8 Economical Nations in Beef Production. 



It is never safe to accept as definite the conclusions drawn 

 from a single experiment, but when we have, during a suc- 

 cession of three years, the marked contrast in daily gains, 

 cost of production, and net profits in favor of alfalfa as com- 

 pared with prairie hay which the above table indicates, there 

 would seem to be little room to doubt the superiority of al- 

 falfa when each is fed with corn alone. There may be sev- 

 eral reasons for this. Perhaps first in importance is the fact 

 that alfalfa is a legume, having, like clover and cowpeas, the 

 power to take nitrogen from the air, storing it within its 

 cellular structure in the form of proteids, which material is 

 needed by the animal in the formation of lean tissue and 

 bone. Alfalfa in itself contains more protein than the aver- 

 age fattening animal requires, an excess sufficient to com- 

 pensate for that lacking in corn, the two together, therefore, 

 making a balanced ration for fattening cattle. Prairie hay, 

 like corn, lacks protein and when fed singly or together they 

 do not supply enough of that nutrient to meet physiological 

 requirements. This is best shown by examining the follow- 

 ing chart, the black lines representing the digestible protein 

 (lean formers) of each food and the white the digestible 

 carbohydrates (starches, etc.) and vegetable oils, both of the 

 latter producing animal fat and body heat. What is ap- 

 proximately a well-balanced ration for the average two- 

 year-old steer is indicated by the line having the nutritive 

 ratio 1 :T, by which is meant one pound of protein to 

 seven pounds of carbohydrates and fats. It will be noted 

 how closely the ration corn and alfalfa two pounds of the 

 former to one of the latter approaches this proportion. In 

 fact, we are not sure but that 1 :7.3 is just as suitable as 1 :T 

 for an average two-year-old steer. The corn and prairie hay 

 combination, however, is decidedly lacking in protein, which 

 is no doubt one of the chief causes of its failure as an eco- 

 nomical ration. 



