398 



FARMER'S CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK 



steer during the whole feeding period 

 from January to April was 2.3 pounds 

 on a mixture of alfalfa and prairie hay, 

 and 2.8 pounds on alfalfa alone. The 

 amount of grain consumed per 100 

 pounds of gain was 715 pounds on the 

 mixture of alfalfa and prairie hay, and 

 only 578 pounds on the alfalfa alone. 

 The total profit per steer was more than 

 twice as much when the alfalfa was fed 

 alone as when it was mixed with prairie 

 hay. The alfalfa and corn and cob meal 

 appeared to constitute an excellent ra- 

 tion for fattening and Erf believes that 

 this combination will give better results 

 than where a greater variety of roughage 

 is used. 



Throughout the region where alfalfa 

 is extensively grown, it is the most im- 

 portant hay for cat Lie. In Colorado, 1 

 pound of alfalfa hay proved equal to 

 2.7 pounds of corn silage and about 

 equal to corn fodder, pound for pound. 

 In feeding steers a greater profit was 

 derived from alfalfa than from either 

 corn fodder or silage. Alfalfa silage has 

 been tested in Utah and proved in- 

 ferior to corn silage, but in the same 

 experiments, alfalfa hay was superior 

 to timothy or wild hay. At the Nevada 

 experiment station it was found that 

 from 15 to 21 pounds of alfalfa hay are 

 required for 1 pound of gain in two- 

 year-old steers. 



Widtsoe and Merrill found that al- 

 falfa cut just before blooming produced 

 greater gains in steers than when cut in 

 full bloom or one week later. The early 

 cutting of both the first and second crop 

 proved to be superior. In order to se- 

 cure the greatest feeding value, alfalfa 

 should be cut between medium bloom 

 and the first full flower. In Utah, the 

 third crop was found to have the highest 

 feeding value, pound for pound, followed 

 by the first and second crops. Com- 

 parisons of the feeding value of different 

 parts of the plant show that the leaves 

 are from two to four times as nutri- 

 tious as the stems. 



Brome grass hay — This forage is not 

 grown in quantities sufficient for tise in 

 steer feeding, except in Canada and 

 parts of the northwest. In Canada, it 

 has been found that cattle require more 

 corn fodder than brome grass hay for the 

 same gain in weight, but that corn fod- 

 der gives the greater profit. Brome grass 

 appears to be about equal in feeding 

 value to western rye grass. In some ex- 

 periments it has proved superior to tim- 



othy and is well worth feeding as a 

 roughage for steers. 



Buffalo grass hay — This forage may 

 also be fed wherever it is grown in suf- 

 ficient quantities to make its harvesting 

 economical. At the Kansas experiment 

 station, buffalo grass hay was found to 

 be better than prairie hay and far su- 

 perior to timothy. On the range, this 

 grass is recognized as an excellent for- 

 age, whether in the green or dry state. 

 Cattle are fond of it, and will become fat 

 on buffalo grass alone, if the grazing is 

 good. 



Chess is often fed to steers, but very 

 few experiments have been made to de- 

 termine its value. At the Oregon ex- 

 periment station, chess proved inferior 

 to clover hay, but . was valuable as a 

 maintenance ration in wintering cattle. 

 The threshed grain from chess is 

 screened out in cleaning wheat and in 

 this form is fed extensively. For most 

 animals, however, except poultry, it 

 should be ground before feeding. 



Clover — In the central and eastern 

 states, clover occupies the position in 

 steer rations which is filled by alfalfa 

 in the west. At the Tennessee experi- 

 ment station, the first crop of clover was 

 found to possess a greater feeding value 

 and was better relished than the second 

 crop, which caused slobbering. In Mis- 

 sissippi cheaper gains were made from 

 clover hay than from shredded corn 

 stalks, cowpea or crab grass. In Indi- 

 ana, steers made better gains on chopped 

 than on whole clover hay. 



The feeding value of the different 

 kinds of clover is practically the same, 

 although in some experiments alsike 

 clover has been found to be superior to 

 the other varieties. All kinds of clover 

 hay are used in feeding steers, includ- 

 ing red, crimson, alsike, white and other 

 less common varieties. Red clover is 

 grown to a far greater extent than the 

 other kinds and is ordinarily referred 

 to when no particular kind of clover is 

 specified. 



Corn — Throughout the corn belt, corn 

 furnishes perhaps the chief coarse 

 fodder for steers. It may be fed in the 

 form of corn fodder, corn stover, pulled 

 fodder, shredded corn stalks, corn shives, 

 silage, or as a soiling crop. As a rule, 

 corn may be most economically har- 

 vested and fed in the form of silage. 



Among the beef feeders in Illinois, 

 the use of corn stalks is a matter of 

 great importance and, for this reason, 

 Mumford collected statistics regarding 



