FEEDING BEEF CATTLE 251 



fed grass exclusively, as a rule, do not become fat as com- 

 pared with those receiving grain. In some localities in the 

 blue-grass sections of Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsyl- 

 vania, and Kentucky, thin cattle put on flesh rapidly and 

 do remarkably well, but even then a ration of corn in addi- 

 tion produces a better class of fattening. In a study of this 

 subject at the Missouri Experiment Station, conducted by 

 Dr. H. J. Waters, where concentrates were fed on pasture, 

 summer-fed cattle made an average daily gain of 2}^ pounds, 

 covering a period of 209 days. It required about 8 pounds 

 of grain for each pound of gain in live weight, as compared 

 with 10 pounds with winter-fed cattle, a saving of 183/2 per 

 cent in gi'ain. Dr. Waters gives the following advantages 



of fattening on pasturage, compared with dry-lot feeding:* 



1. Grass is cheaper than hay. 



2. Summer gains require less grain than winter gains. 



3. Steers fatten more quickly and can be made thick and prime 

 on corn and grass with greater certainty, more uniformity, and the 

 smaller use of expensive supplements like cottonseed meal and linseed 

 meal. 



4. Hogs following the steers make larger gains, and return more 

 profit, with a lower death rate. 



5. In summer the grain only is drawn; there is no roughage to 

 handle. 



6. The steers are usually fed but once daily. 



7. The manure is scattered by the cattle themselves. 



The feeding of yearlings or two-year-olds is commonly 

 practiced where no attempt is made to produce baby beef. 

 In this case calves usually come in the spring, and are car- 

 ried oh pasture the first summer, going through the first 

 winter with dry roughage, such as corn stover, alfalfa, or 

 clover, and perhaps silage, with a light feed of some con- 

 centrate, preferably cottonseed or linseed meal. The second 

 summer is spent on grass without grain. The second winter 

 the natural tendency would be to feed these cattle in the 

 dry lot, and market them in the spring, when in fairly good 

 condition. Some prefer to market them in the fall, follow- 

 ing grass the third summer, while others feed corn on the 

 grass, to get a better condition. Steers fed under these 



*CircuIar 24, Missouri Experiment Station. 



