ROUGHAGE FOR CATTLE 69 



unable to find any published data concerning the rela- 

 tive value of alfalfa and clover hay when used with corn 

 for fattening cattle. Cattle feeders who have had ex- 

 perience in feeding both are, however, practically 

 unanimous in their belief that alfalfa is the better rough- 

 age of the two. One factor which materially contributes 

 to this fact is that alfalfa contains 11 pounds protein in 

 each 100 pounds hay, while red clover contains only 

 6.8 pounds. Another fact to be reckoned with is that 

 alfalfa is not as much damaged by storms during the 

 curing process as is clover. Wheat bran contains but 

 12.2 pounds protein per hundredweight and, as far as 

 its content of protein goes, is but little more valuable 

 for feeding purposes than is alfalfa. Timothy hay con- 

 tains 2.8, corn stover 1.7, and oat straw but 1.2 pounds 

 protein per hundredweight. Thus it will be seen that 

 as far as we are able to judge from the chemical composi- 

 tion of these feeds they are not well suited to supple- 

 ment corn, which contains 7.8 pounds protein per 

 hundredweight. Experience and experiment both cor- 

 roborate the chemists' claims. 



TEST MADE AT THE ILLINOIS STATION 

 In an experiment at the Illinois Experiment Station, 

 some important facts bearing directly upon this subject 

 were brought out. Clover hay was compared with 

 timothy hay and corn stover when used with corn for 

 fattening two-year-old cattle. It took 7.68 pounds corn 

 and 4.82 pounds clover hay to produce 1 pound of beef 

 in the clover hay fed lot, as compared with 9.87 pounds 

 corn and 5.88 pounds timothy hay and corn stover 

 combined. Or, taking into consideration the meat 

 (both beef and pork) produced, the figures stand as 

 follows: 6.75 pounds corn per pound gain on steers and 

 pigs combined in the clover hay lot, as against 8.47 

 pounds in the timothy hay and corn stover lot. There 

 were twelve steers in each lot, and they were fed eighteen 

 weeks. In the clover hay lot $272.08 worth of feed 



