FEEDS AND FEEDING 113 



a chemical analysis of beet pulp shows a very small 

 per cent of digestible material of any sort in it, 

 the solid portion consisting principally of wood fiber 

 or cellulose. There is a trifling amount of sugar 

 and a small per cent of digestible protein, yet cattle 

 and sheep fed upon corn, alfalfa and beet pulp will 

 make immensely better gains than when fed upon 

 corn and alfalfa, even though in greater amounts. 

 The value is probably in its beneficial effect upon 

 the digestive system of the animal, which enables 

 it to make better use of the corn and hay consumed 

 and to transform a larger percentage of it into fat 

 and muscle. 



Of course silage, especially corn silage, has a 

 definite feeding value aside from its succulent char- 

 acteristics, and is used not only in maintaining but 

 in fattening cattle, to excellent advantage. The 

 number of feeders at the present time who provide 

 silage for their fattening stock is very small, but its 

 use seems to be increasing. Where it is available 

 there is no better feed in winter for fattening cattle. 

 They may be given from 10 to 12 pounds daily per 

 head. Experiments at Purdue university proved 

 that corn silage was very satisfactory in fattening 

 steers where a nitrogenous concentrate such as 

 cottonseed meal was used with it. Silage-fed 

 steers fed better, made more rapid and cheaper 

 gains, acquired a higher finish and returned a 

 greater profit than similar cattle fed under identical 

 conditions without silage. The best financial re- 

 sults obtained at Purdue have been from cattle fed 

 on shelled corn, cottonseed meal and corn silage. 

 These cattle, after paying for all the other feed, 

 returned 96.7 cents per bushel for all the corn con- 

 sumed. 



Too much feed is wasted on the average 



