SOAPWEED OR PALMIIyLA AS EMERGENCY FORAGE 7 



crude fiber and carbohydrates. Aside from the fact that yucca forage 

 acts somewhat as a succulence when fed during the winter and spring 

 seasons along with dry range feed, its food value lies chiefly in its car- 

 bohydrates in the form of glucose. From the analysis given it appears 

 to have a considerably greater nutritive value than cactus forage. 

 The cost of preparing yucca forage as already described, including 

 cutting and hauling to the chopper, chopping, loading and hauling 

 out again to stock, is in excess of the cost of singeing native cacti on 

 the ranges with a cactus burner. However, the feed is of somewhat 

 higher quality and the expense is fully justified for emergency feed. 

 This expense is no greater than that of choppnig prickly pears, as 

 practiced in parts of western Texas where these plants are abun- 

 dant. There, the cacti are cut, loaded on wagons and hauled to a 

 chopping machine. The chopped material is again loaded up and 

 hauled out to the stock. 



Yucca forage is to be regarded as a roughage similar to cactus 

 forage. It serves well as such to be drawn upon by stockmen during 

 periods of short feed. At these times its use will assist materially in 

 carrying stock over famine periods with greatly reduced losses. In 

 quantity on the range it may be compared to a stack of hay to be used 

 only in time of need or to reserve silage supplies. Like cactus forage it 

 undergoes almost no depreciation on the range with age, and it is not 

 subject to grazing by stock except when prepared for feed. Its growth, 

 though slow, accumulates year after year on the range without interrup- 

 tion. As a reserve food supply, it can be called upon at once, with 

 nominal expense, during a famine period. Since it does not grow in 

 quantity in cactus country, it plays the same part as emergency forage 

 on the higher mesas that cactus does over some of the lower mesa 

 country. Because of the expense of preparation it will not be utilized 

 during periods of good feed. For best results it is recommnded that 

 a: little cotton-seed meal or oilcake be fed to animals along with the 

 chopped yucca. 



J. J. THORNBER, 



Botanist. 



