FINISHING CATTLE IN THE STALL OR SHED I57 



such an extent as to make the feeding for a longer period 

 unprofitable. The true mission of oil meal is to furnish 

 protein, to act favorably on the digestion, and to im- 

 prove the coat and handling so as to insure high finish. 

 These ends are probably best accomplished when not 

 more than 3 pounds are fed an animal daily, and pref- 

 erably during the later rather than the earlier months 

 of feeding. 



4. Cottonseed meal is not usually fed along with 

 corn or its equivalent at the rate of more than i pound 

 of the meal to 3 pounds of corn on the average during 

 the entire feeding period, beginning with, say, 2 pounds 

 and ending with 5 pounds a head daily, but it may be 

 fed with safety when the increase is gradual up to 10 

 pounds. When thus fed, however, the ration is not in 

 balance ; nor is it safe to have swine glean after cattle 

 when more than, say, 3 pounds are fed daily. Possibly 

 the amount of cottonseed meal fed could be carried some- 

 what further, if two lots of swine were used in such 

 gleaning, alternating them at the end of two or three- 

 week periods. The hazard thus referred to furnishes 

 an argument for feeding all the concentrates in the form 

 of meal when much cottonseed is being fed. 



5. The value of corn ensilage as a factor in mak- 

 ing beef has never been duly appreciated. The small 

 amount of waste when feeding is a strong argument in 

 favor of feeding corn in this form, notwithstanding the 

 greater labor in preparing it. The capacity of the coun- 

 try to produce beef would be greatly increased by pre- 

 paring corn thus for feeding without increasing the 

 quantity grown. The comparatively slow progress of 

 the increase in silo building is one of the surprising 

 features of our agriculture. 



6. When corn is fed to cattle in the ear, and for 

 prolonged periods, the mouth may get more or less sore 

 from crushing ears large and hard and corn on them 

 hard and dry. When the mouth is thus affected, they 



