10 BULLETIN 745, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



FEEDING WITH SOAPWEED. 



HAULING TO THE FEED LOT. 



A common wagon with a bed from 14 to 24 inches deep can be used 

 for hauling the feed from the chopper to the feed lot. When the 

 feed is lightly trampled an ordinary wagon bed 20 inches deep will 

 hold from 1,400 to 1,800 pounds, or approximately 20 pounds to the 

 cubic foot. With one team and wagon two men can haul 10 loads 

 per day, so that they would be able to feed 1,000 cattle per day at 

 the rate of 15 pounds per head per day. The chopped feed can 

 readily be handled with the ordinary hay or manure fork. 



METHODS OF FEEDING. 



The best results have been obtained by feeding the soapweed in 

 troughs or racks. It is possible to feed on hard ground, but at best 

 this is wasteful. The troughs are most efficient when cottonseed 

 meal is fed with the soapweed. 



Substantial troughs 16 feet long, 4 feet wide, and 1 foot deep, 

 which gives a large enough capacity to minimize waste, were found 

 very satisfactory in the feeding operations at the Jornada Range 

 Reserve. They were made of 2-inch yellow pine lumber, with, bot- 

 tom " tongued and grooved " to retain cottonseed meal, and were set 

 upon substantial legs placed at each end and in the middle, bolted to 

 the sides and securely braced and long enough to leave a space of 18 

 inches between the trough and the ground. This is high enough 

 from the ground to eliminate most of the danger of the stronger 

 cows hooking the weaker ones into the trough. 



To get the best results enough troughs should be provided so that 

 there will not be more than from 12 to 16 cows for each trough. 



THE COST OF SOAPWEED FEED. 



The cost of operations necessary in feeding soapweed, not including 

 cost of cottonseed meal, on the Jornada Range Reserve was approxi- 

 mately $2.27 per ton. This figure is the cost after the men had be- 

 come familiar with the work. At first it was about $2.75 per ton. 

 The item of wages includes board. 



The cost of each step is given below : 



Burning, cutting, and hauling from range to chopper : 



1 foreman and burner, at $1.66 per day $1. 66 



3 laborers, at $1.50 per day 4. 50 



8 mules (feed), at $0.50 per day 4.00 



10.16 



Capacity per day, 8 tons. 

 Cost per ton $1. 27 



