15 



snapped corn which logically follows with the preference of the 

 feeders for two-year-old cattle. The answers indicate that by far 

 the greater per cent prefer to feed their corn with as little labor in 

 the preparation as possible. In other words, they think that the 

 increased returns due to grinding, soaking, or shelling, are not 

 sufficient to offset the labor in the operation. 



OATS AS A CATTLE PEED. 



In. regard to feeding oats to fattening steers, 60 percent of the 

 cattle feeders do not use them at any time during the feeding period. 

 For special purposes, such as starting steers on feed, or finishing 

 them during the last month, 25 per cent use them. Others feed 

 oats to calves and young stock only, leaving a small per cent who 

 feed them at all times and to all ages and classes of cattle. This is 

 what would naturally be expected from the relatively high price 

 oats demand on the market as compared with corn and other con- 

 centrated grain feeds. 



THE USE OF SUPPLEMENTAL FEEDS. 



The use of supplemental feeds such as bran, linseed meal, cotton 

 seed meal and gluten feed seems to be quite extensive and growing 

 in popularity. Forty per cent of those who use supplemental feeds 

 prefer bran. This certainly is not due to any superior feeding value 

 which bran has over other supplements, but rather to the fact that 

 it is a safe feed with which feeders are familiar, is available in 

 almost any locality and is thus the most easily obtainable of all sup- 

 plemental feeds. Linseed meal, which is used by 44 per cent of the 

 feeders, seems to be the most popular of all commercial concen- 

 trated feeds; cotton seed meal by 9 per cent and gluten feed by 

 less than 4 per cent. It was noted that not more than 50 per cent 

 of all the men engaged in cattle feeding make any use of supple- 

 ments, while of those who do appreciate their value, less than 10 

 per cent use them continually from the beginning to the end of the 

 feeding period. In the great majority of instances, they are used 

 for the same purpose as oats, to stimulate the appetite toward the 

 close of a long feeding period or during the last four to six weeks 

 to give a ''finish" or "bloom" to the cattle. The amount fed 

 varies from a " handful per steer daily " up to as high as 8 pounds, 

 which is reported by one feeder. There seems to be no general rule 

 followed as to the amount which should be fed in order to secure 

 the greatest returns even by those who are most thoroughly familiar 

 with such feeds. The work of the Animal Husbandry Department 

 of Purdue Experiment Station indicates that the value of such feeds 



