8 9 



was 136? pounds, and that the average age was 2 years, 

 we have a fair expression of their judgment as to the margin 

 necessary under these circumstances. It should be borne in 

 mind however, that these same men were doing summer feed- 

 ing chiefly and this margin is evidently for that season of the 

 year. In winter, for a six months feed on two year old cattle 

 a rather larger margin, approximately $1.50 per hundred, would 

 be demanded or expected^in the average case. 



GETTING CATTLE ON FULL FEED. 



There is a direct relation between the quality and condition 

 of the feed and the ease with which cattle may be accustomed 

 to it. In other words, it is very much easier to put cattle 

 on full feed with coarse, rather unpalatable, material than with 

 highly nutritious, palatable, and well prepared feed. The diffi- 

 culty in this preliminary feeding period is to prevent animals 

 that are unaccustomed to grain from overeating. It goes with- 

 out saying that this danger is much minimized by using at this 

 time food that is relatively unpalatable. 



The time required to get cattle on full feed will vary any- 

 where from two to six weeks, depending upon the character 

 of the feed, the age of the animals, and their previous treat- 

 ment. As a rule, from thirty to forty days are employed. It 

 is a very common practice, as will be noted by the individual 

 replies under the head of "Methods of Feeding," to begin with 

 shock* corn in winter, and in a few days, when the steers can 

 stand rather more corn than can be given in this form without 

 undue waste of stover, a limited amount of snapped ear corn** 

 is thrown in the troughs, either whole or broken. A little later, 

 husked ear corn is substituted for snapped corn, and hay in 

 part for the stover. At the end of two or three weeks it is 

 entirely feasible to have the ordinary steer on full feed of ear 

 corn and hay by this method. He will not be eating as much 

 as he can be made to consume later when the grain is changed 

 to six-sevenths shelled corn and one-seventh linseed meal, for 

 example, or when the corn is given shelled and the roughness 



"The entire corn plant field cured and fed whole. 



**The ear removed from the stalk with the husk and shank attached. 



