316 FEEDS AND FEEDING, ABRIDGED 



use is made of by-produet roughages that are commonly wasted in 

 grain farming. 



Cottonseed hulls. — For many years cottonseed meal and cotton- 

 seed hulls formed the standard ration for fattening cattle in the 

 South. On this combination steers made surprisingly good gains. 

 For example, at the Texas Station 16 yearling steers given these feeds 

 made nearly as large gains as others fed corn-and-cob meal and al- 

 falfa hay. Trials at the southern stations have shown, however, that 

 corn silage and cottonseed meal usually make slightly larger and con- 

 siderably cheaper gains than cottonseed hulls and cottonseed meal. 



IV. Succulent Feeds 



Silage in beef production. — The use of silage is fast revolutioniz- 

 ing the feeding of beef cattle, just as it has the feeding of milch cows 

 in the leading dairy sections of our country. Breeding cows and 

 stock cattle may be maintained in winter in good condition on silage 

 from well-matured corn or the sorghums, with a limited amount of 

 legume hay or a small allowance of such nitrogenous concentrates as 

 cottonseed or linseed meal. For growing animals this palatable suc- 

 culence can not be excelled, when fed in proper combination with 

 legume hay or concentrates rich in protein. 



On well-balanced rations in which silage is the chief roughage the 

 steer will fatten rapidly and reach a high finish on a moderate allow- 

 ance of expensive concentrates. By feeding, during the first stages 

 of fattening, only silage and either legume hay or a small allowance 

 of some nitrogenous concentrate to balance the ration, the feed cost 

 of the gains may usually be still further reduced. At first it was 

 thought that silage-fed cattle shrank more in shipment than those fin- 

 ished on dry roughage. Trials have now abundantly shown, how- 

 ever, that if silage is withheld for the last day or two before shipment 

 and dry roughage fed instead, cattle thus fattened will not shrink 

 any more than those receiving no silage. 



Corn silage. — Silage from well-matured corn, carrying an abun- 

 dance of ears and a high proportion of grain, is the best of all silage 

 for beef cattle. Such silage aids materially in reducing the amount 

 of concentrates which need be supplied in addition. To show the 

 good results from feeding corn silage there are summarized in the 

 following table the results of 10 trials where corn silage was added to 

 the already excellent ration of shelled corn, cottonseed or linseed 

 meal, and clover or alfalfa hay. In these trials 2-year-old steers 

 averaging 1,006 lbs. in weight were fed for an average of 162 days. 



is Craig, Tex. Bui. 76. 



