312 FEEDS AND FEEDING, ABRIDGED 



feed may be profitable in stimulating the appetite or in getting ani- 

 mals to eat roughage which they would otherwise refuse. 



The use of heet molasses is greatly increasing in the beet-sugar 

 districts. It is spread over hay or cut straw, either undiluted or 

 thinned with water. Owing to its laxative effect, not more than 4 

 to 8 lbs. of beet molasses should be fed per head daily to fattening 

 cattle. 



II. Protein-rich Concentrates 



Cottonseed meal. — This protein-rich concentrate is the basis of the 

 fattening of beef cattle in the South and is widely used in the north- 

 ern states to supplement rations deficient in protein. Trials at the 

 Indiana Station,* show that about 2.5 lbs. of cottonseed meal daily 

 per 1,000 lbs. live weight is sufficient to balance a ration of shelled 

 corn, corn silage, and oat straw or clover hay. However, in the South, 

 owing to its cheapness cottonseed meal is commonly fed as the sole 

 concentrate, along with cottonseed hulls, corn silage, or other rough- 

 age. Since cottonseed meal is poisonous to fattening cattle when fed 

 in excess, they should be accustomed to it gradually and the meal 

 should be mixed with roughage so a greedy steer cannot over eat. 

 Trials at the Tennessee Station ^ show that it rarely pays to feed 

 more than 4 or 5 lbs. during the first of the fattening period, in- 

 creasing to 6 or 7 lbs. later. Results at the North Carolina Station ^ 

 show that where the market demands highly finished animals it may 

 be profitable to feed as much as 10.5 lbs. per head daily. With 

 cottonseed hulls for roughage, this amount could be fed only 120 to 

 130 days before poisonous effects began to show, while with corn 

 silage for roughage the fattening could be continued for 30 to 60 

 days longer without harm. Owing to its protein-rich nature, cotton- 

 seed meal tends to produce growth rather than to fatten young steers ; 

 hence, 2- or 3-year-olds are best suited for heavy cottonseed meal 

 feeding. 



Cold-pressed cottonseed cake is relished by cattle even better than 

 cottonseed meal. In a trial at the Iowa Station ^ 133 lbs. of this 

 cake proved more than equal to 100 lbs. of cottonseed meal. 



Linseed meal. — Thruout the northern states linseed meal is widely 

 used as a protein-rich supplement for fattening beef cattle. In trials 

 at the Nebraska Station * linseed meal was slightly superior to cotton- 



4 Skinner and King, Ind, Buls. 153, 167, 178. 

 sWillson, Tenn. Bui. 104. 



6 Gray and Curtis, information to the authors. 



7 Kennedy and Bobbins, Breeder's Gaz., 58, 1910, p. 303. 



8 Smith, Nebr. Bui. 100. 



