POPULAR POSTULATES OF CACTUS FEEDING. 45 



nopals (joints) are of more value than when a maintenance, or fatten- 

 ing, ration is desired. 



Pear has been fed in Texas since the early Spanish occupation. 



Pear is better feed from the time that frost strikes it in the fall 

 until it begins to grow in the spring than in other seasons. 



Cattle and working oxen will eat a large ration of pear, properly 

 prepared, when there is an abundance of the best of green grass for 

 them to eat. 



Pear has a decided value in toning up the system of cattle that have 

 lived on dry grass for several months. Two-year olds especially are 

 benefited by a partial ration of it for a short time. 



All cattle, sheep, and goats soon become accustomed to eating pear. 

 The sound of the pear machine or the sight of smoke in the pastures 

 where stock are fed attracts the entire herd immediately. 



The different species and varieties of pear, while of value, differ in 

 their feeding qualities. 



The development of pear feeding will increase the utility of concen- 

 trated feed stuffs, such as cotton-seed products. 



The greatest promise for pear is in the line of milk production. The 

 value of the succulence for the winter months will probably pay for 

 the propagation of small acreages for this purpose. 



Burning with a pear burner tends to kill out the pear if close pas- 

 turing is practiced afterwards. 



It is a mistake to harvest pear too closely unless it is desired to 

 thin it out. 



Pear makes sufficient growth in average seasons so that it may be 

 harvested every five years. 



When fed a full roughage ration of pear, cattle scour more or less 

 all of the time. 



There are four machines on the market for preparing pear for the 

 use of stock — two burners and two choppers. 



One man with a pear burner can feed 100 cattle in a brush pasture. 

 The gasoline consumed will range from 6 to 10 gallons per day. 



Ten men with a pear chopper can feed from 1,500 to 2,000 cattle 

 under the same conditions. 



Inquiry at hide establishments and stock markets fails to reveal 

 any serious injury done by the spines to commercial cattle products, 

 although the spines work into the flesh considerably. 



Cattle fed on pear chopped with a machete, and not burned, often 

 get their mouths so full of spines after a time that they are unable to 

 eat at all. 



The crushing action of the chopping machine renders the spines 

 innocuous. 



Chopped pear sours very quickly, and must, therefore, be fed very 

 soon after being chopped. 



