146 THE MANAGEMENT AND FEKUING OF CATTLE 



in fodders are usually cheaper than the same in con- 

 centrates, in prolonged feeding- the aim should be to 

 feed fodders up to that point that will not unduly retard 

 the rapidity of the gains. The great difference in the 

 relative value of fodders and of the same in different 

 localities, makes it impossible to lay down any hard and 

 fast rules for the guidance of the feeder bearing on this 

 question. In the western mountain valleys where alfalfa 

 may sometimes be obtained at a cost for production of 

 less than $5 a ton, it may be used to such an extent 

 in fattening that the 1,000-pound steer may be fattened 

 on a grain ration as low as 6 pounds daily, whereas in 

 New England the price of alfalfa would probably make 

 the feeding of it prohibitory. On the other hand, corn 

 fodder may be so cheap that it will pay to make it the 

 sole fodder fed, though fed out of balance. It would, 

 probably, be correct to say that a cattle beast weighing 

 1,000 pounds, and that consumes not less than 12.5 

 pounds daily of grain, will not consume more than 10 

 to 12 pounds daily of good hay. Of course, fodders are 

 fed to such animals up to the full limit of their consum- 

 ing powers. 



Succulent foods to feed. — The sources of succulence 

 for cattle being fattened are virtually three, viz., corn, 

 the sorghums, and field roots. This does not mean that 

 foods other than corn and sorghum may not be ensiled 

 and fed alone or in conjunction with these. For in- 

 stance, in certain areas it has been found entireh' prac- 

 ticable to grow soy beans and to ensile them along with 

 these crops as a source of protein, and also to make the 

 second crop of clover hay, or one of alfalfa crops, into 

 ensilage by putting it into the silo in some sort of alter- 

 nation along with corn. 



The standard silage product is corn, since it is on 

 the whole better preserved in the silo than any other 

 crop, is more universally grown and usually produces 

 more nutrients to the acre. The sorghums, especially 



