CERTAIN DESERT PLANTS AS EMERGENCY STOCK FEED. 19 



protein, more than four times as much ether extract, and twice as 

 much nitrogen-free extract as is to be found in an equal weight of 

 freshly chopped soap weed. In other words, 15 to 20 pounds of 

 freshly chopped soap weed is a daily ration that will barely sustain 

 life in the animal, and it needs some concentrate that has a large 

 percentage of protein to go with it in order to make the animal grow 

 or improve in condition. 



MECHANICAL CONDITION OF THE FEED. 



The soap weed when prepared by any of the machines is cut into 

 slices one-half to three-fourths of an inch thick and 2 or 3 inches each 

 way or is torn into small shreddy pieces an inch or two long. The 

 fibers, which are very numerous in both leaves and stems, are cut 

 in pieces never more than 1 or 2 inches long, except that the leaves 

 are frequently torn off the head and but partly chopped into pieces. 

 It is the usual practice to cut down the stalks, haul them to the 

 choppers, shred, and feed all during the same day. It is not necessary 

 that this practice should be followed, as the stems retain their moisture 

 a long time. It was impossible by any ordinary inspection to tell 

 much difference in the moisture content of shredded material from 

 fresh stalks and from those that had been cut a month before shred- 

 ding. 



The material is quite wet when freshly shredded, is noticeably 

 sweet to the taste (with a distinct bitter aftertaste), and is in such 

 shape that cattle or sheep can eat it readily. Cattle learn to eat it 

 in a very short time and seem to like it. They will go ahead of the 

 wagons to the feeding grounds, and calves soon learn to slip through 

 gates to get to the machine when it is at work. 1 Very little of the 

 soap weed has been fed to sheep so far, though it is a common practice 

 to feed sotol to them in Texas. Certain advantages that have not 

 yet been well tried are doubtless to be gained by the use of these 

 yuccas for sheep, upon which definite data are wanting. 



Most of the men who are using this feed burn off the dead leaves 

 before cutting the stalks, leaving only the tuft of green leaves at the 

 top. In one instance, where it was necessary to haul the stalks more 

 than 2 miles to the feeding place, the herd had been divided into two 

 parts. One part, composed of the stronger animals that could easily 

 walk to and from the water, was held on the ground where the soap 

 weed was growing. The green tops (leaves) of the plants were cut 

 off with the axes and left scattered upon the ground for these animals 

 to eat. The stems, which look like so many sticks of wood, were 

 hauled to the corral and shredded for the other part of the herd. 



1 The chopped or shredded feed sours and heats very quickly if left in a pile. Small piles left lying for 

 some days ultimately mildew and spoil. Cattle eat the soured material freely. 



