394 



FARMER'S CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK 



either oats or barley and almost, if not 

 quite, equal to a mixed ration. Wheat 

 also produced meat at a very economic 

 rate, the gains costing 5 cents a pound 

 on a wheat ration and 8 cents on an 

 oat ration. It was found necessary, 

 however, to make a change in the ration 

 after two months, since by that time 

 the cattle had a smaller appetite for 

 wheat. 



In Canada, the use of frozen wheat 

 and corn silage in fattening steers re- 

 sulted in good gains and an excellent 

 quality of beef. English feeders have 

 found that wheat may be profitably used 

 to replace linseed meal. Moreover, in 

 Nebraska, wheat showed a feeding value 



corn ration. The gains on the wheat 

 ration exceeded those on a corn ration 

 by 16 pounds a head in a feeding exper- 

 iment of 23 weeks. 



Different grains compared — Many of 

 the agricultural experiment stations in 

 this country and in Canada have made 

 comparative tests of the feeding value 

 of different grains for the purpose of 

 determining the best economy in feed- 

 ing steers in different localities. At 

 Toronto, a comparison of corn, peas and 

 oats for steers, which also received roots, 

 silage and hay, showed that the daily 

 gain was greatest on corn, followed by 

 peas and oats; while the cost of gain 

 was least on corn and greatest on oats 



Fig. 264 MONTANA STEERS READY FOR MARKET 



5 per cent greater than corn, and hogs 

 following steers fed on wheat made 

 profitable gains. 



In Oklahoma, good gains were pro- 

 duced on a ration of 11 V2 pounds of 

 wheat meal and 3V2 pounds of cotton- 

 seed meal, and 4 pounds of prairie hay 

 with wheat straw. It is believed, how- 

 ever, that the gains would have been 

 greater and more profitable if alfalfa 

 had been used as a part of the ration. 



In England, a comparison of wheat 

 and corn for steers showed that corn 

 meal made more rapid gains and at less 

 cost than wheat meal. A similar com- 

 parison, by Burnett and Smith in Ne- 

 braska showed that steers required 11 4-5 

 pounds of feed for a pound of gain on 

 a wheat ration and I2V3 pounds on a 



and the total cost for the whole feeding 

 period from October 1 to June 1 was 

 $20.75 each steer on corn, $22.50 on peas 

 and $25.10 on oats. 



Perhaps the best grains for beef pro- 

 duction in the corn belt are corn, kafir 

 corn and linseed meal; in the northern 

 and western states, corn, peas, barley, 

 wheat and linseed meal, and in the 

 south, cottonseed meal, corn, kafir corn 

 and cowpeas. According to the data 

 furnished by numerous experiments with 

 different kinds of grain for steers, it 

 appears that a mixed grain ration is 

 more effective than the use of any single 

 grain. 



Light, medium and heavy grain ra- 

 tions compared — The beef raiser has not 



