in high finish and sells for more 

 than one cent less per pound live weight than the steer of 

 orthodox type in equally high finish, it is very evident that 

 it will not pay equally well to bring the former to so high 

 a finish as the latter. The great advantage in high finish 

 from the latter comes from the advance in value which it 

 puts upon every pound of the weight possessed when the 

 finishing period began (see p. 384). The advance thus 



