90 



is bright, clean clover or cowpea or alfalfa hay, instead of stover 

 or timothy hay. But by this time the limit of his appetite 

 for this rather low class of feed may be reached, and the 

 changes subsequently made may be very gradual and all in the 

 direction of improving the quality and palatability of the feed. 

 If clover or alfalfa or cowpea hay is to be used as the principal 

 or sole roughness, or if one of these hays is to be used in connec- 

 tion with corn stover, which all things considered will prove 

 to be, the most profitable way to feed steers in winter, the 

 change from corn stover and timothy to this hay or to this 

 combination must be very gradual. It is better to take at least 

 sixty days for the complete change of this roughness. In the 

 meantime it is entirely feasible, however, to have had the cattle 

 on full feed of corn for thirty days or more. 



In the early fall, when the steers are yet running on good 

 grass, it is 'a very common practice to begin with the entire 

 green corn plant, changing gradually to the snapped ear, and 

 finally, as the corn becomes hard, to the husked ear, and later 

 in winter, perhaps during the last thirty or sixty days, shelled 

 corn is used. 



Another very approved practice is to run the entire corn 

 plant through a cutter, beginning just as it is passing out of the 

 roasting ear state, and feed this to the cattle, gradually sub- 

 stituting ear corn as the plant matures and becomes hard. This 

 is an especially effective method of getting cattle on feed quickly 

 and making a profitable short feed on aged cattle. 



For summer feeding it is quite a common practice to half 

 feed during February, March and April, or at least through 

 March and April, in the lots, and then half feed during the 

 flush or grass, May and June, full feed during July and August, 

 and sell. There is little danger of over feeding steers with 

 grain when they are first turned to grass in spring, especially if 

 the grass be firm and nutritious. As a rule under these cir- 

 cumstances the steers will eat very little grain for a few 

 days, even though they have formerly been on full feed, and 

 this is a most excellent time to put animals on full for summer 

 feeding when it is necessary to do it quickly. 



