228 THE MANAGEMENT AND FEEDING OF CATTLE 



especially true of timothy and redtop, and may also be 

 true, sometimes, of some other kinds of hay, as clover 

 and timothy mixed and alfalfa. Some classes of hay 

 may not be much in demand in the market, and yet it 

 may be so necessary for other uses that it would not be 

 wise to feed them freely to animals that may be carried 

 through the winter on foods not suited to serve those 

 other uses. To illustrate : Should good clover or good oat 

 hay be on hand, and also coarse stover and hay more or 

 less damaged in the curing, and should cows in milk and 

 cattle that are simply being wintered be maintained on 

 the same farm, as is usually the case, the clover and oat 

 hay should be given to the former and the corn stover 

 and damaged hay to the latter. In other words, the aim 

 should be to adapt the foods to the different classes of 

 animals according to their needs. This would mean that 

 in the line of fodders cattle that were being simply win- 

 tered would seldom be given, unless toward spring, at 

 least as their exclusive diet, such fodder as good 

 timothy, redtop, clover, oat hay, vetch, or pea hay and 

 millet. Leguminous fodders, especially when of good 

 quality, should be reserved for milk production, but it 

 would be both legitimate and proper to feed all other 

 fodders to the animals that were simply carried through 

 the winter. The use to be made of alfalfa would de- 

 pend upon its plentifulness, the market demand for it, 

 and the opportunity for feeding it. Although excellent 

 for milk production under some conditions, it cannot be 

 put to any other use than that of carrying cattle through 

 the winter. 



Straw of the cereals, and also corn stover, furnish 

 the cheapest fodders that can be given to live stock 

 that are being carried through the winter. The former 

 are too low in nutrition to furnish the exclusive diet of 

 stock thus wintered, during all the winter, if of long 

 duration. The same is true of corn stover, though in a 

 less degree, and where either is fed alone, or where both 



