BREEDS OF BEEF CATTLE 317 



lupine seed, cornmeal, and wheat bran, and roasted cotton seed, uni- 

 formly show their protein to be notably less digestible than that in 

 the original materials, a fact which may explain the lessened pro- 

 ductive value of cooked grains which has been observed in certain 

 experiments. It must be conceded, of course, that when cooking 

 feeding stuffs by steaming or otherwise renders them more palata- 

 ble, and thereby makes possible the consumption of material other- 

 wise wasted, the influence upon digestibility is a minor considera- 

 tion. 



A large number of careful experiments have been made in this 

 country with corn on hogs with results unfavorable to cooking. 

 Corn was either shelled or ground and in some cases a mixture of 

 corn meal and middlings was used. In most cases the raw food was 

 more efficient than the same food carefully cooked. Averaging all 

 the trials, 476 pounds of uncooked meal or grain were required for 

 100 pounds gain while after it was cooked 505 pounds were re- 

 quired for the same gain. 



CORN THE BASIS OF PROFITABLE RATIONS. 



In general the best ration is made of such a combination of 

 food stuffs as will give the proper proportion of protein and carbo- 

 hydrates for the particular class of animals or the special purpose for 

 which it is to be used, at the same time that careful attention is 

 given to the cost of the material to be used, the palatability of the 

 ration and the convenience with which it may be obtained and fed. 

 In short the controlling factor in making up every ration should be 

 its cost in proportion to its productiveness, but as has already been 

 stated the taste and appetite of the animal should be catered to and 

 heed should be given to the adaptability of the ration to the special 

 use to which it is proposed to be put. A vast majority of the feed- 

 ers of America find it necessary and profitable to use the product of 

 the corn plant as the basis of all rations and for all classes of stock. 

 It is clear that when feed is to be purchased, it should, as far as prac- 

 ticable, be selected with reference to supplementing, balancing or 

 adding to the value of the material already on hand, rather than to 

 purchase more of the same class. For example, it would not be good 

 business to purchase timothy, kafir corn, sorghum, millet, or any of 

 the straws to feed with corn and stover, since such a combination 

 adds nothing to the ration above the sum of digestible nutrients con- 

 tained in the two feeds. Whereas, if clover, alfalfa, cowpeas, bran, 

 middlings, gluten meal, cottonseed meal, or linseed meal be selected 

 to combine with the corn products, the feeding value of the resulting 

 ration would be directly increased. 



Fattening Steers. Corn is conceded by all authorities to be 

 the best single grain ration for fattening animals especially when 

 its low cost is considered. At the same time the combination of 

 corn with such food stuffs as will increase the proportion of protein 

 in a ration, will result in a more rapid gain. 



Grinding. Experiments indicate that corn when ground into 

 meal or the grain and cob crushed together will be somewhat more 

 digestible than when fed whole. The difference, however, is so 



