FEEDING VALUE OF THE HAY. 359 



alfalfa,, linseed oil meal, quite a little richer than al- 

 falfa in protein, or cottonseed meal, richest of all, 

 but a dangerous feed in unskillful hands. Thus they 

 compound rations that give them good results, but 

 the cost eats up the profit. 



Substitute for Bran. — Wheat bran has increased 

 in cost by leaps and bounds. I once bought it for 

 $8 per ton. I then fed lambs on timothy hay and 

 shredded corn stover, -with corn (maize) for grain 

 food. With the aid of the purchased bran, supply- 

 ing the protein lacking in the other food, I made 

 good lambs. It was a profitable business. Then other 

 feeders found out that bran was good for lambs, 

 the price went up, steadily higher and higher. Had 

 not I found that I could substitute alfalfa hay for 

 w'heat bran and get just as good lambs I would have 

 quit the business or gone bankrupt. Thousands of 

 feeders and dairymen are on the ragged edge of 

 bankruptcy today because of their large feed bills 

 for purchased protein. At present wheat bran is 

 worth about $25 to $30, almost anywhere that it is 

 fed. 



A ton of it is only better than a ton of alfalfa 

 hay because of its being more easily eaten ; there is 

 the same nutriment in the alfalfa hay, very nearly. 



Need of Protein. — Young animals almost starve 

 for protein very often, especially where corn is 

 cheap. I have many times seen pigs in the feedlot 

 after cattle, having more corn than they could con- 

 sume, fat, round, yet dwarfed, half-starved. Their 



