38 Bulletin 827, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 



lure was furnished at the rate of one-half acre per head per month 

 and the breeding cows made an average daily gain of 1.25 pounds 

 a head. 



Stock cattle are sometimes given limited pasture on bean fields 

 from which no beans have been picked. By this method the cattle 

 are turned on the field for an hour or more each day and then 

 taken off. This lengthens the grazing period and is an economical 

 way to handle the crop if cattle are not to be fattened. If steers 

 are to be fattened for market they are often allowed the run of a 

 bean field until the best of the beans are consumed, then removed 

 to a new field, and the stock cattle turned on the old field to clean up 

 what is left. 



The sandy soils of the Piney Woods region are not injured by 

 pasturing cattle while the ground is wet during winter, and where 

 velvet beans are utilized in this way considerable labor is saved and 

 the fertility contained in the crop is left on the ground, adding 

 greatly to the value of the crop as a soil improver. Since the beans 

 will keep in the field until consumed and few beans are lost, it would 

 appear that the only advantage in harvesting the beans for feed is 

 in controlling the quantity of beans consumed. However, there 

 nve several serious objections to pasturing the beans as now practiced. 

 These points are discussed under " Recommendations for winter 

 feeding." 



It is worthy of particular note that nearly all the important forage 

 crops of the section are legumes. Besides the high feeding value due 

 to the protein content, the legumes have a high content of lime, which 

 is a very necessary element in the growth of animals. Timothy hay 

 has 2.5 pounds of lime per 1,000 pounds, while cowpea hay has 25.4 

 pounds. 1 The soils of this region are naturally deficient in lime and 

 the increased use of legumes, especially for young growing animals, 

 should be highly beneficial. 



CONCENTRATED FEEDS. 



The velvet bean is the principal concentrated feed now used for 

 feeding cattle in the Piney Woods and with the increasing acreage 

 grown each year it is rapidly replacing all other concentrated feeds 

 both for fattening and wintering cattle. Aside from its recognized 

 value as a feed it is a home-grown crop which is more readily 

 marketed through cattle than in any other way. The increased use 

 of velvet beans has permitted the shipment of larger quantities of 

 cottonseed meal to other sections of the country, as the meal is a 

 more concentrated feed for which there is a well-established market. 

 In some localities since 1915 the production has greatly exceeded the 

 amount needed for home consumption and mills have been established 



1 From Henry and Morrison. 



