I06 PROtlTABtE STOCK RAISfNG 



tein, while corn is very rich in carbohydrates. 

 These two happen to be combined in such pro- 

 portions as to form a nearly perfectly balanced 

 ration. They furnish about an ideal proportion of 

 the materials demanded by the digestive system of 

 the cattle for building up fat and muscular tissue 

 rapidly. 



While alfalfa hay is beyond all question the best 

 forage crop known, several other leguminous plants 

 are classed as close seconds and can be substituted 

 in this ration with excellent results. Where for any 

 reason it is not possible or practical to grow alfalfa, 

 then clover or cowpeas can be substituted. In the 

 eastern part of the Mississippi valley region, clover 

 will be found much more commonly than alfalfa. 

 However, in the larger part of the clover-growing 

 region of the United States and a very considerable 

 part of the alfalfa-producing belt, corn is also a 

 leading crop, and feeders naturally desire to utilize 

 in some way, the tremendous tonnage of forage 

 which is produced by the corn plant. Corn cut in 

 good season and carefully shocked, furnishes tre- 

 mendous amounts of excellent fodder and most 

 farmers wish to utilize this in their feeding opera- 

 tions, both to avoid waste of good feed and in order 

 to work up this material into fit condition to be 

 returned as fertilizer to the soil. If, however, corn 

 stover be depended upon entirely for forage, and 

 corn for the grain portion of the ration, it will 

 readily be seen that the feed will have too great a 

 proportion of carbohydrates and not enough of 

 protein. This will give a one-sided or unbalanced 

 ration and the best gains will not be procured. 

 What this ration obviously needs is the addition of 

 some feed containing a large percentage of protein. 

 If a feeder has some clover or alfalfa to mix with 



