458 



DISEASES OF CATTLE. 



be fed to a steer as the only grain for a couple of months, with excellent 

 returns, even without grinding or shelling, providing the grain is not 

 too hard or the ears too large and good shotes follow the steers to 

 utilize the waste corn in the droppings. But steers can not be fully 

 fattened on corn alone with profit, for the concentrated grain soon burns 

 out the digestive tract and the steer comes to make poor use of his 

 food. Whole corn may be fed early in the period, but generally, and 

 always later on, it should be crushed or ground into meal. I think 

 crushed corn or coarsely ground meal will be found preferable to that 

 which is finely ground. In all cases where much meal is fed care is 

 needed lest the animal get oif feed. Some oil meal or bran should be 

 fed to lighten the ration, starting with 1 pound of oil meal and gradually 

 increasing the amount until, toward the close of the period, as much as 

 5 pounds may be fed. In the same manner from 2 to 8 pounds of bran 

 may be fed. The effect of oil meal is to give good handling qualities and 

 a fine, glossy coat of hair, besides affording much real nutriment. Bran 

 is likewise cooling and lightens the heavy corn very materially. Boots 

 or silage have much the same effect. I know objections will be raised 

 that if all feeders were to use oil meal there would not be enough to go 

 round, but why be solicitous when in 1800 we shipped $8,000,000 worth 

 of oil meal to the feeders of the Old World ? 



With the grain there must always be fed coarse feeds in order to 

 properly distend the rumen, and nothing is better for this purpose than 

 good corn stover. Most stockmen know how satisfactory shocked corn 

 is for steers. That portion of the stover not needed for the steers 

 should be given to other farm stock. 



BALANCED RATIONS. 



Iii order to show what sort of a ration a steer should receive if fed 

 according to the German standard, two rations are here presented 

 which conform fairly near to the requirements. The first is one which 

 may well be used in the corn belt where corn is cheap and oil meal 

 close at hand. The second presents more variety, and has silage and 

 cotton-seed meal for two of its constituents. 



TABLK VI. Showing rations for fattening steers. 

 KATIOX XO. I. 



