66 Western Live-stock Management 
based on the use of hay alone, without the addition of any 
other feed, such as straw, stubble fields, or grass. On this 
basis one ton of hay would maintain the animal for just 
about 120 days, or four months. When there is other 
feed to supplement the hay, or when it is not necessary to 
feed as long as 120 days, somewhat less than one ton of 
hay may be used. On the other hand, if it is necessary to 
maintain the cattle on hay alone for longer than four 
months, or when it is desired to make some gain in weight, 
more than this amount of feed will be needed. The 
amount of hay which can profitably be used for wintering 
cattle will always be subject to question, since it varies 
with so many other factors, especially with the price of 
cattle. With cattle worth 7 or 8 cents a pound and hay 
$5.00 a ton in the stack, it is hard to feed too much, but 
with hay at $6.00 or $7.00 and cattle worth 4 or 5 
cents it is a different proposition, and beef production 
under such prices is possible only by the most rigid 
economy and hay can hardly be cheap enough to justify 
its unlimited use with low-priced beef. The kind of 
hay used will on most ranches be the kind available. 
When cattle are wintered in the larger irrigated valleys 
some selection is possible, in which case alfalfa practi- 
cally always proves the best feed and can be bought at 
the lowest price. Plenty of good alfalfa produces a 
quality of cattle that can hardly be duplicated without 
this feed. In many range districts, however, it is a 
problem to procure hay of any kind. On the marshy 
sinks such as are found throughout the Great Basin 
region, wild hays are grown. These range from timothy 
or clover to tules, with a corresponding variation in 
feeding value. In the high dry parts of the country 
farther north, rye is about all that can be grown and this 
