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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT:
James J. HILt.
President Great Northern Railroad Systems.
Feeding Farm
Animals
By
Thomas Shaw
Late Professor of Animal Husbandry at the University of Minnesota
Author of Animal Breeding, the Study of Breeds, etc.
ILLUSTRATED
New York
ORANGE JUDD COMPANY
London
Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., Limited
1907
LIBRARY of CONGRESS
Two Copies Recelved
| AUG 23 1907
Conynght Entry
Uw, 24,1907 7
AXC., Nor
7k j*
COPY
Copyright, 1907, by
ORANGE JUDD COMPANY
All Rights Reserved
- Entered at Stationers’ Hall
LONDON, ENGLAND
To JAMES J. HILL
President
of the Great Northern Railroad Systems
This Book
is Respectfully Dedicated
in recognition of the great work that
he has accomplished for the develop-
ment of agriculture in the United
States.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.
In preparing this book, the author freely consulted
works previously written on the subject, more especially,
“Manual of Cattle Feeding,” by Dr. H. P. Armsby, ‘Feeds
and Feeding” by Prof. W. A. Henry, and “Profitable Stock
Feeding” by Prof. H. R. Smith; also various bulletins issued
by the experiment stations and the United States Depart-
ment of Agriculture. To all these sources he desires to ex-
press his indebtedness for the aid thus rendered.
THE AUTHOR’S PREFACE.
Several valuable books have been written on the sub-
ject of feeding live stock, and those interested have reason
to be grateful to the men who wrote them. But the criti-
cism has been made, that some of these are too scientific in
their treatment of the subject to meet the needs of the prac-
tical feeder, that the discussions in some are so general and
diffuse and so lacking in sequence, that the labor involved
in securing specific information from them is too great,
and that others more specific in their methods of treatment,
are helpful chiefly to those only who live in areas where
certain leading foodstuffs are abundantly grown. The need,
therefore, for something additional on the subject will be
at once conceded by those who are familiar with its needs.
Those who have thought carefully upon the subject of
feeding farm animals will subscribe to the statement, that
it is one of the most comprehensive and difficult questions
to discuss that pertain to the broad field of agriculture. So
comprehensive is it that in the judgment of the author, no
single treatise can cover a field so broad with sufficient
fulness. An attempt, therefore, will not be made to produce
such a book, as it must result in more or less of failure.
To cover the whole subject the author has planned, if
spared, to write five books, the present being the first of
the series. In it the aim has been to prepare a work adapted
to the needs of the student and stockman that would suc-
cinctly and fully cover the subject of feeding and foods in a
general way, by dwelling, first on the leading principles or
laws that govern feeding; second, on type in the animals to
VII
VIII AUTHOR'S PREFACE
be fed and the balancing of foods for them; third, on the ~
foods used in feeding; and fourth, on the more important
considerations that apply to successful feeding. It has also
been the constant aim to observe that sequence in treatment
that would be natural, orderly and complete; to discuss
the subject with a comprehensiveness that would cover con-
ditions in all parts of the United States and Canada; and
in a manner so simple that any reader may readily under-
stand what is read.
The books that will follow will discuss the feeding and
management of cattle, sheep, swine and horses, respectively,
one volume being devoted to each, and each book being
complete in itself. In preparing these, special emphasis
will be laid on the selection, preparation and feeding of
foods and to all essentials that relate to successful manage-
ment. The hope is cherished, that in this way something
will be done that may render some aid to those who may
engage in the growing of live stock.
THOMAS SHAW.
St. Anthony Park, Minn.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
CHAPTER 1
ive Stock and Successiul Marmine. ..cieds sees cs 6. 3
Char lTER: I
Principles that Govern the Selection of Animals ..... 24
CHAPTER, In
Ermetples* that Govern Selecting Foods a2... .2...-- 43
CHAPTER 1V
Principles that Govern Development“... 2.0 %2..0 <3)... - 62
CHAPTER, iV
Principles that Govern Habit in Digestion and
PS SUMO , 22 x. 2 se etsbtene's 6. 5) > ens oy cen a 89
CHAPTER VI
Prgeiples, that relate “toy Restiulmess, 2.222... <y--'-|--1 96
CHAPTER Vil
Principles that Relate to Prolonged Usefulness ...... 110
CHAPTER Vil
Prmeiples that Relate to Presmaney ...2:,... 20. «: 121
CELA PARRY
The Value of Type in Domestic Animals ............ 133
CHAPTER 2
Pemerplessthat Gaver Peed ine. 3 Saye acta as cs 163
CHAPTER. XI
iomiensom, Giured MO@denSurcs sss See ce oo ors eX. cc Seer IOI
x
x TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER XII
Foed tron: Cereals: and Other, Seeds +.en..% sce ee ee
CHAPTER ie
Food from By-products: . -./..... cas os oat eee
CHAPTER XIV
Pood trom (bastunest = seco: occ «so doen eee
CHAPTERS SV,
Koeod: irom Field’ Roots and Tubersa.)-..3o eee
CHAPTER: XV I
Preparing -Poods for’ Heedine v.00, 002. eee
CHAPTER: ovat
Considerations that Relate to Meat Production .....
CHAPTER. Xavi
Considerations that Relate to Milk Production .....
CHAPTER 2okx
Considerations that Relate to General Feeding .....
CHAP TER) XX
Considerations that Relate to the Care of Domestic
Animals’. oS OAL Oe ee Ce ee eee
CHAPTER XX
Miscellaneous Considerations ¢.2.. ce. ss eee
[uu ‘Stjodvouul ‘Apoomund "HY ‘MM ‘AeUMO 9Y} Jo AsozIn0d Aq]
Co6I NI ODVOIHD LY SNYOHLUOHS JO GYAH NOId WVHO
PART I
Part I embraces Chapters I-I[X. Chapter I which is
introductory discusses Live Stock and Successful Farm-
ing. Chapters II to IX discuss the laws or principles which
govern the feeding of farm animals.
The successful feeding of farm animals is governed
by certain laws or principles, some of which are reason-
ably well understood. It may be that there are other
laws relating to this great subject that are not yet
evolved, or are only in the process of evolution. The
attempt to formulate those first referred to in regular
sequence, and in the order of relative importance, will
now be made. That this is no easy task in the present
state of knowledge of the subject will be apparent from
the statement that, so far as the author can ascertain, the
attempt to enumerate these principles as such has never
yet been made. The attempt, therefore, to formulate
these laws in the manner stated may be so far impossible
as not to preclude the necessity for some revision of the
order of arrangement with the further rolling backward
of the mists which, during long centuries, have shrouded
this subject of subjects in practical agriculture.
As now understood by the author, the following are
the chief of the laws or principles that govern successful
feeding, and they are given in the order of relative im-
portance. They are such as relate: (1) To selection in the
animals to be fed; (2) to the selection of foods for feed-
ing them; (3) to development in the animals; (4) to habit
in digestion and assimilation; (5) to keeping the animals at
rest; (6) to prolonging the period of usefulness; (7) to
pregnancy. These inexorable laws will now be discussed.
Like the laws of the Medes and Persians, they can never
be changed, except by Him who made them, hence, the great
2 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
importance of understanding them on the part of those who
engage in keeping domestic animals.
In addition to these laws or principles is a long array
of considerations that have each a more or less important
bearing upon the successful feeding of animals. They
have not the rank or force of laws or principles, and yet
so nearly allied are some of them to tke latter, that it is
not easy to determine the border line between them.
Each has a more or less important bearing on the suc-
cessful feeding of animals. That none of them have quite
the rank or force of laws is evidenced in the fact that
neglecting them will not be followed by consequences so
direful as those that would follow non-conforming to the
requirements of laws or principles, and yet the feeder
whose work is to be successful cannot afford to ignore
any one of them in the prosecution of his work. These
will be discussed in Chapters XVII. to XXI.
CHAPTER I,
LIVE STOCK AND SUCCESSFUL FARMING.
In one respect the story of agriculture is the same in
every country. History has shown that the relation be-
tween highest success in farming and the growing and
fattening of live stock is so close as to be inseparable.
It has further shown that the measure of the success at-
tained is proportionate to the extent to which live stock is
kept and maintained, and tothe high quality of the same.
It follows, therefore, that every legitimate encouragement
should be given to the live stock industry, and that every
legitimate effort should be made to deepen the farmer’s
interest in live stock production. Make it clear to the
farmer that maintaining live stock on his farm will in-
crease his profits and promote in many ways his best in-
terests, and in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, he will
invest in the same. If the demonstration cannot be made
clear to him that these results may be expected to follow
where the work is properly conducted, he should not be
urged to engage in such work. To make it clear that such
results may be expected is the purpose of this chapter.
The following are prominent among the benefits that
accompany the judicious keeping of live stock on the
farm: (1) It increases profits; (2) aids greatly in the
maintenance of fertility; (3) benefits rotation; (4) utili-
zes cheap foods; (5) insures cheaper transportation of
farm products; (6) distributes labor more evenly
throughout the year; (7) promotes industry in the farm-
er’s household; (8) advances intelligence in the same;
(9) tends to moor the young people in the farm home to
farm life, and (10) is essential to the highest develop-
ment in the nation.
4 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
Bearing on profits—The relation between the grow-
ing of live stock and live stock products in any country is so
close and intimate that the statement is safe which
claims that the profits from agriculture increase or de-
crease with the increase or decrease of the live stock kept.
The only exceptions, probably, are new areas with virgin
soils, and limited areas with high natural adaptation to
some special line of production in which fertility may be
maintained for a time through the use of commercial
fertilizers. An illustration is furnished in the growing of
certain fruits and nut-bearing trees. The most prosper-
ous rural communities in any state or country are those
which devote the largest share of attention to live stock
and live stock products; as shown by the United States
census of 1900, the profits per acre rose and fell with live
stock values in the same. The relation between land
values and the value of live stock kept upon the land, is
close and intimate. In every state the highest land values
are found almost invariably where live stock values are
relatively the highest. Among the few exceptions are
tide lands which may be enriched by sediment brought
to them from the regulated overflow of tide waters. The
richest agricultural countries in the world are those which
are richest in live stock production. Results so uni-
formly invariable cannot be the outcome of accident.
They are effects which are produced by certain causes al-
ways operative in live stock producing areas, under any
system of mixed husbandry in which live stock is an im-
portant feature.~ The chief of the causes that produce
these results are discussed in succeeding paragraphs.
Bearing upon fertility —The extent to which the soils
of the United States are being depleted of their fertility
is probably the saddest feature in relation to their culti-
vation. This results first from the extent to which the
elements of fertility are removed in the products sold
from the farm, chiefly in form of grain and bread stuffs.
The larger portion of these products are sold in lands
LIVE STOCK AND SUCCESSFUL FARMING 5
where the fertility purchased in them is used in growing
crops which compete with those sent to these countries
from the United States. Thus, the United States be-
comes its own competitor. This suicidal policy may be
compared with drawing on the principal deposited in a
bank from year to year, until all is gone, rather than liv-
ing on the interest.
As a result of this system, the evidences of a waning
fertility are everywhere present in localities where the
soil has been tilled during successive years. On the ma-
jor portion of the lands in the New England, Atlantic and
Middle States, good crops cannot now be grown without
first dressing them with artificial fertilizers The rich
lands of the middle West are giving indications of a grad-
ually waning productiveness. Some of the mountain val-
leys of the far West are less productive than when they
were first tilled. Continue the process of selling the food
products grown upon the farm and a time will come when
profitable crops cannot any more be obtained from the
same.
Marked depletion in soil fertility 1s the greatest calam-
ity, material in its nature, that can happen to any country.
In some respects it is worse than famine, pestilence or
war. When carried far enough it leads to abandoned
farms. A region of abandoned farms is, in a sense, a
wilderness, a desert. There are but three ways in which
soil depletion may be prevented. These are, first, by
maintaining equilibrium in fertility where crops are sold
through applying commercial fertilizers; second, by
stocking the land to its full capacity, and third, by com-
bining the two systems. The occasional burying of green
crops may also be introduced as an adjunct to each of
these systems.
There are two strong objections to maintaining
equilibrium in fertility through commercial fertilizers
alone. These are first, the cost, and second, that they do
not materially improve the physical condition of the soil.
(6) FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
They do not add to the humus in the soil, except
through increase which they cause in root production in
the crops grown. The presence of humus. is necessary to
insure the most efficient action possible from the ferti-
lizers, hence, in the absence of long continued applications
of farmyard manure or of buried crops, they do not stimu-
late growth as they otherwise would. —
When the crops grown are sold and shipped away from
the farm, all the fertility which they contain of course
goes with them. When these are fed to live stock and the
fertilizer resulting is put back upon the land, it is possi-
ble in this way to restore to the land from, say 85 to go
per cent of the fertilizing elements that were taken from
it. The keeping of the live stock also necessitates, more or
less, the growing of legumes to be fed to them, a process
which tends to increase the nitrogen content in the soil,
since these crops deposit in the soil more nitrogen
gathered from the air than is sold in the meat, milk or
wool made from feeding them.
In some instances, the fertility may be sufficiently main-
tained through keeping live stock only, at ‘east for a long
term of years. In other instances it may be maintained
through the application of commercial fertilizers only.
The former finds illustration in the rich lands of the
prairie states, the latter.in the grass producing lands of
the alluvial river bottom lands of the eastern states. On
ordinary soils, however, fertility may be most evenly
maintained by the moderate and judicious application of
commercial fertilizers in conjunction with the judicious
maintenance of live stock .
The equilibrium of fertility can thus be maintained and
increased. The limit to such increase is the capacity and de-
sire of those who cultivate the soil. With increase in fertility,
the cost of growing crops will decrease, and there will be a
proportionate increase in profits. To maintain such equilib-
rium in fertility is probably the most important question per-
taining to the agriculture of this country.
LIVE STOCK AND SUCCESSFUL FARMING 7
Bearing upon rotation.—By rotation is meant the
growing of different classes of crops in succession. Crops
differ more or less in their food requirements, that is, in the
extent to which they draw on certain food elements in
the soil. Some call for more nitrogen than others, and so
of the different food elements, hence, when one crop is
grown successively on the same land, the equilibrium or
balance in fertility is disturbed, to the extent of reducing
some of the elements of plant food in the soil so much
that good crops of that class cannot longer be grown upon
the land without it is in some way renewed. Other evils
accompany such a process, as for instance, increase in
certain forms of weed growth, increase in insects which
prey upon the particular crop grown, and injury to the
mechanical condition of the land through depleting it of
humus.
These evils may be lessened, and in a great measure
prevented, by practicing a judicious rotation. Some forms
of rotation will not, in a marked degree, prevent or very
much lessen the evils mentioned. Such is a rotation
which consists in the growing of such crops only as the
small cereals, wheat, oats, barley, rye, speltz and flax.
This is owing to the general similarity of the food ele-
ments on which they feed, and to the fact that they all
reduce the humus supply in the soil.
Rotation, in the true and helpful sense, implies that live
stock shall be kept. Where kept, they consume the un-
salable roughage grown, along with other food, and thus
give back to the land each of the elements of fertility
taken from it. They do this in proportion to the extent to
which the food is fed which has been grown upon the
farm, and to the care and promptness exercised in putting
back again upon the land, the fertilizer resulting.
The fertilizer thus applied tends to maintain an equilib-
rium in the humus supply in the land. It does this
through the admixing of the manure with the soil when
cultivating it. The humus thus supplied improves the
8 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
soil mechanically by making it more friable or firm, ac-
cording to its texture. It also increases the power of the
soil to hold moisture and the nominal elements thus ap-
plied improve the chemical condition of the soil while in
process of decay. Should the question be asked, why
may these results not be accomplished as well by grow-
ing hay to be marketed or by burying an occasional green
crop, the answer is found in the soil depletion to which
the first leads, and in the expense involved in the use of
the land while the green crop is being grown.
Again; the keeping of live stock compels the mainte-
nance of pastures on the farm. In this fact is found one of
the most beneficial influences. Pasturing land does not al-
ways completely hinder soil depletion, but it greatly re-
duces it, since the product removed consists mainly of
soil fertility used in making meat, milk or wool, as the
case may be. The same is true of hay crops grown and
fed on the farm.
Both pasture and hay crops lessen the labor and ex-
pense of cultivation in proportion as they are grown, but
the saving in both respects is greater by far in pasture
crops. The economy of maintaining pastures, and of
properly maintaining them, has never been fully appre-
ciated in American agriculture. The expense involved
in maintaining fences to some extent lessens the economy
in maintaining pastures, but in ordinary mixed farming
their maintenance is an absolute necessity in order to
properly rotate the crops.
The influence of. pastures temporary in character in
supplying the land with humus is very great. They fur-
nish soil with sod or vegetable matter, which in its slow
decay benefits the soil as described above. As a result,
the crops which follow the breaking up of the pastures
will probably be benefited for several years. Results
similar in kind, but frequently less in degree, follow the
breaking up of meadows. These usuallv have a less dense
sod than pastures
LIVE STOCK AND SUCCESSFUL FARMING 9
Bearing on cheap foods.—On every farm more or less
food is grown that is of but little value when sold in the
open market. In some instances, it is quite unsalable,
and yet, if fed to animals, its value would be considerable.
It would seem correct to say that on many farms the
revenue derived from thus utilizing what would otherwise
be waste material, makes up the principal, if not the en-
tire, of the net revenue derived from the farm.
On farms devoted mainly or exclusively to producing
grain which is sold, the straw, the gleanings amid the
stubbles, and the screenings of the grain are entirely lost
to the farm where no live stock are k2pt. The straw,
much of which has a considerable feeding value, is
burned. The weeds and the grass which grow amid the
stubbles and which sheep could turn into good mutton,
are not only practically valueless, but become a positive
menace to clean farming. The numerous grain heads
which fall to the ground while the grain is being har-
vested, and which swine could turn into good pork,
molder in decay. The screenings, consisting of small and
shriveled kernels and weed seeds, become the property, and
without any exchange, of those who buy the grain.
Where mixed farming is practiced, large quantities of
fodder and low grade grair are grown, which can only be
turned to good account by feeding it out to live stock.
Such is straw of various kinds, hay that is coarse, weedy
or much damaged by rain, corn stover, and grain that is
so light or injured in harvesting that it grades low. Some
of these products will, under some conditions, not pay the
labor of marketing, others will be in a manner sacrificed
because of the low price paid, and for some there is vir-
tually no market, other than that which the farm fur-
nishes. To the first class belong such products as oat
and pea straw, which, when cut at the right season and
well cured, have a higher feeding value than poor hay,
To the second belong such foods as inferior or dam-
aged hay and some kinds of coarse grains. Such hay may
IO FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
have a considerable feeding value, and bariey so stained
by exposure as to be greatly discounted in price in the
market will make as much and as valuable meat, milk or
wool, and will sustain as much labor as barley that sells
for the highest price. To the third class belongs corn
stover, every acre of which is about equal to the produce
of an acre of hay for feeding uses, and yet millions of
acres of this valuable food go back to earth ungathered
every year, because the production is in excess of the
needs of the live stock kept.
There are also by-products from the dairy, the orchard
and the garden, which usually can only be given a money
value by feeding them on the farm. Such are skim milk,
fallen fruit, unmarketable potatoes and the unsalable
parts of vegetables. Nearly all kinds of field root crops
also, to be profitable, must be fed upon the farm. The
utilization of all these products in the way indicated, may
alone constitute the difference between successful and un-
successful farming.
Bearing on transportation.—The consumption of the
food grown upon the farm through the medium of live
stock invariably cheapens the cost of marketing the prod-
uct, whether marketed nearby or through the medium
of railroad transportation. A ton of hay, for instance,
is marketed more cheaply, viewed from the standpoint
of transportation, in the form of meat, milk, butter, cheese
or wool than it can be through the medium of wagon or
railroad transportation. As previously shown, many prod-
ucts grown upon the farm cannot be sold profitably or
sold at all in the open market. (See p. 4.)
The cost of transportation frequently makes the ship-
ment of bulky foods prohibitory. This is particularly
true of foods other than concentrates, and is more es-
pecially true of transportation where more than one road
carries the product to its destination, each road making
its own rate. Because of the increased charges in the ab-
sence of a through rate and also for other reasons, it is, in
LIVE STOCK AND SUCCESSFUL FARMING If
some instances, easily possible for the European farmer
to buy American grown products and to feed them to live
stock at a profit, while the American farmer who is dis-
tant from the place of production is unable to do so. The
New England dairyman or feeder could turn to excellent
account the cheap hay grown in the upper Mississippi
basin, but the cost of transportation makes prohibitory
the feeding of such food upon his farm. Notwithstand-
ing, the New England factory employe is able to stand
the cost of transporting the same hay virtually to the
same market in the form of butter or cheese.
It is impossible to state with decision the saving in
transportation by turning bulky foods, and even concen-
trates, into the still more concentrated forms of meat,
milk and other products of the dairy. This will be 1n-
fluenced first by the relative reduction in weight ef-
fected, the relative advance in value of the finished prod-
uct in a given market compared with the value of the
materials used in making it, and relative freight charges
on these products. The influence last rentioned will not
be discussed here since it is, to so great an extent, a vary-
ing factor.
The saving in weight effected by feeding foods in the
form of animal products is proportionate to the bulkiness
or the opposite of the foods fed; to the relative nutrition
in these in proportion to weight; to the relative propor-
tion of bulky foods and concentrates that are fed, and to
the degree of the concentration in the animal product
made from these foods. It is apparent, of course, that the
greater the bulk, the less the nutrition ; the larger the pro-
portion of bulky foods fed and the less concentrated the
forms into which the foods are changed, the less rela-
tively will be the saving effected in transportation. While
the amount of the saving effected on the basis of reduced
weight from transforming food for animals into animal
products cannot be given with precision, it may be stated
approximately. To make 2 pounds of meat per day from
I2 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
a good 1,000 pound steer that is being fattened would
call for say 30 pounds of good clover hay and grain, of
which, say 12 pounds would be grain. Tlre reduction in
the weight to be transported as meat, compared with the
food used in making it, would be 28 pounds or 93 per cent.
To secure 22 pounds of milk per day from a dairy cow of
similar weight during a prolonged period of feeding
would call for say 36 pounds of the same kinds of food,
of which say 8 pounds would be grain. The reduction
in this instance is I4 pounds or 39 per cent. Suppose
that the milk is made into cheese and that 10 pounds are
allowed for 1 pound of cheese. The reduction in freight
would be 33.8 pounds or 94 per cent. Suppose again the
milk is made into butter, and that the 22 pounds of milk
make 1 pound of butter, then the reduction in freight is
35 pounds or 97 per cent. It is thus apparent that the re-
duction in freight from turning food into these respec-
tive products increases in the following order: Milk,
beef, cheese and butter. It is further apparent that while
butter, beef and cheese may be readily transported to
long distances, the transporting of milk must always be
circumscribed by distance, because of its relative weight
in proportion to the food products from which it is made.
That the degree of the advance in value of the finished
product, as compared with the value of the foods used in
making it has an important bearing on transportation,
may be readily shown. Suppose, for instance, that a
given amount of food is turned into butter. It has been
shown that the weight to be transported is reduced by
97 per cent. But suppose that in the one instance, the
butter sold at the point of destination for 20 cents per
pound and in the other instance for 25 cents. The butter
which brought the larger return was carried at the same
rate as that which was sold at the lower price, which
means, virtually, less cost in relation to the return for the
weight transported.
LIVE STOCK AND SUCCESSFUL FARMING 1h
It has also been shown that but for such transforma-
tion through feeding certain products, they could not be
parderat all’ - -(see-*p. 4.) “The - home’ market “thus
created, as it were, for foods otherwise unsalable, is one of
the greatest benefits from stock keeping. It not only ob-
viates waste which would otherwise be unavoidable, but
it greatly increases profits. It also encourages the growth
of many products that would not othcrwise be grown,
thus widening diversity in crop production.
Bearing on labor.—Stocking farms partially, or to the
full extent of their capacity, has an important bearing on
the question of farm labor. This bearing is proportionate
to the extent to which the farm is stocked. It tends to
the distribution of labor throughout the year, exercises an
important influence on the relations between the farmer
and the farmhand, and furnishes profitable work for cvery
member of the family, according to the capacity of each.
The growing of live stock distributes labor throughout
the whole year: (1) Through the diversity in crop pro-
duction, which it necessitates; (2) through the ever
present necessity of providing food for the animals kept;
and (3) through the labor entailed at certain seasons and
with certain foods in preparing these for being fed.
Those farmers who grow but one kind of crop from
year to year are only busy when growing that crop and
marketing the same. Those who add to the number of
crops grown and marketed directly, extend the period for
labor in proportion to the increase in the number of the
crops grown. Nevertheless, in the latter instance, there
will be a period of idleness as well as in the former,
though not so prolonged. But the keeping of live stock
on arable farms compels the farmer to widen his rotation
in order to provide the requisite foods for the same, and
usually to the extent of making ample employment
throughout the entire season of growth.
Animals, like the human family, must have sustenance,
and they must have it during every day in the year.
14 SEEDING FARM ANIMALS
Where they are to give the highest possible return, they
must have food supplied them at certain intervals. The
owner must in some way supply this food, and should do
it as cheerfully and as faithfully as the uncomplaining
mother prepares food from day to day for the household.
Work horses need currying from day to day, cows must
be milked at least twice a day and stables must be cleaned
daily, thus entailing the blessed necessity of laboring more
or less every day in the year.
The proper preparing of foods for winter feeding us-
ually involves much labor. It may and does usually in-
clude such processes as grinding grain, shredding or chaf-
fing fodders, slicing or pulping roots, soaking, steaming or
boiling foods for certain classes of live stock, and blend-
ing foods so as to increase their efficiency when fed. The
labor thus created gives employment, and where wisely
directed, should prove remunerative.
Growing farm stock exercises a salutary influence. on
the frequently vexatious question of farm labor: (1) By
creating employment for farmhands through all the year;
(2) by adding to the permanency of such labor, and (3)
by the bearing which it has upon the price of labor.
When farm hands are only employed for a portion of
the year, but one of two results must follow: they must
remain idle through a part of th> year, or secure employ-
ment in some other line of work, and at a season when
employment is hard to get, that is, in the winter. Live
stock call for more attention in winter than in summer,
and thus necessitate the employment of labor at that
season. ;
Permanency of employment must be given to the farm
laborer who is to remain in this line of work, and who is
to excel in the same. It is unreasonable to expect any
one to continue in any line of work which furnishes em-
ployment for only a portion of the year. The best farm
laborers, thus treated, must drift into other lines of work.
Those only will remain whose unstable habits unfit them
for permanency in any line of work.
LIVE STOCK AND SUCCESSFUL FARMING 15
Employment throughout the year will act as a regu-
lator of farm wages, as men who work on a farm 12
months in the year can work for lower wages per month
than those who work but eight months. Men who are
given but eight months wages, which represents main-
tenance for one year, must get more per month than men
who can maintain themselves by laboring all the year.
The maintenance of live stock furnishes profitable em-
ployment to all the members of the farmer’s family, by
giving work to each, according to the capacity and sex.
The benefits resulting are: (1) Increased efficiency in la-
boring with the hands; (2) the formation of industrious
habits, and (3) increase in profits.
At a very early age members of the family may feed
fowls, when a little more advanced, they can care for
sheep and other small animals. Later, both boys and
girls can aid in the milking, and still later, the boys take
part in the more laborious work of preparing foods.
Each is exercised in using the hands in manual labor at
an age when such labor is not only helpful to physical
development, but when it is greatly helpful to future use-
fulness. The individual not trained to use the hands un-
til matured can never become so expert in the use of the
same as if such training had been given at an earlier
period. The most skillful axemen of America are those
who were exercised in swinging the axe from the time
that they were first able to swing it.
The value of habits of industry will be discussed under
the sub-division of the subject following. But it may be
said in passing, that it is the habits of industry that are
formed in early life in the members of the farmer’s family
that, more than anything else, aids in making them the
foremost builders of the nation.
The members of the family in this way become wage-
earners at a relatively early period, which adds to the
profits of the farm by increasing the resources without
16 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
increasing the wage bill. While thus engaged, the mem-
bers of the home have the great advantage of parental
oversight, and they enjoy all the privileges which home
furnishes. In the absence of live stock on farms, family
labor can only be remunerative through the growing sea-
son. With live stock it becomes remunerative through
all the year.
Bearing on industry.—Stocking farms to their full
capacity tends in a marked degree to the promotion of
industry in rural communities and to the formation of
industrious habits of young people who are reared on
such farms. These results are brought about: (1) By the
increase in labor thus necessitated; (2) through the dis-
tribution of the same over the entire year. The habits of
industry thus maintained in the parents and begotten and
developed in the children, are of inestimable value to
rural communities, to industrial centers, and to the entire
nation.
The increase in labor thus necessitated has been dealt
with in part in the sub-division preceding. It has been
shown that such increase in labor is necessitated through
the necessity for a wider rotation, through the preparing
of foods for feeding and through feeding and caring for
the animals. To this may be added the statement that
such labor increases the farmer’s profits, as a rule, and for
this reason if for no other, it is tc be commended.
It increases his profits in various ways, (see p. 2) but
more probably than in any other way through the added
value given to farm products by converting them into
more valuable forms. In this way every farm home thus
managed becomes a factory in which foods in the raw
form, so to speak, are manufactured into what may be
termed finished form. The parents are the managers of
this factory and all the members of the family are co-
operative partners in it. Turning coarse fodders, field
roots and screenings which may have practically no value
on the farm into butter worth 20 to 25 cents per pound
LIVE STOCK AND SUCCESSFUL FARMING 7
furnishes an illustration of such profitable transformation
of food products.
The significance of distributing labor on the farm
throughout the year, lies not so much in the greater prof-
its, which in the end it usually leads to, as in the salutary
moral influence which it exerts on the farmer and his
household. Those who grow and sell grain only are
overcrowded with work during seedtime and_ harvest,
while at other seasons they are unduly idle. The influence
on the parents is not good. It gives the husband too
much time to discuss the policies of the nation in the gro-
cery and gives his wife so much time to visit her sisters,
as to militate against good housekeeping. But the chil-
dren become the chief sufferers. They have a period of
practically enforced idleness during much of the year,
notwithstanding that they attend some school. This is
most unfortunate for the reason, first, that they do not
become inured to physical labor during the formative
period, and second, that such enforced idleness makes
labor distasteful through the inertia which it leads to. In
this way encouragement is given to drifting from the
farm.
The importance of thus developing habits of industry
in the young people who grow up in farm homes cannot
be easily overestimated. Such habits usually make the
difference between success and the want of success in
farming. It is the possession of these more than anything
else that makes men reared on the farm leaders in indus-
trial centers when they center their thought on industrial
lines of work. They also tend to higher and more stable
citizenship wherever they are possessed.
Bearing on intelligence.—The general influence which
the growing and feeding of farm animals exercises on the
general intelligence of those thus engaged is unquestion-
ably beneficent. This is evidenced (1) in the nature of
the work, (2) in the necessities to which it gives rise, and
(3) in the equipment called for if it is to be successfullv
18 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
prosecuted. It is not the thought here to draw invidious
distinctions between farmers engaged in different lines of
work, but rather to show the greater complexity of the
problems of growing live stock as compared with those
in some other lines of farming, and consequently the
greater skill that must be intelligently exercised where
the work is to be a marked success.
The most simple style of agriculture that can be prac-
ticed is that pursued in pastoral districts where those who
practice it lead the life of nomads. The skill called for
in such farming relates chiefly to the selection of pastures
adapted to the needs of the flock. Tilling virgin lands
on the one crop system is a little more complex, as it in-
volves the use of implements of tillage. Rotating crops
calls for more thought and skill, since the habits of growth
in these differ, and consequently the requisites to produce
growth differ correspondingly. When fertility wanes,
those who grow crops must use some kind of fertilizers.
The proper use of these compels thought and so leads, of
necessity, to higher intelligence. When live stock are in-
troduced, additional factors of complication come with
them, owing to the necessities of the animals them-
selves.
The necessities of the animals in the lines of food and
shelter on arable farms compel diversity of a certain
kind to provide suitable food, the erection of buildings to
provide suitable shelter, preparing the foods when nec-
essary to make them more suitable and feeding them in
balance to make them more effective. The stock grower
who does not understand how to do all this with a fair
measure of efficiency is not properly equipped for his bus-
iness.
Efficient equipment on the part of the stock raiser in-
volves a reasonable knowledge, at least, of the principles
that relate to the selection of animals for rearing, breed-
ing or feeding, of those that govern development in its
LIVE STOCK AND SUCCESSFUL FARMING 19
various phases and stages, of those that relate to the se-
lection of foods, of those that govern digestion and also
of those that tend to promote the comfort and well being
of the animals. It also calls for a reasonable under-
standing of the knowledge of relative values of animals
of different types and at different stages of development,
of the relative value of foods and finished meat and milk
products that may be made from them, and the various
details of management that lead to higher achievement
in breeding, feeding and producing a finished product of
high relative value.
From the foregoing it will be plainly evident that the
individual who attains to high success in stock keeping
must be a close observer, a correct thinker, a careful bus-
iness man, an untiring student of valuable live stock
literature and unsparing in his attentions to the needs
of the animals which he keeps. In other words, he must
be possessed of intelligence and industry in no small de-
gree.
Bearing upon development.—The growing of live
stock, not only tends to advance intelligence as outlined in the
preceding sub-sections, but it would also appear to have
inherently a favorable influence on both physical and
intellectual development. This may be shown: (1) In
the fact that the foremost nations, both ancient and)
modern were consumers of animal products in addition
to vegetable products, including fruits; (2) that people
who have lived entirely or mainly on flesh alone or on
vegetables alone, have never stood in the front rank
among the peoples of the earth, and (3) that these re-
sults are the typical outcome of supreme wisdom and
design in the arrangement which results in the
growth of products from the soil that may be consumed
directly by man; of other products that can only be pre-
pared for human consumption by the animals that feed
upon them, and in the bestowment of animals capable of
thus transforming their foods.
20 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
That the foremost nations of the earth intellectually
and physically were consumers of both animal and veg-
etable products is shown in a marked degree in ancient
times by the history of the Jews, the Greeks and the
Romans. These nations produced the finest specimens of
the human race in the olden times, viewed from both
standpoints when taken together. In the more recent
centuries the Anglo-Saxon peoples have forged away to
the front as evidenced in the relative position held by
Great Britain and her colonies and more recently by the
United States, at one time a British Colony. These races
are the greatest relative consumers of animal products
in the world. In the consumption of these products per
capita, the United States stands first among all the na-
tions of the earth, and where, it may be asked, among all
these nations, can the superior of the average American
be found in physical and intellectual development.
The low development intellectually of the peoples who
live entirely or mainly on the flesh of animals is shown
in the history of the barbarous races of both ancient and
modern days. Such races have never wielded an impor-
tant influence in shaping the destinies of the human fam-
ily. They vanish in the presence of the more aggressive
races whose food blends in reasonable equilibrium, grains,
vegetables, fruits and animal products, as illustrated in
the present condition of the Indian tribes of North Amer-
ica. The showing is some better with peoples who live
mainly on vegetable products, as in the case of some of
the nations of southeastern Asia, but none of these now
occupy or have ever occupied that high position relatively
which has .been accorded to the nations above referred
to, whose people have fed on animal and _ vegetable
products.
Had no provision been made by the Creator for sus-
taining man except through the growth of products from
the soil to be consumed directly, then a very large pro-
portion of nature’s energy in production would be ex-
LIVE STOCK AND’ SUCCESSFUL FARMING 21
pended in vain, since many of earth’s products would be
consumed to no purpose so far as man is concerned. This
would be true of the major portion of the products on
which domestic animals feed. It would deprive the hu-
man family of milk, the most valuable single food prod-
uct ever given to the world. It would mean that nearly
all the coarser grains now grown would not be grown,
from the absence of a sufficient incentive to grow them,
and that the by-products of all grains grown, as bran and
gluten meal, would be a waste, from the want of animals
to consume them. On the other hand, should animals only
be grown in any considerable numbers, then their only
use would be to furnish hides. The carcasses, so valuable
now, would then be naught but waste. Nor does it re-
move the difficulty to say that domestic animals capable
of milk production were given for that purpose only,
as this still leaves unexplained the great problem as to
why half the entire number of the milk giving classes of ani-
mals are males, and therefore, incapable of milk giving. The
evident mission, therefore, of all domestic animals is to util-
ize the products of the soil for man’s advantage and they
accomplish this by turning their products into other food
forms, into materials for clothing and into energy to fur-
nish labor.
It does not follow that some examples of unusual
strength of body and mind may not be found among men
who subsist wholly on flesh or wholly on vegetables.
In communities which subsist mainly on a mixed diet of
animal and vegetable products, much of this may be due
to inheritance. But it does follow, that rulers of the
world are just about certain to be consumers of such prod-
ucts and that, therefore, animals must be grown in ever
increasing numbers as the population increases in such
countries, in order to provide them with foods so inti-
mately related to national supremacy.
Bearing on farm life—The growing of live stock has
an exceedingly important bearing on the interest taken
22 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
in farm life, and the pleasure derived from it, and it cer-
tainly tends more than any other phase of agriculture
to moor the young people of the farm to farm life. It
adds to the pleasure of life on a farm: (1) By the closer
bond that exists between the human family and animal
life than is possible between men and plants, (2) by in-
creasing the profits derived from the farm, and (3) by
making it possible to multiply farms as the necessity for
so doing increases.
The bond between humanity and plant life can never
be so close as that between humanity and animal life.
In the very nature of things it cannot be, since in plants
there is no response to attentions from the human fam-
ily other than the dumb response of growth. In addition,
from animals there is the response of submission and
more or less of friendly feeling, which is closely allied to
gratitude. In fact, it would almost seem as though domes-
tic animals were more uniformly grateful for attentions
bestowed than man. “The ox knoweth his owner and the
ass his master’s crib, but my people do not know.”
This reciprocity as it were between human and animal
life is inherent in many ways, and it begets between
young people and their pets what cannot otherwise be ex-
pressed so well as by the use of the term affection. This
is evidenced in the disconsolate grief sometimes shown
by a little maiden of the farm over the loss of a pet lamb
torn by dogs. It is also evidenced in the innate bond
that exists between young boys and their pet dogs. This
bond would seem to- be stronger in some instances than
the bond between David and Jonathan. The thrill of
feeling that comes to the farm girl in witnessing the
rapid trooping of fowls into her presence in response
to her call is such as never can come from feeding plants.
The thoughts of the pets of the farm in those early days
are thoughts that linger, and who can measure the influ-
ence which they have wielded in the decision reached
LIVE STOCK AND SUCCESSFUL FARMING 23
to stay on the farm, when inclination and outside influ-
ences pulled in an opposite direction. The bond between a
grown person on the farm and the members of his herd or
flock is also strong in a large proportion of instances. This
is evidenced in the regret which the farm matroa
feels when she sees a favorite cow of the herd driven
away to the shambles, and in the disturbing thought
that comes to the farmer when a herd or flock which he
has been feeding for months is driven away for slaughter.
Such thoughts never come into the mind when grains
are sold or any other class of vegetable products, and
they evidence the fact that the relations between the far-
mer and his dumb dependents were to him a source of
pleasure while they lasted.
The increase in the profits of the farm through the
keeping of live stock has already been discussed. (See
p. 2.) When such increased profits are wisely and
promptly shared with the members of the family who
help to earn them, the bond becomes still stronger, which
binds them to the farm.
The keeping of live stock on arable farms is of that
character known as intensive. It creates labor (see p. II).
Because it does, it makes possible more of sub-division
in farms than would be possible under other conditions
of farming. ‘This results in increase and greater prox-
imity of farm homes, with all the benefits which flow
from the same to the schools and churches in rural parts,
to social life, to the municipality, to the adjacent villages
and towns and to the nation at large.
The great relative importance of live stock has been
dwelt upon at length because of its importance. The part
that it is playing and the far greater part that it is going
to play in building high the pillar of the nation’s prosper-
ity, are but dimly understood by farmers even in the
aggregate. Hence, the justification for trying to impress
this thought upon the student of agriculture, when cross-
ing the threshold of a treatise on Feeding Farm Animals.
CHAPTER IE
PRINCIPLES THAT GOVERN THE SELECTION
OF ANIMALS.
Selecting animals, in relative importance, towers away
upward, head and shoulders above the other principles
that govern feeding. Though each of these should be
scrupulously observed, if the principle governing selec
tion is violated, marked success will be unattainable. In
proportion to the measure of such violation, will be the
want of success. So broad is it that it involves nearly
every consideration relating to breeding, and many con
siderations relating to previous management, and yet, in
discussing it, the aim will be to narrow the discussion
down to all possible brevity of statement not inconsistent
with clearness in the same.
Prominent. among the principles that govern selection
are: (1) Those that relate to adaptation in the sense of re-
quirement or use; (2) to inheritance; (3) to type or form
(4) to quality; (5) to transmission; (6) to adaptation in
its relation to environment; and (7) to the indications of
good health. The aim has been to state those principles
in the order of relative importance, except the last, which
manifestly may exercise a qualifying influence on all the
others, but coming light on these questions may show the
necessity for rearrangement.
Adaptation to réquirement.—Adaptation in the sense
requirement or use has reference to the object or objects
for which animals are kept. In the nature of things these
objects vary greatly in the different classes of domestic
animals, and they frequently differ considerably in ani-
mals of the same class, but of different breeding. Some
horses, for instance, are wanted for labor only, some for
driving only, and some for both uses. Some cattle are
24
THE SELECTION OF ANIMALS 25
grown to provide milk only, some to provide meat only,
and some to provide milk and meat. Some breeds of
sheep are kept primarily for mutton production, others
primarily for wool production, and yet others for both
uses. Likewise some breeds of swine are maintained
mainly for the purpose of producing carcasses with rela-
tively heavy hams and shoulders, and a large amount of
fat, while others are maintained primarily to produce a
large percentage of high priced side meat, with lighter
hams and shoulders, and a large proportion of lean dis-
tributed through the carcass. The former are now gen-
erally spoken of as lard hogs and the latter as bacon.
Others again have carcasses a sort of mean between the
two. The intermediate form in swine may not be quite so
pronounced as in other classes of farm animals, but it ex-
ists, nevertheless. It should also be observed that the
intermediate or dual types are, in the meantime, more
numerously kept than the other types.
It is manifest, therefore, that should animals primarily
adapted to one specific use be chosen and maintained
for the other line or lines of production for which other
animals of the same class have high adaptation, the end
sought would not be well attained, and so far as attained
it would be at an undue sacrifice of food and labor. The
same will prove true when animals adapted to two lines
of production are chosen in lieu of animals of the same
class primarily adapted to one line of production, where
that one line only is wanted. For instance, to seek the
highest quality of profitable meat from a high type dairy
cow, or the most abundant milk produ tion from a high
type beef cow, would be a forlorn hope. Likewise to ex-
pect either of these to furnish meat and milk in well bal-
anced equilibrium, as it is furnished by the dual types of
cows, or to expect the latter to equal the single purpose
cows in their own specific line of production would be an
unwarranted expectation. It is exceedingly important,
.
20 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
therefore, that animals shall be carefully chosen with
reference to the specific uses for which they are kept.
By what standards shall the selections be made? First,
by those that relate to inheritance; second, to form or
type; third, to quality; fourth, to environment; fifth, to
health, and in some instances, but not in all, to transmis-
sion. These standards are discussed below, each in its
place, hence, further discussion at this time is not neces-
sary.
Inheritance.—Inheritance in the selection of animals
for feeding, and more especially for breeding, is important,
because of the bearing it has on prospective results.
With rare exceptions these results are assured in propor-
tion (1) to the duration of the purity of the breeding; (2)
to the degree of excellence in the near ancestry; and (3)
to the correct individuality of the animals in respect to
form and also in respect to function, proved or prospec-
tive. The first is ascertained through pedigree, the sec-
ond, through facts bearing on the history, including the
performance of the animals in the near generations, and
the eye or hand or both acting in conjunction.
The importance of inheritance as a factor in selection
is not always equal. It is probably never equal except
when the particular individuals are chosen for the same
specific purpose, as when two cows, for instance, are
chosen for the same line of production in the dairy. It
varies (1) with the object for which the animals are
chosen; (2) with the duration of the period for which
they are to be kept, and (3) with the relative value of the
products which they produce.
It is very evident that selection based on inheritance,
though usually important in selecting animals for feed-
ing, is less important than when selecting them for breed-
ing. In the former instance, individual performance until
they reach the block is the only question at stake, in the
latter, succeeding generations are involved.
THE SELECTION OF ANIMALS 27
Lambs or swine purchased for feeding are seldom re-
tained on the farm for a longer period than four months,
and steers for a simular use are seldom retained for a
longer period than six months, but when young ewes,
young sows or young cows are purchased for breeding,
the greatly increased relative importance of care in se-
lecting for the latter use is at once apparent, because of
the years of prospective usefulness ahead of them. Young
horses retain utility for a longer period and, therefore,
still more care should be exercised in choosing these.
The difference in the relative value of the product re-
sulting from different classes of animals is readily appar-
ent if the production of the steer is compared with the
labor of the horse on the farm or on the road, the latter
being vastly greater viewed from the standpoint of in-
trinsic value and of duration; and the difference in the
value of animals of the same class is readily shown by
comparing the meat value of the young cow, slaughtered
at three years old, with that of her full sister, retained in
the dairy for years and capable of producing on an aver-
age 6,000 pounds of good milk in a year. Care in selecting
the latter is vastly more important than care in selecting
the former, and the same is true of the greater care and
skill necessary in choosing a horse for speeding than
when choosing one for ordinary driving.
Type or form.—The terms type and form are not quite
synonymous, but the distinctions between them are not
very wide. The latter relates more to individuality in
the animals and the former to breeds, sub-breeds or fam-
ilies within sub-breeds. The first has 1eference to that
form which is ideal for all the individuals of the breed,
sub-breed or family. In this respect it is inexorable.
The standard type is the correct type, whatever the per-
formance of the individual may be. But the standard
form is, or ought to be, that form which will bring the
highest results in performance.
28 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
In this respect, type and form are not always in abso-
lute agreement, though they ought to be. The standard.
type is that set up by the association guarding the in-
terests of the breed, while the standard form is, or ought
to be, that form in which individuality usually results
in highest performance. There is the further distinction
that type is fixed by the breeders’ associations, while form
is fixed by concurrent opinion based on practical results.
For instance, type in all the breeds of cattle differs to the
extent of the difference in breed peculiarities, while in
form there is general agreement as to the exact individual
shapes that are most likely to result in highest perform-
ance. The term type, therefore, is more correctly ap-
plied to breeds as such, while the term form is more prop-
erly applied to correct furnishings regardless of type
peculiarities. To illustrate, type in Shorthorns points
the horn up or down, form considers only its shape, re-
gardless of the pointings. Type includes color markings ;
form does not. The first more properly belongs to breeds;
the second, to individuals.
Both type and form have a very direct bearing on per-
formance. In this respect they have the strength of law
indisputable and decisive. For instance, the correct
form of a draught horse is very different from the correct
form for the standard bred horse, and the correct form
for an ideal beef producing animal is very different from
the correct form for an ideal milk producer. The per-
formance of the draught horse on the track and of the
beef type of cow in the dairy can never compare with the
performance of the standard bred horse in the one in-
stance, or of the dairy bred cow in the other. In this re-
spect a great gulf between them is fixed.
But it is true, nevertheless, that two animals may have
exactly the same form and they may be of exactly similar
inheritance, and yet the performance from them may
vary considerably, hence, type or form is only a general
guide when selecting animals for feeding or rearing. This
THE SELECTION OF ANIMALS 2)
is owing to such influences as those exercised by the
condition of the male at the time of generation, or of the
female during gestation, to the character of the food fed
before and after the birth period, and to habit as the out-
come of use or training. But it is the best guide
considered alone, when selecting animals for feed-
ing or performance, especially in the absence of a
knowledge of facts bearing on inheritance.
The relative importance of inheritance and type or form
in selecting animals is a disputed question. In this re-
spect the object sought will have an influence. In select-
ing animals for breeding and prolonged performance, it
would seem as though correct inheritance overshadowed
in importance correct form, as the results in breeding
from correct form, in the absence of correct inheritence,
would probably be very disappointing; whereas, correct
form may usually be expected to produce fair results
during the short period covered by the finishing process
for the block, in the absence of any knowledge of inheri-
tance other than that which form furnishes. Where the
two are combined, the guaranty of correct selection is so
far strengthened as to be a reasonably safe guide.
Quality.—Quality in domestic animals as now gener-
ally understood means capacity for well doing or capacity
for good performance in the line or lines for which the
animals may be kept. The indications of quality, there-
fore, are the indications of such capacity, hence, it is very
evident that the indications of quality will not be the
Same in sonie respects with these classes of animals, since
they are kept for different uses, in consequence of which
the basis of interpretation is different. So important is
the possession of quality in domestic animals, that in its
absence marked results are unattainable either in the line
of breeding or feeding.
Quality is not easily defined. In the broad sense it
would mean the possession of all the essentials requisite
to indicate at least average performance and these are
30 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
many. It would thus include evidences of correct form
for the end sought, of function as indicated in the form
and of vigorous digestion and assimilation as indicated
in the skin and the hair which covers it. In so far as it
relates to form, it is judged chiefly by the eye, to function
it is determined by both the eye and hand, and to diges-
tion and nutrition chiefly by the hand as indicated by the
sense of touch.
It would probably be correct to say that the dominant
thought in the mind when the term quality is used has
reference to the indications of good digestion and assim-
ilation because of the high relative importance of these.
The same animals may be possessed of the indications
shown by correct form and function in a marked degree,
but these will not avail when the digestion in the animal
possessing them is weak or deranged.
The indications of good digestion and assimilation are
more difficult to grasp than the indications of correct
form and function, since a knowledge of them is obtained
so largely through the sense of touch, and the difficulty
is further enhanced by the fact that present condition
of flesh effects the handling more or less. An animal in
good flesh handles more satisfactorily than one in low
flesh, since the skin and hair are better nourished through
the added vigor given to the circulation of the blood from
which came the good flesh. The skin will, in consequence,
be more pliant and the hair more abundant and soft.
Nevertheless, the difference between the handling of lean
animals in the same condition is quite marked, sufficiently
so to furnish a correct basis for judgment.
The handling of animals with a view to throw light on
their digestive qualities is done chiefly: (1) Through gen-
tle pressure of the finger tips on various parts of the
body; (2) light pressure and lateral movement of the in-
side of the four fingers over the ribs; (3) gently grasping
the hide also over the ribs between the thumb and fore-
fingers or within the hand, and (4) passing more or less of
THE SELECTION OF ANIMALS 31
. locks of hair between the thumb and two forefingers.
The greater the degree of electricity in the first instance,
of ready vibration in the second, of softness and easy
lifting up in the third, and of soft and velvety feeling in
the fourth, the stronger relatively are the indications of
good digestion and assimilation. These modes of judg-
_ ing of digestive qualities, in the very nature of things, do
not apply equally to the different classes of animals be-
cause of the different physical conformation and furnis" -
ings. They apply most perfectly to cattle.
In beef cattle the chief indications of quality are: (1)
Certain requisites of form essential to a high order of beef
production (see p. 138); (2) good handling qualities, and
(3) a quiet disposition.
In dairy cattle the chief indications of quality include :.
(1) Certain requisites of form essential to milk production
of a high order (see p. 142); (2) good handling qualities
though not so necessarily marked as in beef animals; (3)
indications of sufficient nerve power (see p. 146), and (4)
good development of the lacteal system (see p. 145).
In sheep the more important indications of quality are:
(1) Certain requisites of form essential to making good
mutton freely (see p. 151), and (2) good handling qualities,
including a pinkish color of the skin and lustrous wool,
plentiful in supply for the breed and possessed of an
abundance of yolk (see p. 152). The handling is ascer-
tained chiefly through the covering of the essential parts,
the elasticity of the flesh and readiness of vibration in the
skin under general lateral pressure over the ribs.
In swime the more important indications of quality
include: (1) Certain requisites of form essential to thz
production of a large quantity of meat of the kind desired
on the more valuable parts (see p. 153); (2) good hanc-
ling qualities, and (3) a quiet disposition. Handling in
swine as an indication of quality relates chiefly to the
hair, but does not overlook the skin so apparent to the
eye (see p. 154).
32 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
In horses the chief indications of quality include: .
(1) Those essentials of form which are requisite to enable
each type or class to render in a marked degree such per-
formance as it is mainly designed to furnish (see pp. 156
and159); (2) that degree of cleanliness, soundness and cor-
rectness of shape in bone and limb, which indicates present
and prospective prolonged usefulness (see pp. 157 and 160) ;
(3) such action as indicates high merit in that line for the
type of class (see p. 161), and (4) evidences of that degree
of spirit and staying power peculiar to each class, which is
the promise and also the accompaniment of high per-
formance. :
Any who may desire to follow the subject further are
referred to my book, “Animal Breeding,’ pages 215 to
227, where it is discussed at some length.
Adaptation to environment.—Environment exercises
a more potent influence on animals that are retained for
breeding than on those that are selected for a temporary
period of feeding. But it would not be correct to say
that environment exercises no influence in the latter re-
spect, for it does, as may be shown by the adverse influ-
ence of disturbing sights and sounds on timid lambs, pre-
viously unused to these, during the feeding period; by the
disturbing and retarding influence on development of flies
and excessive heat on swine that are being fattened; and
by the slower fleshing of steers in a feed lot paved with
mud and mire while being made ready for the block. But
these influences are largely under the control of the owner,
and because of the short duration of the feeding period
may be so far met as to ward off in part, or wholly, the in-
fluence which they would otherwise exert in retarding the
development sought, other influences, however, cannot be
met without an expense that may greatly cut in upon and
even absorb all profits, and in some respects they cannot
be met at all. Of the first class are the foods which under
the natural and artificial conditions may be furnished. Of
THE SELECTION OF ANIMALS 33
the second class are the unalterable conditions that apper-
tain to the contour of certain soils, to the unremovable ob-
structions to tillage found in them, and to the degree of
their exposure, climatic influences also included.
The power of environment to produce modification,
sometimes almost imperceptible and again more quickly, is
so great as to be in a sense irresistible. It is one of those
mighty forces that work in silence. The rapidity of the
modification produced is proportionate to the intensity of
the changed conditions to which the animals are subjected.
Nature unassisted at length brings to that level which the
natural conditions of soil and climate can maintain, the
animals subjected to such environment, and man can mod-
ify the results by the extent to which he resorts to artificial
conditions when caring for them.
Natural environment may exercise an influence in
the direction of increase or decrease according to its
nature. Illustrations of the former are found: (1) in the
greater size of Southdown sheep on rich prairie lands, than
of the same on their native downs in England; (2) in the
wonderful hardihood of Sable island ponies and of certain
sheep bred on islands off the coast of Maine and (3) in the
great powers of endurance of the average horse bred for
generations on the range. [Illustrations of the latter are
found: (1) In the decreased size of the Lincoln sheep
brought to hill pastures; (2) in the decrease of bone, size,
stamina and breeding qualities of swine kept for genera-
tions in the corn belt of the United States and (3) in the
lessened hardihood of West Highland cattle long sub-
jected to artificial conditions.
Selecting animals for breeding without due reference to
environment is a mistake that is all too common, and it is a
mistake in all instances costly in proportion to the extent to
which the conditions of environment have been violated in
the choice. The breeder who attempts to rear Shorthorns
on pastures only fit to sustain the small Devons under-
takes the task of the engine which draws a heavy train
34 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
up grade. No question is more frequently put with refer-
ence to selection than that which asks, ‘““Which is the best
breed?” The best breed is that which will give the best re-
turns for the food fed, having due regard for the objects
for which it is kept, under the conditions of environment
to which it is subjected.
Health indications—No consideration in selection is
more important than the indications that relate to good
health whether present or prospective. Under conditions
unartificial, animals usually die only from old age when
they do not fall a prey to those that are stronger. If dec-
imated by some disease, epidemic in its nature, such dis-
ease has been introduced from some outside source, and
when it runs its course does not originate again within
the breed.
The moment, however, that artificial conditions are 1n-
troduced, the danger arises that stamina will be lowered,
notwithstanding other advantages that may be gained, and
that it will be lowered in proportion to the extent to
which the animals are subjected to artificial conditions, as
strikingly illustrated in the vigor of the wild hog as com-
pared with the pampered hog of the corn belt. Happily,
however, artificial conditions so conducive to generous pro-
duction when of the right kind, are in no way necessarily
inconsistent with the maintenance of good health in ani.
mals. It is when the conditions are unwise or are carried
beyond a prudential limit that they unduly lower stamina,
as for instance, when cattle and sheep are too closely
housed in winter, or where swine are fed too continuously
on corn.
Conditions of good health—tThe following are promi-
nent indications of good health in animals: (1) A full,
bright eye. The moment that the general kealth becomes
impaired the eye begins to lose its brightness, and as
disease progresses, it sinks and becomes languid, the
immediate cause being lack of sustenance. (2) A moist,
dewy muzzle. With derangement in the circulation and
THE SELECTION OF ANIMALS 35
a rising temperature, moistness in the muzzle, which is
always abundant in a healthy animal, grows less, the
immediate cause being inactivity of the excretory or-
gans. (3) A fairly active play of the ears. Such action
is the evidence of generated power seeking opportunity
to expend itself. (4) An abundant, smooth and glossy
coat. The same instances that produce elasticity in the
hide. produce glossiness in the coat. But the degree of
such smoothness and glossiness is much influenced by
the weather. Subjected to exposure, the animal may
be in good health and yet have a much rougher coat than >
ore not so exposed. (5) An active carriage. An active
carriage bears testimony to healthful action in all the
organs of the system, and especially to those concerned
in digestion. No sooner do these organs lose vigor than
there is a corresponding loss of freeness of movement and
activity in the carriage. These indications have been taken
substantially from the book, “Animal Breeding,” by the au-
thor. Closely allied to them are the indications of con-
stitutional vigor discussed in the same work (p. 290).
But the germs of some diseases may exist in animals
and no indications of the same be manifest to the eye.
Such are tuberculosis in cattle, tape and also stomach
worms in sheep. In the summer of 1905 the author
saw a herd of 32 head of Scotch Shorthorn cows at
Rockland, Ont., Canada, every one of which had _ re-
- sponded to the tuberculin test. They fed in a pasture
con the farm of Hon. W. C. Edwards who was experi-
menting in a large way as to the outcome of rearing
calves from tuberculous dams, but on milk obtained from
healthy animals. For some time previously Mr. Ed-
wards had been purchasing representatives of certain Scotch
families to be retained for future breeding. In every in-
stance, when brought to the farm they had been sub-
jected to the tuberculin test and those which responded
were given a place in the tuberculous herd. In the high
30 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
character of the breeding, in magnificent individual develop-
ment and in satisfactory condition as to flesh and
apparent thrift at the time, it is more than questionable
if this herd, for the number of animals in it, could have
been equaled in America, and yet, every now and then,
some individual of the herd would pine away and at
length succumb to the disease, nor can it be certainly
told from the appearance, whether tapeworm or stom-
ach worm is present or not in mature sheep. If indi-
cations exist, therefore, which happily they do, that are
any guaranty of prospective good health in animals, their
importance will be at once apparent.
The indications of prospective good health, or rather,
indications that are a guaranty of these, are to be sought
in the records of the ancestry in the near generations
and in the health of the herd during recent years. For
instance, if a cow that has suckled her own calves has
produced one or more that has been found tubercular
when purchased for breeding, it would be very unwise
to invest in any of the progeny reared by the same. If
stomach worm or tapeworm has been known to dec-
imate a flock of sheep during recent years, it would be
exceedingly unwise to purchase breeding animals from
the same unless sufficient evidence has been furnished
that the germs have been removed from the flock. Since
the seeds of the disease may thus be introduced with an-
imals apparently in perfect health, and which may never »
succumb to such parasitic diseases or show any indica-
tions of injury from them, and yet those same seed germs
may prove the source of great harm to the flock in the
future, even to the extent of destroying it. When swine
are purchased for breeding from herds that are accus-
tomed to run behind cattle in the feed or pasture lot,
that are being fed on whole grain, the danger is present
that tuberculosis may thus be introduced into the breed-
ing herd, unless it is positively known that no individuals
of the breed are affected with tuberculosis.
THE SELECTION OF ANIMALS 37,
To purchase such animals for feeding may not incur
great hazard with the animals themselves, because of
the short duration of the feeding term. But it does al-
ways incur hazard to breeding animals on the same
farm unless these are at all times kept from coming in
contact with the feeding animals or their surroundings.
To purchase swine for feeding in proximity to cholera
infected areas, is always hazardous, as an outbreak of the
same may not only decimate the swine in the feed lot,
but in the breeding pens also. The aim should be to
rear the animals for the feed lot to the greatest extent
practicable on the farms on which they are finished. The
barter carried on in live stock in rural communities is re-
sponsible more than anything else for the distribution of live
stock diseases.
Transmission.—It is not necessary of course to con-
sider transmitting properties when selecting animals for
feeding only. In such instances, inheritance may be
greatly important, but, since the animals are not to be
used in breeding, transmitting properties are of no ac-
count. But when the selection pertains to animals to be
retained for breeding, then it becomes all important.
Correct transmission is another name for prepotency,
and prepotency means the power to transmit individual
and breed properties to the progeny. The guarantees of
desirable prepotency are: (1) Purity of breeding, for sev-
eral generations on the side of both sire and dam: (2)
high performance in the individuals of the near ancestry
on the side of both sire and dam; (3) line breeding, bit
not carried to the point of weakened stamina; and (4)
indications of marked individual stamina or bodily vigor.
An animal possessed of all these requisites will assuredly
be prepotent. But when selecting animals for breeding,
it is not only necessary that they shall be prepotent, but
it is all important that they shall be possessed of prepo-
tency adapted to the end sought. Prepotency in trans-
mitting flesh making properties to the dairy cow rather
38 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
than milk producing properties would make high class
dairy performance impossible, and prepotency in trans-
mitting a weak type of stamina would soon result in ret-
rogression, alarming in character. It is all important,
therefore, that animals shall be chosen for breeding with
the most careful reference to desirable prepotency.
Desirable prepotency, in other words desirable trans-
mission, may be defined as prepotency in consonance
with the principal objects sought by the breeder. In
breeding horses it will mean transmission relating pri-
marily to labor or speed requisites as the case may be; in
breeding beef cattle to desirable form and milk elabora-
tion; in dual cattle to desirable equilibrium in form, milk
production and meat production; in sheep, to desirable
form for profitable mutton production and wool pro-
duction of tke kind wanted; in swine, to desirable
form for making heavy hams and shoulders or a large
amount of bacon. Such prepotency relates to the pos-
session of many additional requisites in each instance, but
these are stated with more or less of precision in the
chapter on type or form (see p. 133).
Bearing on digestion.—lIt will be eyident from what has
been said, that transmission has an important bearing on
the character of the digestion, and vigorous digestion has
an important bearing on the generation of the requisite
force or speed wanted in horses, meat or milk elabora-
tion or both in cattle; mutton or wool production in
sheep, and fat or leaner meat in pork. It would naturally
follow, therefore, that in prepotent animals, all digestion
will have, so to speak, a natural bias in the direction of
production for which animals of the breed or grade
are primarily kept, that is to say, it will be bias in the
direction of producing force, speed, flesh, milk, mutton,
wool, fat or lean. It is also self evident that this bias
will not be markedly interchangeable, that is to say, if
acting strongly in one direction, as in meat making, its
action will be proportionately lessened in the opposite
THE SELECTION OF ANIMALS 39
direction as in milk making. It follows then that
highest attainment in milk and also in beef production
cannot be secured in one and the same bovine. The same is
true of speed and force in the horse, mutton and wool
making in the sheep, and fat and lean production in
swine. But this fact is in no sense antagonistic with
medium attainment in both directions when the animals
have been so bred.
In the face of these irrevocable laws, it has been
claimed that a cattle beast of dairy or scrub blood will
make gains as cheaply and as quickly as a steer of beef
blood, some tests conducted at experiment stations seem
to favor this view. Other tests, but probably not so
many, favor the opposite view. With reference to the
former it may be said that they relate to periods of feed-
ing of short duration, and it may be they are accounted
for in part by the leaner condition in which dairy and
scrub animals usually are when the period of fattening
begins, and in part because of the influence of individual
vigor on digestion.
This explains why, in the face of the fact, that the
compact form, other things being equal, will produce
gains most cheaply and quickly, a less compact form
will in certain instances, excel in both respects. It also
explains why, though constitutional vigor is usually most
strikingly associated with good chest development, ani-
mals with less of chest development will frequently
possess more vigor than the former.
Nevertheless the fact remains, that the unchangeable
law of transmission that like begets like, other things be-
ing equal, should and doubtless will enable the well bred
beef animal to make gains more quickly and cheaply
than the well bred dairy, common or scrub animal. If
this is not true, then by parity of reasoning it should
follow, other things being equal, that this high class beef
animal should under certain conditions produce milk
as abundantly and cheaply as the high class dairy animal,
40 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
which is absurd. It would also follow that it would be
impossibie to fix a bias in the system pronouncedly in
the direction of one kind of production as meat or milk,
as a reasonably certain factor in transmission.
Bearing on quality—Transmission also has an impor-
tant bearing on quality in performance and production,
and also on habit. The influence which it exercises on
performance is seen in the character of the action
possessed by draft and standard bred horses _ respec-
tively. The influence which it exerts on quality is very
clearly shown in what may be termed breed character-
istics in the quality of meat, milk and wool. The in-
fluence which it exercises on habit is well shown in the dif-
ference in the prolificacy of certain breeds of sheep and
swine.
While easy and vigorous action is required in kind, of
both draft and standard bred horses, the speed of the
latter must greatly exceed that of the former, and the
same is true of the ability to maintain speed prolonged
in duration. On the other hand, the strength of the
former must greatly exceed that of the latter.
In beef and dairy breeds of cattle the difference in the
depth of the covering of loin and sirloin, and in the
weight of the thigh is markedly in favor of the former.
The latter also puts on relatively much more internal fat
when being finished. In the beef breeds the difference
between the covering of fat on the loin and the streak-
ing and flecking of the meat in various parts of the car-
cass, that is the intermingling of the fat and lean, is
marked. The same is true of the mutton breeds of
sheep and also of the texture of the meat in these with
reference to toughness or tenderness and coarseness or
fineness of fiber. In swine the difference in quality is
markedly seen in the contrast in the amount of streak-
ing of the fat and lean in the side meat.
THE SELECTION’ OF ANIMALS 41
Some breeds of dairy cattle produce milk with a high
percentage of iat as a breed characteristic in the milk,
but only moderate in quantity. Such for instance are
the Jersey and Guernsey. They produce a quality in
milk which it has taken centuries of careful breeding to
reach; other breeds as the Holstein, produce a large flow
of milk with a relatively low per cent of butter fat, but
the claim that it is richer in casein may possibly be
correct. So fixed is the character of the transmission in
the instances cited, that years and years of careful breed-
ing and selection would be required to make any impor-
tant modification, for the reason that modification in
quality of production is far more difficult to attain than
modification in form.
Contrasts in sheep—The wide and striking contrasts in
the character of the wool in sheep furnish notable in-
stances of the potency of transmission relating to quality
in production. In some breeds of sheep not more than
500 wool fibers are produced on one inch square of the
body, while on others as many as 1,500 have been pro-
duced. In some breeds the normal length of fibre is not
more than 2 to 3 inches, in others it is not less than Io to
12 inches in very good specimens. To transform the one
kind of wool into the exact counterpart of the other, more
especially when the change is from extremely fine to ex-
tremely coarse or the opposite, would take more years
than are usually allotted to an average life. Some breeds
of sheep, as the Dorset, are very prolific, and the same is
true of some of the breeds of bacon swine; other breeds
in both classes produce less numerously and less regu-
larly. The breeding habit also influences the season for
breeding, as shown in the production of autumn lambs
by the Dorsets as a normal feature of production. But
modification in breeding habit is much more easily se-
cured than modification in quality of production.
42 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
Food exercises more or less of an influence in relation
to transmission in the lines mentioned, but it usualiy acts
slowly as a factor in securing permanent modification,
especially in relation to quality in production. The most
potent influence in securing such modification is the
proper selection of the purely bred sires used in breeding.
CHAPTER III
PRINCIPLES THAT GOVERN SELECTING
FOODS
In selecting foods for feeding farm animals, for what-
soever purpose they may be kept, certain principles
should be observed which have the strength of law.
Prominent among these are the following: (1) The aim
should be to choose foods so that they may be fed in
approximate equilibrium as to their constituents; (2) the
equilibrium or balance in foods varies much with the
class of animals to which they are fed, with the age of the
animals in the same class, and with the object sought
from feeding them; (3) under some conditions it may be
more profitable to feed foods out of balance than in
equilibrium as to their constituents; (4) the chemical
analysis of a food is not in itself a complete measure of
its value for feeding; (5) when choosing foods a due re-
gard must be had to the proportion of bulk or concentra-
tion in the same with reference to the end sought
from feeding them in order to obtain the best results; (6)
succulent foods are more favorable to milk production
than those of similar analysis as to nutrients, but lacking
in succulence; (7) variety in foods will produce returns
more satisfactory than will those of similar analysis, but
lacking in variety when fed for long periods; (8) the
value of foods is influenced by the nutrients they contain,
by the condition of the nutrients as to digestibility, by
the influence which they exert on development and pro-
duction, and by the fertility which they furnish.
Equilibrium in foods.—Equilibrium in foods means the
possession of nutrients in such proportion as are neces-
sary to meet the needs of the animals to which they are
43
44 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
fed. The chief food elements in foods are known as pro-
tein, carbohydrates, ether extract and ash. They also
contain more or less water according to the kind of the
food and the stage of maturity at which it is fed. Each
of these food elements has a distinct mission to perform
in the sustenance of the body. Protein, for instance, is
chiefly concerned in producing flesh and the vital fluids of
the body, carbohydrates in producing fat and heat and
ether extract in producing fat. These foods are fed in
equilibrium when the components which they furnish
are in exact proportion to the needs of the animals to
which they are fed. For instance, the protein in the
food is in equilibrium when it is present in sufficient
quantity to meet the exact needs of the animals to which
it is fed with reference to flesh production. Carbohy-
drates are in equilibrium when they meet exactly the
needs of the animals with reference to heat and fat pro-
duction. Likewise fat is in equilibrium when it properly
fulfils its mission and the same is true of ash when it
properly furnishes the elements for the growth and sus-
tenance of bone. These are also in equilibrium when they
bear a relation to one another resulting in the most
economic use of each.
It is very apparent, therefore, that when these food ele-
ments are fed out of balance waste must result. For in-
stance, should protein be fed in excess, the amount fed
in excess of the needs of the animal would be wasted.
The same would be true of the other food elements, for
the system can only appropriate so much; any amount
fed beyond this will not be utilized.
The danger is also present that there will be one-sided
developments where protein is fed in excess, the muscular
development will be in excess of the development of fat
and bone in the growing animal. When carbohydrates
are fed in excess muscular development will be arrested
by an excess of fat production. When ash is fed in ex-
cess, bone development will be out of balance. Results
THE. SELECTION OF FOODS 45
the opposite will follow if these nutrients are insufficient
in supply. It would be easily possible to feed foods so
out of balance as to entirely defeat the objects for which
animals are grown. An exclusive corn diet for instance,
fed to swine grown and maintained for breeding uses,
would in time, reduce size, weaken bone and destroy
breeding properties, so highly carbonaceous is it.
Two factors add much to the difficulty found in feed-
ing foods in equilibrium or balance. One of these is the
variations in the needs of the animals to which the foods
are fed, and the other is the variations in foods at differ-
ent periods of growth. Take for instance the horse
grown for work. When a colt, much protein is needed
in the food to make muscle and much ash to make bone.
When the animal is grown and set to work, a much
larger proportion of carbohydrates are needed to sustain
energy and to prevent excessive waste of tissue. These
variations must be taken into account by the successful
feeder and he must strive to govern his work accord-
ingly.
Variations in the foods are to some extent caused by
variations in climate and soil. These are not usually
greatly significant in degree. But those variations are
greatly significant that relate to the constituents of
plants at different stages of development. Take for
instance the corn plant. In the early stages of its
growth, it is succulent, and not specially rich in carbo-
hydrates. These increase with increasing maturity in
the plant. Subsequently to harvesting, the food nutrients
are decreased in the fodder by exposure and it loses in
palatability. Hence the value of corn as a food plant
varies continually at every stage of its growth and
utilization.
Some few foods are balanced in themselves. Grass is
one of these. This at least is true of some kinds of
grass. Because it is so, additional food is not usually
given to animals abundantly supplied with = grass.
46 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
Usually, however, it is absolutely necessary to feed foods
in combination, for the reason first, that one is lacking
in certain food elements, and second, that another
possesses these, hence, feeding the second makes it the
complement of the first.
From what has been said, it will be readily apparent
that the whole question of feeding animals is one that
calls for the exercise of much intelligence. It is a com-
plicated work. So complicated is it that it may be al-
most impossible in practical feeding to feed foods in
exact balance. Usually of course it would be desirable
to feed them thus. Notwithstanding, such feeding may
not give results absolutely satisfactory as is shown later
(see p. 48). The qualifying factors of digestibility, pal-
atability and incidental influence on digestion must be
considered. For practical purposes it will suffice to feed
foods in approximate equilibrium. It is not difficult to
feed them thus. From such feeding there may be some
waste, but it will not be serious. Tables giving the
chemical composition of feeding stuffs are easily access-
ible. Some of these give the constituents of digestibility
as well, hence the individual who uses the foods which
he may feed according to the information thus given,
will not fail to feed them in approximate balance.
Changes in equilibrium.—The equilibrium or balance
in foods varies much with the class of animals to which
they are fed, with the age of the animals in the same
class and with the objects sought from feeding them.
A ration that is inexact balance to meet the needs of a
horse at work, of cows giving milk and of swine that are
growing is so radically different that the difference will
be at once apparent to any who are at all familiar with
the needs of these classes of animals. The first calls for
food with concentration and but moderate bulk, the
second calls for much bulk and not more than moderate
concentration. and the third requires but little bulk and
much concentration. It is evident, therefore, that the
THE SELECTION OF FOODS 47
measure of value in the same food for the different
classes of animals is very different. Oats for instance, are
more valuable relatively to the horse at work than to the
cow in milk, since they are unexcelled in producing
energy and in sustaining muscle so much needed by the
horse. The cow is not so much in need of sustenance of
the kinds named. She wants foods that will produce
milk freely at moderate cost. Other foods will do this
which usually cost less, but oats are more valuable rela-
tively for cows than for swine, since the large amount
of hull renders them less well adapted to the digestion of
swine than to that of cows.
The necessity for changing the equilibrium or balance
in the foods fed with the age of the animal within the
class is equally apparent. It is so whether considered
with reference to digestibility, bulk or concentration, or
the character of the nutrients. The young caif is sus-
tained for a time solely on food taken in the liquid form
and easily digestible. Later meal is given nearly all of
which is digestible; as time goes on the young animal
becomes gradually more capable of digesting food with-
out harm which contains relatively more crude fiber.
With increasing age the calf becomes more capable of
digesting more and more bulky foods. In fact these are
necessary to its proper development. If they are with-
held unduly, the want of distention in the stomach and
digestive system generally will be proportionate, and
just in proportion to that want of distension will be the
lack of capacity to take enough food to result in high
performance.
The necessity for such variation is usually recognized.
The same cannot always be said with reference to modi-
fication in the nutrients given, notwithstanding that the
latter is in some respects as essential as the former. The
young animal will not develop a frame equal to the
average in its class unless it is given enough of ash in the
food to accomplish such an end. When matured, ash
48 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
is needed only to repair waste. So also it must have
enough protein to supplement the ash in building the
framework and in covering it with the requisite muscle.
Where either or both are lacking the development will not
be of the highest order. Carbohydrates are needed to
furnish the requisite heat and fat which the animal re-
quires. They are needed in less proportion when it is
young than when it grows older, for the reason first, that
the machinery of digestion runs more rapidly near the
birth period and consequently generates more heat in
proportion to the amount of food consumed, and second,
that during the period of growth much muscle is wanted
rather than much fat. It is very evident, therefore, that
the ration suited to a mature animal at rest should con-
tain more of carbohydrates relatively and less of protein
than would be suited to a young animal]
The objects for which animals are fed are equally insis-
tent in their demand for variation in the food given to them.
The calf that is being prepared for veal calls for food that
is rich in fat, such as whole milk or its equivalents, that
grown for being fattened at a later period or for milk
production calls for food with but litle fat in it, such as
skim milk furnishes. The animal grown for baby beef,
must have more of carbohydrates in its food than that grown
for being fattened later. Likewise the animal that is
giving milk must be given more of protein and less of
carbohydrates than would suffice for the same animal
while being fattened. Similarly, illustrations could be
multiplied of the necessity for variation in the food
nutrients in feeding all classes of domestic animals kept
on the farm.
Foods not in equilibrium.—In some instances it may
be advantageous viewed from the standpoint of profit to
feed foods out of balance, that is to feed an excess of car-
bohydrates in some cases and an excess of protein in
others. This may happen when some food factor, rich
THE SELECTION OF FOODS 49
in one class of nutrients, is relatively cheap and another
class, opposite in character, is relatively high.
It has been found profitable, in some instances, to feed
corn out of balance rather than to go to the expense of
purchasing protein to feed it in balance. When corn is
fed thus it will not be possible to secure gains so satis-
factory as when it is fed in balance, but it is possible in
many instances to secure gain thus, more cheaply than
if it resulted from feeding balanced foods under these con-
ditions. When corn was so abundant that it was used as
fuel in running steam engines, it was in order to feed
such corn out of balance to both cattle and swine up to a
certain limit, rather than to purchase the protein needed
in order to balance the ration.
It has also been found profitable in some instances to
feed protein in excess, as for instance in the western
valleys where alfalfa grows abundantly and carbohy-
drate foods as corn are scarce. The alfalfa thus fed out
of balance is in part to some extent wasted, but allowing
for this, the product resulting is more cheaply made than
it would be through the purchase of corn to balance up
the ration.
There are localities in which it is not so easy to grow
foods in balance as out of balance, because of natural
adaptation. For instance, in western mountain valleys
it would be possible to grow alfalfa so as to obtain much
more food per acre than could be obtained from corn.
Likewise in certain areas of the western states it is
easily possible to obtain food nutrients from corn, greatly
in excess of those obtained from a similar area in the
form of clover or alfalfa or indeed of any other protein
food. In these facts and under these conditions, the
feeding of foods out of balance finds much justification.
Nevertheless it should be the aim where at all possible
to grow foods so that they can be fed in balance. It is
usually much easier to obtain a sufficiency of carbohy-
drates than of protein, because of their abundance, but
50 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
it should be the aim, nevertheless, to grow a sufficiency
of protein. The value of protein foods grown in the
locality cannot usually be measured by the food which
they furnish. They generally add to the fertility of the
soil in the process of growth. In fact they always do if
of the legume class. The fertility which they bring to the
land in some instances, goes far to equal the value of the
food nutrients which they furnish. It would probably
be correct to say that the adaptation is such in nearly all
localities, that a sufficiency of both protein and carbohy-
drate plants may be grown to make it possible to feed
them in balance without the necessity of purchasing from
an outside source On the other hand such purchase
would not only be justifiable but would also be com-
mendable, when relative values will justify the same.
Nor does it always follow that such unbalanced feeding
will be the most profitable in the end though it may be
the cheaper in the meantime. Suppose, when growing
an animal for breeding purposes, for labor, or for milk.
giving of a high order, that during the growing period it
is fed food in excess that is highly carbonaceous, as corn,
the usefulness of the animal for either purpose would be
materially lessened. Its size would be less than normal.
Its bone would not be of the best and the habit in diges-
tion of using the food materials for building and main-
taining the body would be so fixed that the milk giving
capacity would be lessened. In such instances it would
be better to purchase some protein to help at least to
balance the ration, unless the cost of the same was ex-
cessive. When, however, the question is one of finishing
an animal which is to be sent to the block after a few
months of feeding, there need be no hesitancy in feeding
foods out of balance even for prolonged periods, where
the lacking element or elements are present in such
quantity as to prevent any loss further than is entailed
in the waste of the food fed in excess, when values
THE SELECTION OF FOODS 51
justify such a course. It may also be justifiable to feed
them out of balance.
Analysis not a complete guide—VWhen selecting
rations for feeding the fact should be borne in mind that
the chemical analysis of foods is not a complete guide as
to their feeding value. It is not for the reason first, that
the analysis does not give the exact degree of the
digestibility, second, that it says nothing about the palat-
ability, and third, that it takes no account of the influ-
ence which the product exercises on the general diges-
tion.
The analysis gives the various components of any food
viewed from the standpoint of the nutrients which it con-
tains, but it does not always tell what proportion of the vari-
ous nutrients is digestible. Two foods may give the same
chemical analysis and yet the feeding value of the one
may greatly exceed that of the other, for no other reason
than that a much larger proportion of the several nutri-
ents in the one are more digestible than in the other. Of
course the digestibility of foods viewed from the stand-
point of averages has been worked out by the chemist
and the experimenter laboring in conjunction, but the
digestibility can only be taken as an approximate guide.
The importance of palatability in foods as a measure
of their value is very great. Other things being equal, a
food is valuable in proportion as it is palatable, that is,
in proportion to the degree of the palatability which it
possesses, and in proportion to the percentage of the
same consumed as the result of such palatability. The
analysis of the chemist can throw no light on either
aspect of this question. At one time it was supposed
that palatability was important only because of the in-
fluence which it exercised on the consumption of food.
Now it is known that it exercises more or less influence
on digestion. That has been demonstrated by experi-
ment. It aids digestion by increasing the flow of the
gastric juices and possibly in other ways. But the most
52 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
important influence which it exercises is on the in-
creased consumption which results from increased pala-
tability. The influences that affect palatability are variety
in plants, maturity, harvesting and preparation for feeding.
A food may be fed possessed of certain nutrients and
while it may answer well the purpose for which it is fed,
it cannot be said that it exercises any perceptible influence
on the other foods fed along with it. Other foods again are
fed which invariably exercise such an influence. They do
so by the favorable influence which they exert on the diges-
tive organs and digestive processes. They put the system
in better tone. For instance, should the faces indicate con-
stipation, some food can be fed in limited quantity which
corrects such a condition. Such a food is found in wheat,
bran and oil cake. Other foods may produce undue laxness.
The influence may be counteracted by feeding but a limited
quantity of some other food. Such a food is found in dry
fodder of certain kinds. The analyses of these foods can-
not indicate anything as to these influences. It would not
be possible to measure the additional influence thus exerted
by these foods, but under some conditions it would seem
safe to say that this influence is in some instances of greater
value than the direct influence exerted through their food
nutrients. (See page 270.)
Bulk and concentration in foods.—A due relation
must be maintained between the relative bulk and concen-
tration in the foods fed. The laws of physical conformation
demand this and the demand is imperative. This relation
differs first, with the different classes of animals; second,
with the same class at different ages; and third, with the
objects for which they are kept.. It cannot be ignored by the
successful breeder and feeder, because of the relation which
it bears first, to relative production; second, to relative
cost in relation to production; and third, to the influence
which it exercises on continued production.
This relation differs greatly in different classes of ani-
mals. They differ greatly in their capacity to consume and
THE SELECTION OF FOODS 53
digest bulky foods. Chauveau gives the total capacity of
the stomach of the horse as 19 quarts, of the ox as 226.9
quarts, of the sheep in its various divisions 31.3 quarts, and
of the hog as 8.5 quarts. With horses and swine, however,
the intestinal capacity is much larger than with cattle and
sheep. Notwithstanding, the superior ability of the latter
to consume relatively larger quantities of bulky foods is
apparent, both from the relatively larger stomach capacity
and from the better mastication which they can give to
these while ruminating. The pig, because of the smallness
of the stomach, is the least well adapted to consume bulky
food. To attempt to rear an animal thus constituted on bulky
foods only would be fatal to success.
The difference in the needs of the animals of the same
class at different ages is very marked with reference to the
bulk and concentration in the foods fed. The stomach of a
calf is relatively small. This is particularly true of the first
stomach. To feed a young calf bulky food would be fatal
to its well being. The stomach has not sufficient distension
for such a food, nor have the organs sufficient capacity to
digest it. The introduction of bulky foods must be gradual
and increasingly progressive. The adaptation to modified
digestive capacity gradually secures the distension neces-
sary. By the time a cattle beast becomes grown, it may
easily be maintained on bulky foods only. This change in
digestive capacity is found in all domestic animals, but not
in equal degree, because of the differences in digestive
capacity.
The objects for which the animals are kept, influence
in a marked degree the relative proportions in the bulk and
concentration in the foods fed. It would seem correct to
say that necessity for bulk in foods is greatest during the
growing period, and that the necessity for concentration
increases with production required from the living animal
in the form of food and labor, and that it is greatest when
the animal is being finished for the block. Under favor-
able conditions, horses, cattle and sheep may be grown to
54 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
maturity but not to earliest maturity on bulky foods alone;
especially is this true of the two latter. But the best returns
in milk and labor cannot be secured without more or less
concentration in the foods fed.
The digestive capacity is not sufficiently ample to give
the highest returns in milk in the one case and labor in
the other, notwithstanding that such foods may be fed in
equilibrium as to their constituents. When animals are
being finished in finest form for the block, the necessity for
concentration in the foods is greatest. As in the case of
animals producing milk and labor, they cannot consume
enough of the bulky foods to furnish a sufficiency of nutri-
ents to produce the milk required in the one instance and
labor in the other. On the necessity for a sufficiency of
concentrated food to effect the end sought is based
the universal custom of feeding grain in the instances named
in addition to the fodders.
That the feeder who ignores the intimate relation be-
tween bulk and concentration in foods will pay a propor-
tionate penalty is easily shown. The breeder who grows
a heifer on foods too concentrated rears an animal so lack-
ing in stomach distension, that it cannot consume a sufh-
ciency of bulk products. The one who grows a beast on
foods too bulky for its tender age, has an animal with so
much of paunch that it will have an excess of waste in the
carcass for highest use on the block. Swine reared subse-
quent to the weaning period on pasture will not make suf-
ficient gains. Those fed during the growing period on
corn only, will not make sufficient growth. The necessity
for equilibrium in bulk and concentration in the foods fed
would seem to be about as important as the necessity for
equilibrium in the chemical relation of foods, and yet it has
been given much less attention than the former by the au-
thorities on animal nutrition. The relative cost of bulky
foods and concentrates respectively should be duly consid-
ered when feeding animals. Other things being equal, the
THE SELECTION OF FOODS 55
greatest profit will be made from feeding these in equilib-
rium. But because of the contrast in values it may be
advantageous sometimes to feed them somewhat out of
equilibrium. Tor instance, when corn was low in price, in
certain states of the corn belt years ago and clover was not
plentiful, or not to be had at all, it was found profitable to
feed corn out of equilibrium, both in regard to the needs
of the animal viewed from the standpoint of the chemist
and also that of the needs of the animal as to bulk require-
ment. Again, when lambs are being fattened on alfalfa and
grain in the western mountain valleys where alfalfa is
very cheap relatively and grain is dear, it has been found
profitable in some instances to feed grain below the equi-
librium of the requirement in concentration and to feed
alfalfa above the same.
The influence of equilibrium in feeding bulky and con-
centrated foods on continued production is very marked.
Feed a calf too large a proportion of concentrated food,
and its power for all time to give the highest possible return
for the food fed is reduced. It may be reduced first from
weakened digestion, or, second, from want of development
in the digestive tract. Feed a colt too large a proportion
of bulky food while in process of development, and its
capacity for speed will be lowered because of the excess of
paunch development which it must carry. Feed a dairy
cow too large a proportion of grain and her digestive pow-
ers will be permanently injured, because they have been
overtaxed, and the same is true of a steer fed so much grain
that he loses appetite. With a due proportion of bulk to
concentrates, these results would never follow in the cases
named. They never occur but they tend to curtail produc-
tion, hence the great importance of feeding foods in equilib-
rium as to bulk and concentration.
Succulence and milk production.—That succulent
foods are more favorable to milk production than those of
similar analysis as to nutrients but lacking in succulence,
56 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
could be premised from the season of the year when mam-
mals in a wild state nourish their young. It is also shown
in many ways in the experience of feeders, and it has been
demonstrated by actual experiment.
Nature has so regulated the influences that are con-
cerned in reproduction, that animals dependent on herbage
for sustenance bring forth their young at that season when
the same is succulent. The bison of the western plains
brings forth her young when the spring time grasses are
tender and juicy. They are more abundant in the autumn,
but they lack the succulence, hence the young could not be
so well sustained at that period. But the richness of the
autumn grasses is favorable to breeding, hence the animals
mate at that season, which brings the young into existence
at a time which is most favorable for providing them with
suitable sustenance.
The experience of feeders has abundantly shown the
closeness of the relation between succulence and milk pro-
duction. It has been found that cows in milk, during win-
ter and spring, invariably increase in the milk flow when
first turned out on succulent pasture. This result will follow,
even though foods possessed of succulence in a considerable
degree, as roots, form much of the ration, the other portion
being dry fodder and grain. When thus grazed grass usu-
ally forms all the ration, and is therefore all succulent. It
is also highly nutritious, hence as a result, the milk flow
is increased. So invariably does this result follow, that
many dairymen plan to have their cows produce calves in
the autumn, that the milk flow may be thus increased again
when it has begun to decline. If, on the other hand, the
period of decline begins in the autumn, at that season when
the animals are taken in from the pasture to be put on dry
food, it will be almost impossible to prevent it, even though
they should be ever so liberally fed on dry food. Various
green foods invariably increase the milk flow when they are
added to a ration consisting of dry food. This result fol-
lows, even though the nutrients in the dry food should be
THE SELECTION OF FOODS 57
proportionately reduced. The list will probably include all
varieties of green products grown upon the farm when fed
at a certain stage, and also certain other products when fed
mature. The former includes such products as soiling foods
of all kinds, the tops of field roots, cabbage leaves and rape;
and the latter such crops as corn ensilage, field roots of all
kinds, cabbage heads and Kohl-rabi.
Danish experiments conducted with a large nuinber of
cows showed that feeding roots materially increased the
milk flow, even when concentrates were fed freely, but with
heavy grain feeding it was found that one pound of the
concentrates was equal to 10 pounds of mangels. With
lighter grain feeding the results would probably have been
more favorable to the mangels. At the New Jersey exper-
iment station, it was found that silage as compared with
corn fodder increased the milk flow by 12.8 per cent. At
the Maine experiment station corn silage added to a ration
of good hay and concentrates also materially increased the
milk yield.
Variety in foods.—That variety in foods will produce
returns more satisfactory than can be obtained frum foods
of similar analysis but lacking in variety when fed for long
periods is rendered probable in the following, and it may
be in other ways: (1) Inthe great variety in the products
which nature furnishes; (2) by analogy in the dietary of
the human family; (3) by the fact that animals tire sooner
of some foods than others, and (4) by the experience of
practical feeders.
In nature’s garden, the open prairie, many varieties
of grasses will be found on the same acre and on every acre
of the prairie. This provision of nature would seem to
have a twofold object in view. The first is to stock the
ground with plants, each one of which will draw sustenance
from the storehouse in the soil adapted to its needs. The
second is to furnish that variety which sustains the appe-
tite in animals, to the extent of leading to increase in con-
sumption which in turn results in increased production. In
58 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
this way an increase in the consumption of food and result-
ant products from the same is secured.
The human family tire of foods that furnish no change,
even though the foods are adapted in their constituents to
the precise needs of the body. So universally is thus true
that it needs no demonstration. Analogy, therefore, would
make it probable that the same would be true of live stock
which feed upon the fruits of the earth. The table which
furnishes the greatest variety of suitable food products and
properly prepared, is the table that is most frequented in
the public house. Likewise, the manger that is best fur-
nished with variety in suitable foods is the one that will
best effect the ends sought from feeding. The necessity
for variety, however, is much influenced by the character
of the food, as is shown later.
That animals tire of some foods much more quickly
than they do of others is certainly true. Of the grains, for
instance, they tire much more quickly of rye and barley
when these are fed as the exclusive grain ration than of
oats and corn. Of the by-products, sheep tire more quickly
of wheat bran than of wheat screenings and swine tire
more quickly of bran than of middlings. Corn and oats
may be fed with a relish for a longer period probably than
any other grain. Legumes also, as clover, alfalfa and cow-
peas may be fed for long periods without the relish for
them growing materially less. Animals never lose the rel-
ish for good grass with ample succulence, but they do for
corn fodder and sorghum, months after these have been
harvested. :
Every practical feeder of extended experience has
found that suitable variety in foods is helpful to him in his
work. He has found this true especially in times of feeding
the same foods for prolonged periods, even when the ani-
mals were not subjected to high pressure feeding. But when
fed under pressure the necessity for variety and the advan-
tage from the same is much increased. This is especially
true of animals that are being pushed for the block. The
THE SELECTION OF FOODS 59
appetite gets cloyed and when such indications appear, they
may be dispelled for a time at least by substituting another
food factor for one of those fed, or by adding it to the
ration without increasing the amount fed. Shepherds and
herdsmen who grow and fit animals for exhibition resort
to such methods from time to time to promote increase.
The reasons why a change in foods thus promotes
increase are not all understood. It would seem correct to
say that they include the following: (1) The change may
meet the needs of the system more perfectly by supplying
nutrients that may be lacking in some degree; (2) the
ckange may lead to some chemical action that is beneficial
to digestion, and (3) the influence on appetite frequently
leads to increased consumption of food. But it should be
remembered that all changes are not beneficial.
Value in foods.—That the value of foods is influenced
by the nutrients which they contain is so evident that it
needs no demonstration. But to take those nutrients as
the true measure of their value would be a great mistake
as has already been shown. It is a mistake, however, of
too frequent occurrence.
That the condition of the nutrients exercises a potent
influence on the value of foods is equally clear. Food
that is not digestible cannot nourish the system, although
in some instances it has a mission in furnishing bulk. The
percentage of the nutrients that go to sustain life and main-
tain production, is that proportion of the same which is
digestible. This varies greatly in plants of different varie-
ties and in the same plants at different stages of growth.
Only 21 per cent for instance of the protein in rye straw
is digestible, whereas 62 per cent of the protein in clover
hay is digestible. Relative digestibility, therefore, in the
value of foods is worthy of the most careful consideration
on the part of feeders.
Suitability for the purpose for which foods are fed
cannot be given too much consideration. Some foods may
be used with the greatest profit in feeding certain classes of
69 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
animals, while they are wholly unsuited to other classes of
the same. Such, for instance, is cottonseed meal. It is one
of the very best concentrates that can be fed to beef or
dairy cattle, and one of the worst that can be fed to swine.
In fact, with the latter it seems to act like slow poison.
Field roots make a grand food for growing cattle and sheep,
but in large quantities they would prove too laxative for
horses. Oats are unquestionably the best concentrate that
can be fed to horses, but they are quite unsuited to the
digestion of young swine. Coarse fodders may answer quite
well for store cattle somewhat advanced in age, whereas
they would be quite unsuitable for calves if fed equally
coarse to them. The successful feeder must, therefore,
give careful heed to the adaptation of foods for the needs
of the animals to which they are fed.
The influence which foods exert on development and
production must also be carefully studied by those who are
to feed them in the most profitable manner. One food is
suited to development during the milk period, but is not
so well suited to the same at a later period, if indeed at all
suited for such feeding. Flax fed as gruel furnishes such a
food. While exactly adapted to the needs of the calf fed
on skim milk, it would be out of all proportion costly for
mature animals. Odats are admirably adapted to the needs
of the young calf, and because of their excellence for such
feeding and the relatively small amount required, they may
in all instances virtually be thus fed with a profit. For such
_ feeding they are muck more suitable than corn. But when
animals are more mature and are being made ready for the
block, while oats if not too costly may form part of the
ration, a much larger proportion of it should be corn. Field
roots also are excellently adapted to feeding calves and
young stock, because of their excellence in promoting
growth of muscle and bone, but they would be too costly
to feed in large quantities to cattle that are being fattened,
nor would they be so suitable for producing fat as some
other foods.
THE SELECTION OF FOODS 61
Feed corn only as the concentrate to horses and over-
much fat will be produced at the expense of energy. Feed
bran to young pigs before and after weaning, and they will
not thrive upon it, but feed the same in large proportion
to a brood sow and it will help to nourish her pigs in the
milk that it will furnish. Feed all bran as the concentrate
to a milch cow and it will greatly stimulate the milk flow,
but at the expense of flesh. Feed only corn and the cow will
gain flesh at the expense of milk. Feed both bran and corn
and the result will be a fair amount of milk with no loss
of flesh.
The manurial value of some foods is so great, that in
some instances and under some conditions, it approximates
more or less the value of the same for feeding. Such are
bran, oil cake and cottonseed meal. The relation of these
vaiues will depend, first, on the price of the foods; second,
on the cost of commercial fertilizers; and third, on the
necessity for using them. The lower the cost of the food,
the dearer the cost of the commercial fertilizer and the
greater the necessity for applying the added fertilizer, the
more nearly will the manurial value of the food approximate -
the feeding value. In feeding concentrated foods and in
some instances fodders, especially legumes, this question is
sufficiently important to merit the most careful considera-
tion when selecting or providing them.
CHAPTERS.
PRINCIPLES THAT GOVERN DEVELOPMENT
The principles that govern development in animals
include the following: (1) Possible development is usu-
ally less rapid as the birth period is receded from; (2)
more food is called for to make development with advancing
age; (3) periods of stagnation during development lessen
capacity for future development; (4) when animals that
are being fattened reach that stage of high finish, termed
ripeness, further increase is made at a loss; (5) the rela-
tion between the character of the development and the foods
used in making it is close and intimate; (6) undue energy
expended or undue exposure incurred by animals when tak-
ing food results in relatively lessened increase in flesh or
wool, and in a lessened production of milk; (7) relative
production gradually decreases after animals have reached
the meridian of vigor; (8). development inferior in char-
acter will sometimes occur, howsoever perfect the breeding
and management may be and (9g) development in what
may be termed equilibrium is most conducive to continued
well doing in the animals of a stud, herd or flock. Each of
these principles has the strength of inexorable law.
Development and decrease.—That possible develop-
ment is usually less rapid as the birth period is receded
from arises, first, from the changing character of the diges-
tion; second, from the changing character of the foods fed,
and third, from the gradual increase called for in the food
of maintenance from birth to maturity.
The digestive and assimilative processes are most
active at birth, and become gradually less so, until finally
these become unable longer to sustain life. It is not the
amount of food consumed which sustains labor or furnishes
tissue to promote growth, but rather the amount digested
62
THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANIMALS 63
and more especially the amount assimilated in the processes
of digestion. This is clearly evidenced in the fact that during
the finishing process two animals will consume practically
the same amount of food and yet one will make about twice
as much increase as the other.
The foods fed usually change from the more to the
less concentrated forms, as with advancing age, the capac-
ity to digest more relative bulk continually increases.
These, as a rule, if not indeed always, have more of crude
fibre in them, hence the energy required to digest such
foods is more than is required to digest the former in pro-
portion to the nutriment obtained. More digestive energy
is used for instance in obtaining a given amount of nutri-
ment from timothy hay than in obtaining the same from
whole milk, and more energy is used in obtaining the
nutriment from ripe timothy hay than in obtaining it from
timothy cut at the blossoming stage.
The food of maintenance gradually increases with ad-
vancing age. This arises first, from the increased demand
on nutrition to sustain the enlarging frame, to maintain
animal heat in the larger body surface exposed, and to
drive properly the machinery of digestion with the increase
in performance put upon it, and to repair the greater waste
of tissue relatively because of increase in the fleshy domain
where waste occurs. After the meridian of growth has
been attained, the decrease in the activity of assimilation
and the increase in the waste of tissue call for increasing
quantities of food to sustain the animal, hence so much less
is left for production.
This law of development is fittingly illustrated in the
gains made by calves, lambs and foals at different stages
of growth. There is no real difficulty in securing two
pounds of gain daily during tke first year of the life of a
calf, not including the weight at birth. It is more difficult
to secure an average daily gain in the same animal of 134
pounds the second year, and of 1% pounds the third year.
A lamb well nourished may be made to gain from say, 0.6
64 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
to 0.9 pounds per day the first month, exclusive of the
birth weight. The second month 0.5 pounds would be a
good gain and even during the fattening period at from
six to nine months 0.3 pounds of increase is considered an
excellent daily gain. Well nourished foals of the draft type
may be made to increase 2 to 3 pounds per day during
the first month, but with them also relative increase becomes
slower as they grow older.
Swine furnish an exception to this rule. During the
nursing period, it is scarcely possible to secure a pound of
increase in the young pigs daily. Subsequently, when froin
three to four months old, they may be made to gain 1 pound
a day and even more, but after a time with them also pos-
sible increase lessens. Just why possible gains in swine are
greater subsequent to the weaning period is not absolutely
clear. It is possible that it may arise from the inability of
the animal to take enough food into its relatively small
stomach to make such gains possible.
Development and more food.—That more food is
called for to make equal increase as age advances will be
readily apparent when it is called to mind first, that the food
of maintenance increases relatively as age advances (see
page 63), and second, that as stated above, the digestive
processes grow less and less active with advancing age.
As has been stated, the food of maintenance increases
with advancing age. It is self-evident that a cattle beast
at the age of three years will take more food to drive the
machinery of digestion than the same at three months. It
is also self-evident, that if, as has been previously
stated and which is certainly true (see page 62), the diges-
tive processes grow less active and the waste of tissue be-
comes greater with advancing age, that more food relatively
will be required to make increase as the animal grows
older. A point will at length be reached in development
peyond which increase cannot be made in flesh and weight,
and yet a large amount of food must needs be fed daily in
order to maintain weight, hence the folly of keeping such
THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANIMALS 65
animals longer for meat production, after they have reached
a maximum development. Even with immature animals, a
point may be reached beyond which development may be
so slow as to render further feeding unprofitable.
But it does not follow that because more food nu-
trients are required to make a pound of increase as the
birth period is receded from, such increase necessarily en-
tails greater cost while making it. Frequently it does not.
The cost of such production is largely determined by the
relative cost of the foods used in making it, hence, even
though 25 per cent more increase should be obtained the
first year in the life of a cattle beast than is obtained the sec-
ond year, and though less food nutrients should be used
in making it, the relative cost of increase the second year
may be less relatively than the first year. This will cer-
tainly be true if the animal has been fed chiefly on whole
mill and concentrated foods the first year, and chiefly on
pasture and cheap roughage the second year.
This difference in the relative cost of the foods fed in
making meat especially, exerts a far reaching influence on
profits. It explains why, under intensive conditions of
farming where foods are high priced, cows which only
furnish milk for their calves yield little or no profit, while
a substantial profit may be thus produced by them when
maintained under extensive conditions. It explains why
under some conditions, the quickest maturity attainable is
not always the most profitable, and it explains why it may
be more profitable in the end under some conditions to
winter cattle and other animals on a comparatively unnu-
tritious diet, in order to secure subsequent growth on pas-
tures that are very cheap or entirely free.
Development and capacity.—That periods of stagna-
tion in growth during development tend to lessen future
possible development has been proved by observation and
experience in unnumbered instances. This loss in capacity
may arise from a deficiency in the quantity of suitable food
fed, from feeding unsuitable food, from excessive feeding
66 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
of foods that may or may not be suitable and in balance, or
from exposure, or from unsuitable feeding combined with
undue exposure.
A calf may be fed food that is just right in its propor-
tionate constituents, but if the quantity fed is quite below the
needs of the animal, there must, of course, be a corre-
sponding deficiency in growth. A habit of digestion wi!l
thus be formed which unfits the stomach and digestive
apparatus for digesting large quantities of food to the best
possible advantage.
If the foods fed are unsuitable, the loss in capacity
for development will be greater, ‘and if they are deficient
in quantity, the evil is intensified. Thus it is, that if a
young calf is fed for a prolonged period on whole milk,
but insufficient in supply, it will be lean and lack growth,
but still may retain shapes that are reasonably correct.
The relative proportion of bone may be unduly large and
the hair may be more than normal in quantity, the outcome
probably in both instances of a provision of nature thus
to give strength to the ill-covered framework and to pro-
vide warmth for it. Should.the food be in ill balance, de-
velopment will be further arrested. Should it be unsuited
to the age of the animal, as when young calves are forced
to live largely on grass, unbalanced as well as insufficient
development follows. There is undue distension of the
stomach at too early an age, resulting in an excess of
paunch, which the animal retains through life.
Should the animal be correctly fed, but unduly ex-
posed, development will be proportionately arrested. Should
it be fed food under such conditions, correct in balance,
but deficient in quantity, the loss in development will be
correspondingly more. But if in addition, the food is
unbalanced and not adapted to the age of the animal, then
development is still more arrested, and in conjunction
therewith comes ill-balanced development, that is, undue
development of some parts in proportion to development
in other parts. <A striking illustration is furnished by whey
THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANIMALS 67
fed calves, reared under conditions of undue exposure. Rela-
tively they have an excessive amount of bone and paunch,
and hair unduly long and staring. The machinery of diges-
tion has not only been weakened, but it has become un-
balanced, and never again can it produce entire correctness
of development or a complete sufficiency of the same.
This loss in capacity for correct development is pro-
portionate not only to the intensity of the causes which pro-
duce it, but it is intensified by the proportionate nearness
to or remoteness from the birth period at which it occurs.
Suppose, for instance, development in one case is arrested
and distorted while the animal is being fed milk, and sup-
pose in another case that the hindrance to correct develop-
ment does not occur until the animal is a yearling, the loss
in capacity for future development will be much less in the
second instance than in the first, for the reason that correct
habit in digestion had been duly formed in the second
instance, while in the first it had been given incorrect bias
during the formative period.
The same thing will happen should the animals be over-
fed, that is, should they be given an excessive amount of
concentrated foods. Development will not only be checked
for the time being, but the capacity for future development
will also be lessened. This law or principle of develop-
ment will be operative, not only during the period of
development, but even subsequently to the maturing period.
But the evils resulting from such over-feeding are more
disastrous relatively the nearer that they occur to the
birth period.
Some foods cannot be fed to excess, in the sense that
feeding them in unlimited quantities will derange digestion.
Such, for instance, are grass and good clover hay. Of
course it would be possible to require the animal to take
so much of these as to interfere with highest possible per-
formance in certain directions. To illustrate: An animal
may be required to consume so large a proportion of grass
when it is being fitted for exhibition, as to make impossible
68 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
such increase for the time being as would result from
feeding grass and a larger proportion of concentrated grain
foods. Similarly, the production of a dairy cow will be
less when fed on good clover hay alone, than when fed’ on
clover hay and a certain allowance of suitable concentrated
foods, but neither the grass sufficiently advanced in growth
nor the clover hay will derange digestion in bovines how-
soever liberally fed.
It is not so, however, with concentrated foods. At a
comparatively early age, in fact but a few months from
the birth period, a calf will partake of rye, barley or corn
meal so freely if allowed to, that digestion becomes de-
ranged. A strain is put on its machinery which it cannot
bear, and it becomes impaired to the extent of the excess
of the ill balance in the food nutrients given. Thus it is,
that young animals being fitted for show purposes fre-
quently break down under the heavy tax put upon their
digestive capacity, and so have to be laid aside. Many an
animal possessed of the requisites that would have enabled
it to win champion honors with suitable feeding, has thus
been forever unfitted for entering the show ring.
The hazard from feeding concentrated foods to excess
with young animals varies with the kind of the concentrate
and with the age at which it is fed. The proneness of ani-
mals to consume concentrated foods in excess when the
opportunity is present would seem to increase with ad-
vancing age. Calves quite young are not much liable to
partake of such foods greatly in excess of what will benefit
them, but it is entirely different a few months later. Of
all the concentrated grain foods fed, oats is the safest by
far for horses, mules, cattle and sheep, when fed in un-
measured quantities. This is owing to the relatively happy
balance between the nutrients and to the suitable bulk rela-
tion that exists between the hull and kernel portion of this
grain. Other grain foods, such as corn, rye, and barley
fed thus freely, puts a tax upon the digestive processes
which they are unable to bear, gives the assimilative powers
THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANIMALS 69
more material than they can adjust to the needs of the ani-
mals, and puts an impossible task upon the secretions. The
whole system as it were becomes clogged, and in propor-
t1on as it does the machinery of digestion suffers beyond
the possibility of absolute recovery.
With matured animals the same law of principle is
operative, both with regard to increase and production.
Feed the grown animal in the feed lot excessively on rich
concentrated grain foods, and it gets “off feed.” This
means that the digestive functions have been overtaxed and
must have rest. Nature to provide this causes the appetite
to fail. Prompt withholding of the grain portion of the
ration may bring about measurable restoration, but the ani-
mal will not again bear being thus fed so heavily during
the finishing period. Even should recovery be almost com-
plete, the cost of maintenance has been incurred meanwhile,
with little or no advance in the weight of the animal.
Once overtax the digestion of a cow in milk, by thus
overfeeding her, and similar results follow. Production
lessens and in proportion to the overstrain put upon the
digestive machinery, so to speak, of the cow, even though
there should be no sudden break down in the machinery
of digestion, there may be a weakening so gradual as to
be imperceptible. This may be so gradual as to cover a
period of several years. Its presence may only be discern-
ible in lessened capacity for milk production, notwithstand-
ing the consumption of the same quantities of food as were
consumed when the production was greater. Thus it is
that by high pressure feeding of concentrates, the capacity
of a cow may be so reduced as to materially lessen the
profit that would otherwise be obtained from her. It may
also materially shorten the period of possible profitable
usefulness.
It will be readily apparent that the loss thus recurring
from such underfeeding or overfeeding, will be far more
7O FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
serious in breeding than in feeding animals, more particu-
larly during the period of finishing. With animals, there-
fore, that are being reared or kept for breeding, it is doubly
important that these mistakes shall be avoided.
Development and ripeness.—When animals approach
the ripening period, the capacity to make gains gradually
decreases, and if kept up for a period sufficiently long, will
at length cease altogether. Notwithstanding, the consump-
tion of food will be practically the same. The feeder who
does not watch this point closely may thus unconsciously
allow what would have resulted in substantial profit, had
the animals been sold at the opportune time, to be greatly
reduced if not indeed turned into positive loss.
Ripeness in meat making may be defined as that com-
pleteness of finish which puts animals in the best condition
to meet the needs of the market, just as ripeness in the
carcass after it is slaughtered means that condition of
increase in tenderness of muscle which best meets the taste
of the consumer. Fruit is ripe when it has reached the
maximum of fitness for the use that is to be made of it.
Usually, in meat production, ripeness means the same as
completed fattening. This may be attained at almost any
stage of development in some types of animals, though not
in all, hence it is not necessarily synonymous with com-
pleted maturity. .
Before maturity it can be most readily attained in ani-
mals of compact build and of marked meat-making ten-
dencies through natural inheritance. Cattle of the pro-
nounced dairy types cannot be so effectively ripened at an
early age as cattle of the pronounced beef types and the
same is true of bacon swine as compared with the small
breeds, such as the Essex and Small Yorkshire.
The stage of development at which ripeness may be
reached is dependent on the character of the foods fed, the
manner of feeding them and the forced character of the
feeding. Foods highly carbonaceous hasten such ripening,
THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANIMALS 71
and those highly nitrogenous prolong and defer the ripen-
ing period. Early ripening is accelerated by so preparing
foods that the least possible amount of energy is used in
masticating and digesting them, as when, for instance, ce-
reals are ground rather than fed whole. It is likewise has-
tened by feeding so forced, that after a time relative in-
crease lessens materially and finally ceases altogether, it
may be at a period considerably in advance of the normal
period of maturity for that particular class of animals.
But ripeness also applies to animals that are being fattened
subsequent to the maturing period, in which case it means
that stage of finish in which profitable gains cease.
Three methods may be adopted in determining ripe-
ness: (1) It may be ascertained through the medium
of the eye; (2) the hand and (3) the weigh scale. In
some instances judgment must be determined by the first
medium, as when range cattle are sorted out for shipment
to the block. In other instances the eye and hand may both
be used, as when animals are fed in the stall. In yet other
instances, all three mediums may be resorted to when weigh
scales are easily accessible.
The indications of ripeness apparent to the eye include:
(1) That plumpness and fulness of form in cattle which
covers well the ribs and angular points; (2) fulness under-
neath the throat in both sexes, and in the purse of steers;
(3) lateral movement back and forth over the shoulder
and bunching of the flesh at the hind flank when the ani-
mal walks; and (4) measured and deliberate rather than
quick locomotion. These indications are never all present
in the same animal unless it has been brought to a high
condition of finish. With sheep the indications would be
much the same, but when covered with a fleece only that
last mentioned is apparent. With swine the most impor-
tant indications include fulness, completeness and massive-
ness of covering over the body, and especially in the lard
72 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
types sluggish locomotion. With bacon types so much fin-
ish would be excessive. The degree of the same can only
be obtained from experience.
The indications that come through touch in cattle are
found: (1) In the depth and mellowness of the fatty
covering over the pin bones, and (2) in the relative firm-
ness of the muscles, under gentle pressure of the finger
tips. The pin bones do not become thus covered unless the
animal has reached an advanced stage of fattening. The
degree of the firmness of flesh in the muscles is influenced
by maturity in the animal, being of course greater under
equal degrees of finish with advancing age. This firmness
is by no means the same as hardness of flesh in the poor
feeding animal, and it does not mean that there shall*be any
want of vibrating power in the skin over the ribs under
gentle lateral pressure of the open hand, such as is founc
in animals that feed slowly. With cattle in the less ad-
vanced stages of fattening, the muscles are soft and yield
more under gentle pressure than those in the ripe animal.
This increasing firmness of muscle is caused by the firming
of the fatty tissue within and over the muscles, and it is
best ascertained on those parts of the body most deeply
covered with muscle. With sheep, these indications are
ascertained in much the same way as with cattle, with the
difference, that more frequently the handling is confined
to the pin bones and the fatty tissue around the tail head.
The fleece, when present, interferes somewhat with exami-
nation through light pressure over the muscles. Swine are
seldom handled in_order to judge of ripeness, but firmness
of flesh may be ascertained with them also by hand pressure.
There are instances, however, in which firmness of flesh
will not be present, even though the animal has practically
ceased to make increase in flesh, as when it has been fat-
tened on food possessed of an excessive amount of oil. Such,
for instance, is the flesh of swine fattened on beechnuts
and peanuts. It is indicated by excessive softness of the
muscles. Such a condition of flesh is improved by feeding
THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANIMALS Fig
the animal for a longer period on food less rich in fat.
Furthermore, it will be apparent that proficiency in judging
of such indications can only be obtained through expe-
rience.
The weigh scale properly used is a sure indication of
ripeness in animals that are being fattened on suitable foods.
If, when weighed occasionally, as for instance every two
weeks, at an advanced stage of the fattening process, they
show little or no gain, the feeding at the same time being
correct, it is so far an indication that they are ripe. Care
should be taken, however, to weigh from time to time, under
the same conditions, or the weights obtained may mislead.
The loss resulting from continuing to feed animals that
are ripe is influenced by the age, and probably to a greater
extent by the price of foods. The more mature the animal,
the slower will be the gains subsequently to the ripening
of the animal. A yearling steer may be ripe enough to
meet the conditions of the market, and yet be capable of
making considerable increase subsequently, whereas a ma-
ture steer thus ripened would make but little increase and
under some conditions, none at all. The influence of food
prices is so apparent as to need no discussion.
The importance of prompt marketing when the anima!s
are ripe is apparent from sundry tests made by certain of
the agricultural experiment stations. During 90 days in
feeding swine at the Ontario station in 1891, under the
direction of the author, pork was made at a cost of $4.65 per
100 pounds live weight. During the 47 days of subsequent
feeding on the same kinds of food, the cost was $14.93 per
100 pounds. During five months’ feeding of steers at the
Nebraska station in 1905, the average daily gain made was
2 pounds. The following month it fell to 114 pounds. It
may be prudent, nevertheless, to hold over finished ani-
mals for a period of relatively short duration when the con-
dition of the market has become unsettled, as from excess
in supplies or from some other cause.
74. FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
Development and food.—The character of the develop-
ment secured is influenced by inheritance, environment and
nutrition. The most potent of these is nutrition, which is
another way ef saying that the most potent influence in
securing development of a certain kind, is the character of
the food used in making it: The food consumed influences
(1) meat production in regard to quantity and quality;
(2) milk production with reference to quantity and quality ;
(3) the quantity and character of bone; (4) the char-
acter and abundance of the coat, and (5) the production of
energy. The relation between equilibrium or balance in the
development secured and equilibrium in the foods used in
making it, is of the closest character, as has already been
shown (see page 43).
The bearing of food upon the production of flesh with
reference to quantity is so self-evident that it is scarcely
necessary to discuss it. Illustrations are readily found in
the contrast between the development of the calf that is
suckled by its own dam and the calf fed on whey, also in the
contrast between the yearling steer wintered only on straw
and the same animal the following summer, when grazed
upon plentiful pastures. The largest production will be
obtained from foods which contain the largest amount of
nutriment possessed of the most suitable digestibility and
fed with due reference to balance in the food constituents
and also bulk requirements or the opposite.
Quality in meat viewed from the standpoint of the
table, has reference to fibre or grain, tenderness or tough-
ness, proportion of fat to lean, and the character of the fat
and the flavor. All these unless the last, are influenced by
inheritance and to some extent by exercise, age and envi-
ronment, but less so in all or in nearly all these respects
than they are influenced by food.
The fibre, composing the muscle or lean portion in
meat is sometimes large and coarse, in other instances, it is
fine. The former is present to a much greater extent in
THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANIMALS 75
large than in small breeds. The nature of the food pro-
vided, more than any other influence, accounts for the differ-
ence in size referred to. The luxuriant and somewhat
coarse grasses of Lincolnshire, England, have produced the
largest breed of sheep in the world. The fine, short grasses
of the Downs in proximity. to the English channel, have
produced one of the smallest breeds, the Southdown. The
fibre or grain of the meat in the Southdown is much finer
than in the Lincoln. Similarly coarse fodders will produce
coarser fibre than fine fodders. Thus, if a long enough time
were given, the Southdown could, in the fibre of its meat,
be transformed into a Lincoln and vice versa. Of course,
fineness of fibre enhances the quality of meat.
The tenderness or toughness of meat is markedly in-
fluenced by age, but it is also greatly influenced by the
food and the manner of feeding it. Succulence in food is
one of the most potent influences in producing tenderness
and also juiciness in meat. Lamb grown and finished on
such foods as succulent bluegrass and rape, will furnish
meat more tender and juicy than lamb grown on the less
succulent grasses of the range. Beef made from feeding
corn ensilage or field roots freely to cattle that are being
fattened is more tender and juicy than that made from
feeding dry food only. Similarly the meat of aged animals
is more tender when they have been brought up quickly
from a low to a high condition of flesh than when the feed-
ing period is slower and more prolonged, owing probably to
the short period given to the newly formed tissue to firm
and harden as it otherwise would.
The tenderness of meat is much influenced by the pro-
portion of the fat to the lean, and by the way in which it
is distributed. There is a constant relation between lean-
ness and toughness and high condition and tenderness and
juiciness. Even the lean of a fat carcass will be more
tender than the lean of a lean carcass, and it will be much
more juicy. But both tenderness and juiciness in meat
are more influenced by the manner in which the fat is
76 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
distributed than by the amount of it present. In some
instances the fat is laid on in great measure externally and
internally. In other instances, it is more distributed through
the lean, sometimes in the form of layers of fat and lean
alternating, and sometimes in the flecking of the lean with
little pockets as it were of fat. Inheritance exercises some
influence over the manner in which fat is distributed in
the carcass, and the same is true of exercise, but it is prob-
ably correct to say that neither influence is so potent as
food in producing the results desired. Young ani-
mals so fed, that they are always in a good condition of
thrift and flesh, but without excess of fatness, will have a
more perfect distribution of fat and lean than if allowed
to lose flesh for a period more or less prolonged and are
then fleshed up quickly. The most perfect distribution of
fat and lean can, of course, be obtained when the three
modifying influences; viz., inheritance, exercise and_ bal-
anced foods are fed in due quantity. The side of the bacon
pig furnishes a good illustration of the deposition of fat
and lean in layers, and the loin of an Aberdeen-Angus, an
illustration of lean flecked with fat.
That the flavor of meat is influenced more or less by
food is shown: (1) In the excellent flavor of mutton
grown upon mountains, caused by the variety and to some
extent the aromatic character of the plants from which
it is produced; (2) in the peculiar flavor of the meat of
wild animals and in the difference of the flavors, owing
largely to the difference in the foods selected by them, and
(3) in the peculiar flavor, in a sense amounting to a taint,
of the flesh of the~sage hen of the western plains and
of domestic animals which have fed much on pastures
abounding in penny cress (Thlaspi arvense.)
The influence of food on increase in milk production
is readily apparent: (1) When a change is made from
a diet dry and without succulence as from fodder corn to
corn ensilage, from dry winter foods to succulent pastures,
or when dry pastures abundant in the quantity of the grass
THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANIMALS WEI
furnished are supplemented by such food as green corn or
rape, and (2), by changing from a ration essentially car-
bonaceous to one nitrogenous in character, or sufficiently
so to furnish food approximately in balance, such a change
may be made by substituting clover or alfalfa hay for corn
stover, or meal composed largely of wheat bran or gluten
meal for corn meal.
Quality in milk is also affected by the food, first, with
reference to the constituents which it contains, and second,
with reference to its flavor. The first influence is so slow
in its action as to be virtually imperceptible under normal
conditions. To illustrate: Feed, under normal conditions,
a Jersey cow whose milk is very rich in butter fat, food that
will test practically the same, but it will be reduced in quan-
tity. Reverse the process of feeding and it will still test
practically the same, but will increase in quantity up to a
certain limit. The quality of milk, therefore, viewed from
the standpoint of direct influence of food upon its essential
constituents, is not perceptibly influenced thereby. The
percentage of butter fat and other constituents will be
just the same, except the total quantity of these will be in-
creased or decreased with such increase or decrease in the
total milk product from a cow, within a given time, as may
be brought about by the character of the food fed.
The quality in milk, viewed from the standpoint of its
analysis, is almost entirely a matter of transmission, and
it is probably more a breed peculiarity than a matter of
individual inheritance and yet the importance of individual
inheritance is not to be under-estimated. The Channel
island breeds are characterized by the production of milk
only moderate in quantity, but rich in butter fat. The
Holsteins on the other hand are characterized by the pro-
duction of a large quantity of milk, and relatively low in
butter fat. But these differences in the character of the
milk are not due to inheritance and selection alone. They
are due also to the action of food producing change so
slowly as to be imperceptible, except when measured by
78 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
decades or even centuries. The short, rich grasses of the
Channel islands have certainly exercised an influence on
the richness which characterizes cows of that breed, and
the more abundant and more succulent foods grown in
Holland have also exercised an influence on the abundant
milk flow which characterizes Holstein cows and the rela-
tively low amount of butter fat found in the same. Would
not the task of producing a Jersey in Holland and likewise
a Holstein in Jersey have been difficult ?
But food may also influence the constituents of milk
even perceptibly for a time under certain conditions. Ex-
perience has shown that if a cow has been grown under
conditions adverse to good development, and if she has
been kept upon inferior food, and low in nutrition for a
considerable time, it is possible in such an instance to secure
perceptible increase in the percentage of butter fat in the
milk. It is brought about probably by renovating the system
of the cow, through the more or less prolonged feeding of
nutritious and suitable food. Such increase, however, is not
marked.
Certain foods affect the flavor of milk adversely, even
though eaten in limited quantity. Such are leeks (Allium
tricoccum), sometimes found in wild pasture, penny cress
(Thlaspi arvense), found sometimes in those that are tame,
and the leaves of certain vegetables, as cabbage, fed in a
state of partial decay. Other foods give the milk an un-
desirable odor only when fed in too large quantities and
too near the usual milking period. Such include rape, ru-
tabaga and turnip tops and also rutabagas and turnips, con-
centrated foods also, as brewers’ grains for instance that
have reached the borderland of putrefaction, will produce
offensive odors in milk.
A normal amount of development of bone in domestic
animals can only be secured by feeding them on food suff-
ciently supplied with ash and protein, particularly the
former, since these are nutrients required in building bone.
Where these are insufficient in the food, the development
THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANIMALS ’ 79
of bone will be below what is normal and likewise relative
strength in the same.
The relation between strength and cleanness of bone in
horses and grasses grown on soils of limestone formation
has long been noticed. The same may also be said of the
relation between a corn diet and deficiency of bone develop-
ment both in quantity and strength, in growing and fatten-
ing swine, but more particularly during the growing period.
It has been noticed that when a brood sow is fed exclusively
on a corn diet during the period of gestation, the pigs are
deficient in size at birth and have small bones. The corn
does not furnish the dam with enough of the elements of
bone making material.
It has also been proved by experiment that swine fed
on corn alone during the growing period have bone develop-
ment inadequate in quantity and quality. This of course
is adverse to large and robust development, since a small
framework of bone and similar muscular development are
more or less intimately associated. It has also been observed
that swine reared chiefly on corn and fattened on the same
go down on their limbs much sooner than those fed on
foods which supply an ample amount of bone making
material. It has furthermore been observed that sheep
largely reared on alfalfa and red clover develop large
frames covered by a corresponding amount of muscle.
But increase in bone development beyond what is
normal is not produced by feeding foods to an animal pos-
sessed of more ash than is necessary for normal develop-
ment. In other words an animal may be fed bone making
materials much in excess of its needs, and yet the pro-
duction of bone will stop at that point of development
which is normal for the breed or at least which is normal
for the individual as determined by inheritance. But in-
crease in bone development may be attained beyond what is
normal for the breed by feeding food relatively rich in the
materials for making bone, aided by selection. In other
80 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
words the normal standard of the bony framework may
in this way be increased to a certain limit.
It is also possible to exercise a far-reaching influence
on the amount of bone in swine and other animals, where
corn is fed to excess, simply by selection, as may be observed
by the marked difference in the amount of bone possessed
by herds of swine in the corn belt, and it is reasonable to
suppose that the food fed to the dam during pregnancy
does exert a material influence in determining the possible
development of bone subsequently. When amply supplied
with bone making materials in the food, it cannot be other-
wise than that the whole bony framework will be larger
in the young animals at birth than if there had been a
deficiency of these, and that in consequence larger bone
development will result at maturity than would be possible
had the bony framework been opposite in character. This
relation, however, is probably more general than specific,
as animals small at birth do sometimes develop into large
animals at maturity, but the opposite of this is more com-
monly true. |
Development and waste energy.—Under some condi-
tions of environment and management, acting independently
or in conjunction, there is an undue drain upon the energies
of the system as: (1) When searching for food; (2) in
resisting the influences. of exposure, and (3) in making
up for the loss caused by disturbing influences from what-
soever source these may come. All such expenditure of
energy will result in loss in proportion to the extent to which
it exists. In some_instances, it is loss of energy for pro-
ducing labor; in others, it means retarded increase of flesh
or actual loss of the same; and in yet ethers, low or even
reduced production in milk yields.
Require a horse that is laboring to gather food from
pastures in the one instance that are low in production or
from rich pastures in the other but not allowed sufficient
time to gather such food, and the capacity to furnish labor
will be so far lessened. Require an animal to gather food
THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANIMALS 81
on insufficient pastures and its development will be pro-
portionately hindered. The same result will follow should
the animal be able to secure a sufficient supply of food, but
‘at an expenditure of energy which does not admit of ample
time to rest sufficiently. The larger the animal that is sub-
jected to such conditions, the greater will be the relative
loss, owing to the correspondingly larger expenditure of
energy in carrying the additional weight over the pastures.
Beyond certain limits such requirement would result in an
actual loss of flesh, even during the growing period. The
effect upon milk production would be precisely similar.
To keep animals in comfort, the heat within the body
must be maintained up to a certain degree. The food con-
sumed is the source of bodily heat. A certain amount of
heat is given off continuously through the pores of the skin.
Exposure to temperatures below what is normal for the
animal, increases the loss of bodily heat in proportion as it
is incurred, and just in that proportion will there be a drain
upon the food consumed to furnish such heat. This will
mean that just to that extent will its power to pro-
duce be diverted. The influence on decreased milk
production will be even greater than on flesh produc-
tion, for the reason first, that the milk producer must
also be possessed of a certain amount of flesh which must
be maintained before effective milk production can follow;
second, that milk producing animals are usually lower in
flesh than other animals and, therefore, are so much less
effectively equipped for resisting the influences of undue
exposure; and third, the entire organization of the miik
producer is more refined and, therefore, so far more delicate
than that of the male animal and consequently in so far
weaker is the resisting power referred to. The effect of
such exposure will be similar in kind with reference to labor,
though it may be less in degree.
The accompaniments of low temperatures as wind, rain,
snow and sleet, are an additional drain on bodily heat when
they are present, and under some conditions severely so.
82 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
Cold rain draws most severely on the bodily heat of ex-
posed swine, because of the light hair covering and next
in degree probably upon that of opened wooled sheep, since
the fleece to some extent retains for a time a portion of the
water within it. The influence upon cattle is still less, be-
cause of the fine character of the hair covering and the
thicker hide, and on those breeds with a long covering of
hair and also a dense furring underneath, as in the Gallo-
way, it is still less. In horses and mules it is least probably
among domestic quadrupeds in the country, owing to the
greater natural activity of the horse and mule.
Cold wind acts powerfully in removing bodily heat.
Sheep, for instance, may maintain a fine condition of thrift
in one instance where protected from cold winds in winter,
and in another instance completely fail to do so when much
exposed to cold winds, and the same is true of other domes-
tic animals. This difference will occur even though the
temperatures judged by the thermometer should be practi-
cally the same. The drain on bodily heat from the action
of snow and sleet is most readily seen in the quickness with
which young lambs and pigs succumb when exposed to it,
and in the sudden and large reduction in milk yields of ani-
mals so exposed. The influence of the extent of the drain
upon bodily heat when these influences act in conjunction,
is probably greatest in blizzards, such as occur occasionally
on western ranges, when even strong animals so exposed not
infrequently perish.
“he different classes of animals as such, differ consid-
erao.y in the degree of their resisting power to the influences
of low temperatures, owing more to the differences of the
coat than to any other single influence. To temperatures
low and without wind, sheep have probably the greatest
resisting power and swine the least. Some breeds of cattle
as such have greater resisting power than others, as for in-
stance, the West Highland compared with the Jersey or
Guernsey. The same is practically true of breeds of sheep,
owing to a difference in the density of the wool and to its
THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANIMALS 83
greater adherence at the outer ends of the wool fibres, be-
cause of the abundance of the yolk or soil in the wool in
conjunction with external influences such as dust. This
more than anything else has given Merino sheep a foremost
place in hardihood among the pure breeds of sheep, now
found in America.
While natural hardihood in animals is, under some
conditions, an exceedingly valuable characteristic, under
other conditions it is considerably less valuable relatively.
Range conditions, where climate is austere, illustrate the
former, and arable farms, where domestic animals may be
protected from all undue exposure, the latter. How far
natural hardihood is to be sought must be left to the judg-
ment to determine. If the highest possible hardihood were
possible of attainment without sacrificing producing power,
then it should be sought, but observation and experience
have shown that such is not the case. If on the other hand
the highest possible production can be secured from breeding
animals without inducing undue delicacy, then this should
be sought. But, similarly, it has been shown that such is
not the case. It may, therefore, be wise to sacrifice some-
thing of hardihood for more production and vice versa.
The breeder of domestic animals on the farm should guard
carefully against seeking production to the extent of im-
pairing constitutional vigor, as when dairy cows are too
constantly housed in winter, brood sows are bred too young
and too continuously, and males are used in service too
young and excessively.
The influence of food on the temperature of the body is
marked, hence this fact should not be lost sight of when
regulating the temperature of buildings. Foods carbonace-
ous in character produce more heat than those that are
nitrogenous. The amount of flesh carried at the time exerts
an influence. The temperature of a stable, therefore, that
would be quite suitable for a dairy cow in a somewhat low
condition of flesh, because producing heavily would not be
the same as for a steer laden with fat. So marked is the
84 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
difference, that while the latter may lie down in comfort in
an open shed, the former would shiver subjected to like con-
ditions.
Development and decadence.—In the life of all animals
there is a time when possible production reaches a max-
imum, after which it gradually decreases. That time is when
they have reached the meridian of bodily vigor and capacity
to produce, which does not always mean that period when
bodily growth ceases, as is shown below. Decadence more
or less gradual at once begins, howsoever perfect the man-
agement may’ be. The moment that such decadence begins,
the profitableness of the animal begins to grow less, as pro-
duction grows less with decrease in the food of maintenance.
The immediate cause of suck decadence is the changed
and continuous changing character of the nutrition. Waste
of tissue is more than the assimilative powers can repair
and expended energy is more than the forces that generate
energy make good. Later, the teeth begin to fail and when
they do, digestion suffers proportionately, first from inability
to take enough food, and second from inability to properly
masticate what is eaten.
The age at which such decadence begins varies with
breeds. Usually the longer the time occupied in maturing,
the more deferred is the beginning of decadence. It is also in-
fluenced by excessive performance and insufficient nutrition.
The over-worked horse, the cow whose digestive machinery
has been driven at a high speed through heavy grain feeding
and long continued, and the brood sow kept producing
twice in the year, will all begin to decline at an earlier age
than if the system in each instance had not been thus over-
taxed. The meridian of vigor is reached when the animal
has reached fullest maturity. This in one sense is reached
when further increase in weight ceases, but in another sense
it is not until the limit is reached of greatest possible pro-
ducton. The latter comes later than the former. The farm
horse may cease to increase in weight after the fourth year,
and the same may be true of the dairy cow, and yet the labor
THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANIMALS 85
cf the former may be and usually is worth more two or three
years subsequently, and the same is true of milk production
in the latter. With the former, use has hardened the mus-
cles so that they can endure more than when maturity was
attained, and habit in work has increased capacity for work.
With the latter, habit has increased capacity for milk giving
beyond what would have been possible when increase in
bodily development ceased.
The period of highest usefulness, therefore, viewed
from the standpoint of production, including the results
from breeding, covers a period of years beginning with
maturity. With working horses this period may be said
in a general way to extend from the age of four to ten
years. With dairy cows it ranges from about the age of
three to eight years. With sheep, it extends from say two
to six years of age, and with brood sows from say one
to five years. This does not mean that animals should not
be retained beyond the ages named, but that the most profit-
able production is likely to occur between the ages named.
It will usually be profitable to keep good producing animals
longer than the period of highest production, especially
when they are reared on the farm, as an offset to the cost
of rearing up to the time when production began. It will
pay to keep some animals longer than others, because of
their relatively higher producing power.
Much has been written, but not too much, as to the
unwisdom of breeding from animals at too early an age.
It is quite as important, nevertheless, that they shall not
be bred from at too advanced an age, for physical powers
considerably advanced in the decadent stage can no more
be expected to produce animals of highest excellence than
physical powers not yet perfected. While it is proper and
commendable to retain for breeding, animals of marked pre-
potency and high excellence as breeders for a longer period
than those of average merit as breeders, a time comes when
SO FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
even they should not be retained for breeding. The com-
mon saying that such animals should be retained for breed-
ing as long as they are capable of breeding, is not quite true.
Can any instances be cited in which animals that became not-
ed performers were forgotten when decadence from age had
become considerably advanced? The bearing of what has
been said upon profitable feeding will be at once apparent.
Development and inferiority—Howsoever excellent
the management of a stud, herd or flock may be, and how-
soever skillful the breeding, some animals will be born into
it with inferior development and also with capacity for
development below the average of the breed. In some in-
stances this happens in the case of animals from the same
sire and dam which have previously produced specimens of
great excellence. This is the outcome of the operation of
that second law of breeding known as the law of variation.
All the reasons for such contrasts may never be fully
‘known, but doubtless they are prenatal. They may be
influenced by the condition of the sire or dam, or both, at
the time of mating, with reference to condition as to flesh,
the food which kas produced it, and the degree of vigor
possessed. They may also be influenced by the food given
to the dam during pregnancy as to quantity and quality,
by the exercise given or withheld, and by the performance
required in furnishing labor or milk. That other influences
are operative, however, is apparent from the fact that
marked variations occur in the progeny of the same parents
when all the conditions are as uniform as the breeder can
make them. The_assertion is safe, notwithstanding, that
the number of the instances in which such inferior produc-
tion appears is few relatively in approximate proportion as
the breeding and management are correct.
The true destiny of such animals is the block and at an
early age. If retained or sold for breeding, they are pretty
certain to aid in transmitting inferiority. If grown for meat
until maturity, the production will be less profitable than
from animals of normal or superior excellence. But decision
THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANIMALS 87
with reference to their disposal should not be reached too
soon, as animals of but little promise at birth change quickly
for the better in some instances to a remarkable degree.
In no other way can the standard of the herd be
brought up to a high level, than by removing from it those
inferior specimens when they appear. The breeders of
pure-breds liesitate sometimes to send such specimens to the
shambles, since they can ordinarily sell them above meat
price, because of the pedigree which they possess. To seil
them for such a use, however, is simply to take advantage of
the ignorance of the purchaser.
Development in equilibrium.—Equilibrium in develop-
ment may be defined as steady, even and robust growth,
from birth to maturity, with a view to accomplish in the
highest degree the end for which the animal is reared. At
no time is it excessive, and on the other hand at no time
is it wanting. To accomplish the first calls for the exercise
of sound judgment. To prevent the second demands the
most constant watchfulness as well as forethought. Ani-
mals thus reared will best fulfill the end for which they
have been reared, and will longest remain productive under
continued good management. ;
This does not mean that animals should not be grown
for a single and specific purpose, but it does mean that in
growing them, the effort to accomplish that purpose shall
not be carried so far as to reduce vigor in the animal
beyond what is necessary to accomplish that end in the
highest degree. It is easily possible to secure form for
free and easy action in the running horse so extreme that
his staying powers will be reduced. Dairy form in the milk
pioducer may become so extreme that stamina is so reduced
that it hinders high performance, and the meat making
form in the cow may be pushed to the extent of lowering
breeding qualities. These results are the outcome of the
law of correllation which makes increase in a marked de-
gree in one direction to be followed by suppression in an-
other. The more extreme the increase, the more marked
88 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
the depression. Tlie individual who seeks extreme increase
in one direction cannot afford to ignore the ever-present
influence of this law or his efforts will ultimately end in
failure.
The most profitable animal is the one that produces
best for the longest period in proportion to the food fed,
and that has the power of transmitting like production to
the progeny. Such a combination of qualities is never found
in the animal that has not been developed in equilibrium.
Grow a meat-making animal for showing at an early age
and its breeding powers are lowered. Require excessive
service in a young male and his possible development is
lowered. [Feed a meat-making animal a low diet in early life
and its meat-making powers are lowered.
Equilibrium in development has a far higher signifi-
cance in relation to animals grown for breeding and pro-
duction that will cover a term of years, than when grown
simply for the block. Witk the latter, the feeding term
is short, with the former it covers years. No great loss
may occur from over-developing a calf at the age of one
year, but it would be entirely different if a breeding ani-
mal were so over-developed at that age, that its prospective
usefulness was permanently lowered.
Equilibrium in development is the highest attainment
of the breeder’s art. The man in whose herd are a score
of really good animals and no culls, stands on a higher
plane than the man who has some prize winners and a
number of only ordinary animals in the same. The man
whose animals are all good performers has accomplished
more than the man who has some great performers and
some inferior, notwithstanding that the latter may shine
before the public while the former may be unknown to the
same.
CHAPTER: V.,
PRINCIPLES THAT GOVERN HABIT IN DIGES-
TION AND ASSIMILATION.
Digestion means the preparing of foods for being re-
sorbed into the system. Assimilation is the process of re-
sorbing them when thus prepared. The two processes
though closely related are distinct and yet both are fre-
quently included in the term digestion. Certain principles
govern both processes which have the strength of law. Con-
sequently they cannot be ignored by the stockman without
paying a proportionate penalty. In its essence, habit in
digestion and assimilation is the outcome of repetition con-
tinued long in one direction in a certain line. When the
repetition continues through a number of generations, it
becomes a habit of the system so fixed that it is transmitted
from generation to generation. The relation of habit to
these is evidenced: (1) In the fact of its existence; (2)
in the influences which flow from it; (3) in the modifica-
tions through food, and treatment of which it is susceptible,
and (4) in the greater ease or difficulty found in modifying
digestive and assimilative habits that have a bias in one or
more directions.
Habit, digestion and assimilation.—That habit exer-
cises a powerful influence on digestion and food assimilation
is abundantly evident. It is witnessed in the very different
results that come from feeding substantially the same foods
to animals of the same species and also to animals of differ-
ent species. Take, for instance, good hay and oats and
feed them to beef and dairy cows, to mutton and wool-pro-
ducing sheep, and to draft and standard-bred horses. Note
the difference in the product. The meat-making animals in
milk will turn the larger share of the food fed into muscle
89
go FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
and fatty tissue, while the dairy breeds will turn the major
portion into milk. The mutton breeds of sheep will turn
the larger portion of the food into meat, but it is meat
much unlike that made by beef cattle from the same feed.
The wool breeds of sheep will turn a much larger percentage
of the food into wool production and it will differ in
many respects from the wool of other breeds of sheep.
The same food fed to draft horses will be used largely in
making or sustaining strong bone and muscle, and if fed to
standard-bred horses in making or sustaining finer bone
of high quality, and in generating energy or staying power.
Thus it is that results so different, are produced from the
same foods in that dark laboratory of the digestive and
assimilative organs. The same is true of the lard and
bacon types of swine. Both may be fed on the same kinds
of food for a time at least, and the character of the pork
will be very different indeed.
It is very surprising that materials the same in kind
should be thus transformed into products so different. The
laboratory in which the transformation takes place is so
filled with mystery that the search light of science has not
been able to look into it very far. The diverse results from
feeding foods essentially the same in kind have a parallel
more or less close in the. different character of the fruits
of the earth, especially those of the same species which
grow side by side in the same soil.
But it must not be concluded that the strength of
those habits is such that many of them at least may not be
greatly modified. Nor would it be correct to conclude
that food alone would not be able to make marked: change
if given time enough. In this way the bacon hog could be
transformed into one of the lard type and vice versa
through the agency of food alone. But changes thus
brought about by natural causes may be hastened or re-
tarded by selection and in other ways.
DIGESTION AND ASSIMILATION OL
Influence of habit on digestion.—The influence of
habit on the digestion of food, its assimilation and the de-
position of its nutrients finds illustration: (1) In the
character of the flesh produced by animals of tke various
breeds devoted to the making of meat; (2) in the quan-
tity and quality of the milk yield; (3) in the degree to
which muscle and energy respectively are produced in
horses; and (4) in the degree to which flesh and wool re-
spectively are produced in sheep. The difference in the
extent to whick these characteristics are held in breeds ts
marked and what is more surprising in individuals of the
same breed. The beef breeds of cattle while being fattened
intermix fat and lean in a considerable degree. They do
not possess this quality in equal degree, nor do the animals
of the same breed possess it equal in degree. But they do
possess it in sufficient degree to furnish the breeder a
reasonably sure guide when determining the breed that
he shall grow to furnish meat of a specific character. While
all meat-making breeds of cattle have this characteristic,
it would seem to be more marked in the Aberdeen-Angus
breed than in some other meat-making breeds. ° Such de-
position of fat and lean adds to the juiciness and tenderness
of meat. The dairy breeds on the other hand are much
prone to deposit the fat internally and otherwise less inter-
mixed than in the beef breeds. Somewhat akin to this in
principle but not exactly in kind, is the depositon of fat
and lean in the bacon and other portions of the carcass in
the lard and bacon types of swine. The differences in the
texture of meat are also considerable, more especially when
there is much difference in the size of the respective breeds
which furnish the meat. The muscle in large breeds is more
coarse in texture than in those that are small.
The difference in the quality and quantity of milk
produced by the average of the respective breeds is very
marked. The Channel island breeds are proverbial for the
richness o1 their milk, the Holland breeds for the quantity
produced, and it would seem correct to say that the milkinz
g2 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
Shorthorns and Ayrshires are characterized by producing
milk in a sort of equilibrium in regard to quantity and
quality.
Equally marked is the difference in the degree of mus-
cle produced in the different breeds of horses and in the
difference in the degree of energy generated as manifested
in a difference in speed and staying power. The only limit
to the possible development of muscle on the one hand and
the generation of energy on the other is that set by normal
inheritance. It would not be correct to say that this limit
may not be changed, but it cannot be changed suddenly.
That one breed of sheep should possess wool on an
average 10 inches long and that another breed should pos-
sess the same but 3 inches long, though similarly fed, is
surprising. Nor is it any less surprising that the sheep
with the short wool, as for instance the American Merino,
should center the energies of digestion on the production
of wool, whereas the sheep with the long wool, as, for
instance Lincoln, centers its energies rather on the produc-
tion of mutton. |
It is not meant that these various habits are not
influenced to some extent or at least some of them and
very directly by the character of the food fed. It would
be easy to feed freely to a draft horse food, as corn for
instance, that would aid him in winning at a fair, whereas,
if the same food were fed equally to a standard-bred it
would cause him to lose in a speed contest. Likewise, food
that is best for beef production is not that which is best for
milk producion. Nor is it meant that these habits in diges-
tion may not be so ehanged in time as to lose their dis-
tinctive character, but the fact is emphasized that these
changes can only be effected gradually, hence the breeder
when commencing his work should give due recognition to
the influence which established habit in the animals which
he breeds is likely to exert on his work.
Modifications of habit in digestion—That habit in
digestion may be so modified as to produce certain results
DIGESTION AND ASSIMILATION 93
is sustained by the entire kistory of evolution in live stock.
At one time the Aberdeen poll was not the peerless beef
producer that it is today. There are also good reasons
for believing that centuries ago the Channel island breeds
gave milk less rich than the average of the milk obtained
from there now. Such modification finds further illustration
in the outcome from the way in which the heifer is grown
intended for the dairy, in the modifications made by corn
feeding in the bacon types of swine and in the improve-
ment of the milking qualities of the beef types of cattle.
It has been noticed that when the female of a dairy
breed has been fed foods from calfhood onward that are
rich in elements of fat and muscle production, the tendency
in the system to produce flesh and fat is strengthened to a
degree that appreciably lessens the value of the same as a
producer of dairy products. Because of this, the most suc-
cessful growers of dairy stock are careful to rear females
intended for the dairy on foods that make growth of frame
and muscle rather than fatty tissue. It will be observed
that this tendency in food appropriation in the system is
brought about by the influence of food only. -
The same is true of modification in the character of
bacon grown almost entirely on corn. In one generation
it will so modify the bacon produced that it will not be
assigned first place in the market, although it would have
been assigned first rank had it been properly grown. Let
such feeding be continued for a few generations and the
bacon form will be greatly modified. It will bear a much
closer resemblance to the form of the lard breeds.
The milk production of any class of beef cattle may
also be modified through food fed so as to considerably
increase the milk flow. It is a fact the beef breeds are not
equal in milk production, though fed similarly, a result
owing doubtless in part to inheritance, and in part to nutri-
ents contained in the foods which furnished the major
04 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
portion of their diet. Modifications in this direction, how-
ever, are quite slow unless aided by selection and facilitate.
by the influence of hand milking.
Habit in digestion also modifies the breeding season.
Animals well and suitably fed, breed more freely than those
not fed so well. Through the influence of food alone, the
breeding season may be greatly modified if not indeed
entirely changed. But such modification is greatly influ-
enced by selection as is the case with all modification. The
domestic cow as now kept breeds at all seasons. Her
sister running wild on the plains breeds only when the
spring grasses are suitable and abundant. They then pro-
vide ample food to enable her to nourish her young. The
relation, therefore, between food and management and mod-
ification of habit in digestion is abundantly clear.
Modifications not equally easy.—The modifications in
habit in digestion which are possible are by no means equally
easy. To illustrate: It does not take long to transform the
wool growing sheep into one that produces mutton that
may be considered high class. But it takes a long time to
make equally pronounced changes in the character of wool,
and marked modification in the constituents of mill call for
long generations, if not indeed centuries, to make them in
a marked degree.
Modifications in meat production may be quickly made.
The author purchased ewes from the range very common
in character. They were mated with a high-class South-
down ram. The female progeny of the next generation and
also of the next were similarly mated. The lambs of the
third generation were then exhibited at the International
Fat Stock show at Chicago in 1901 and won first honors,
both alive and dead, competing against the world. The
range females originally purchased were possessed of very
indifferent mutton form and they were of diverse blood
elements, Merino characteristics being in the ascendant.
Modification in the character of wool is made much
more slowly, notwithstanding that considerable modification
DIGESTION AND ASSIMILATION 95
is possible with each succeeding generation. It would seem
correct to say that modification in the length of staple in
wool is much more quickly made than modification in the
fineness of the same. Beginning with sheep producing
coarse wool, it would probably require more than a score
of generations of careful breeding and selection to produce
wool as fine in fibre as that of high class Merino wool,
whereas in less than half a dozen generations the form of
distinctively wool bearing sheep can be transformed into
high-class mutton form.
That modification in the essential elements of milk is
a work that is slow and tedious, is sustained by many exper-
iments conducted to throw light on this question. It is so
slow and so tedious that it seems as though centuries would
be required to effect marked change through food alone. Of
course careful and rigid selections would facilitate
the process. Contrary to the almost universally prevailing
belief, the food fed does not influence materially the per
cent of the fat in milk. A cow which furnishes milk low in
the per cent of butter fat will continue to furnish milk
essentially of the same character, though fed food ever so
rich in carbohydrates and fat. The quantity of the milk
furnished will of course be increased, and along with such
increase will come increase in the amount of butter fat pro-
duced, but only, or at least mainly, because there has been
increase in the quantity of the milk produced. To increase
the per cent of butter fat in milk would require ,the most
persistent selection through long years of careful breeding.
CHAPTER VI.
PRINCIPLES THAT RELATE TO RESTFULNESS.
When animals are not kept perfectly at rest there is
waste in the food fed to them proportioned to the degree
of the disturbing influence, from whatsoever source it may
arise. or of whatsoever character it may be. It is
seen in less development in growing animals than
would otherwise have resulted, in reduced milk flow in
the case of milk giving animals, in diminished increase
in animals that are being fattened, and in reduced ca-
pacity for labor in animals kept for such a use. This
suppression or withholding as it were, or reduction of ca-
pacity in performance, means in every instance that more
food will be utilized in attaining a given end than would
otherwise be necessary, since it adds just so muck to the
food of maintenance that would otherwise be required.
Since domestic animals have not the power to proclaim
their wrongs in speech, nature has thus furnished them
with this mute way of compelling attention that might not
otherwise be given.
Among the many ways in which these disturbing in-
fluences manifest themselves are the following: (1) Dis-
comfort arising from inclement weather or from protection
that is excessive; (2) unrest, caused by insufficient or exces-
sive feeding or by an unsuitable bed on which to lie;
(3) deprivation Tesulting from irregularity in feeding
or working; (4) suffering, caused by insufficient or
irregular water supplies; (5) irritation, caused by the pres-
ence of insect life in various forms; (6) injury resulting
from labor violent, excessive, unduly prolonged, or per-
formed under adverse conditions; (7) harmful results
from injury inflicted by vicious animals in the herd or
96
RESTFULNESS IN ANIMALS Q7
flock, or by those of some other species, and (8) unrest
growing out of sexual desire. All of these have the strength
of law. No one of them can be present without exacting
its proportionate penalty.
Unrest and undue exposure.—The injury resulting
from undue exposure has already been discussed with some
degree of fulness (see page 97), but not that arising from
excessive protection. Protection is excessive when it pro-
duces undue delicacy, permanently lowers stamina or les-
sens production. Delicacy is to some extent a question
of degree, and varies much with animals of the same species.
An animal becomes unduly delicate when it is no longer
able to fulfill the end for which it is kept without excessive
care on the part of the owner. A steer is too delicate for
range conditions if he cannot endure without hazard the
conditions to which all the animals of the herd are subjected.
A dairy cow is too delicate when she cannot successfully
endure any reasonable exposure required of the average
of the herd. Such delicacy may arise from various causes,
but more frequently from close housing in stables that are
too warm than from any other cause.
Protection that lowers stamina as it were by insensible
degrees is excessive, even though it should not reach that
point which produces delicacy that is apparent. The cow is
overprotected that is kept standing in the stable all winter
without the opportunity for exercise, even though the con-
ditions for ventilation should be perfect. The ewe is over-
protected when kept even a portion of the time in a shed in
which the heat of the body becomes excessive under the
fleece which she carries. The colt is overprotected when its
environment is such that it is not encouraged to take all the
exercise it ought to have in the open air to produce high
development in frame, muscle, wind and limb. The loss
of stamina from such protection may be so gradual that
it can only be certainly measured by comparing one gener-
ation with the previous, and yet it may be going on all the
while. Overprotection combined with unwise protection
98 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
is doubtless one of the leading factors in the delicacy that
characterizes to some extent the Jerseys and some families
of Shorthorns and Aberdeen Polls, in the marked tendency
which they have shown to fall an easy prey to tuberculous
diseases and also in other ways.
Increased delicacy and lowered stamina will assuredly
be followed by lower average production, and the degree of
the decrease, other things being equal, will be proportionate
to the degree of the increase in delicacy and decrease in
stamina. The proviso that other things shall be equal is
made because decreased production may arise from various
other causes for which increased delicacy and lowered stam-
ina may be in no way responsible. Decrease in production,
the outcome of one or both of these causes, is sometimes
witnessed in the lack of staying power in the running or
trotting horse, of endurance in labor in the draft horse, of
milk yields in the dairy cow, of vigor in new born lambs
and of decrease in the producing power of some of the
lard breeds of swine.
The fact, however, should be carefully noted, that the
degree of the protection called for varies with the species.
The necessity for this arises from a difference in inherent
constitutional endowment, modified by the object or objects
for which the animals are maintained. The highest degree
of protection is called for by swine, next come dairy cows,
then beef cattle, after beef cattle sheep and after sheep
horses and mules. In furnishing protection these constitu-
tional variations must be recognized. The degree of pro-
tection just right_for swine would soon prove fatal to
sheep, and that exactly suited to the dairy cow would be
destructively enervating to the korse.
Unrest and improper feeding.—When feeding is insuf-
ficient or excessive, the unrest that follows is proportionate,
and the same is true when the supply of litter is inadequate.
Food supplies are insufficient when they do not satisfy
the cravings of the appetite, when they satisfy the former
but do not afford sufficient nutriment, or when they are
RESTFULNESS IN ANIMALS 99
sought at a loss of energy that kinders growth or perform-
ance. They are excessive when they are taken to the extent
of producing digestive derangement or even temporary
discomfort.
The sense of deprivation caused by hunger in animais
cannot be described vy language, but it can be understood
in a way by every human being who knows what it is to be
hungry. It begets unrest. It is not when the lion’s appe-
tite is satisfied that he ranges through the forest, but when
he is hungry, even in the stall the animal will not be content
under such conditions. There is hindrance, therefore, to
growth or performance arising from the unrest growing out
of short supplies in addition to the hindrance to these aris-
ing from insufficient nutrition.
Food given in excess produces discomfort for the time
being and if continued for any considerable length of time
will eventually derange digestion. There are some foods
which animals will not usually take in excess under normal
conditions. Grass is one of these and hay is another.
Wheat bran among meals stands almost alone in not pro-
ducing digestive disturbance under ordinary conditions,
though the animal should eat of it to the extent of satis-
fying the appetite, and oats among cereals comes the nearest
to accomplishing the same without injury. Notwithstand-
ing, grass under some conditions will lead to purging, hay
in some instances will hinder rather than help labor, as
when eaten by horses to excess, and the same is true of bran
and even of oats if eaten in excess by the running horse
just before a race.
Other foods are only dangerous when eaten under
improper conditions, as for instance clover and rape pas-
ture, and yet are always harmful when eaten under such
conditions. Nearly all kinds of cereals and the by-prod-
ucts made from them are harmful but by no means equally
so when eaten in excess. Prolonged feeding of these in
excess is certain to produce derangement of the digestive
organs. As soon as this.occurs these become unable to
L. OF ¢,
100 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
fulfill their functions. Nutrition is not taken in sufficient
quantities from the food, hence the case becomes one of
Starving in degree in the presence of waste. If such feed-
ing continues, the consequence will be more harmful, owing
to the tax put upon the digestive organs through feeding
to it excessive supplies of food.
But should the animal have to labor unduly in getting
its food, and notwithstanding, the supply secured is short,
the injury resulting will be correspondingly greater. An
illustration is furnished by animals on short supplies of
food when pasturing. Under these conditions every step
taken by the animal in excess of what is necessary to main-
tain health is taken at a loss to development or perform-
ance. The same is true of work horses who are made to
expend too much energy in masticating food not properly
prepared for them when taking their noonday meal in the
short space usually allotted to it.
Discomfort frequently arises from requiring animals to
lie down on a bed which does not furnish the requisite
conditions of comfort. Any bed harder than earth which is
not furnished witk bedding is too hard. The same is true
of any bed that does not furnish the resting animal with
conditions that will maintain the necessary bodily heat.
These questions call for consideration from those who use
cement or concrete floors, notwithstanding their excellences
in various ways. Yards in which steers are compelled to
lie down amid numerous clods formed from congealed ex-
crement furnish sleeping conditions adverse to well
doing. Damp beds for swine in cold weather will soon
produce physical wreckage, and these are even more
fatal to sheep. The degree of the loss from discom-
fort arising from allowing cattle that are being fat-
tened to wade in miry yards has been made the sub-
ject of experiment by some of the stations, and as
was to be expected, it has proved to be considerable.
Under some conditions ample supplies of litter may be dif-
ficult to obtain, but because of their absorbing powers they
RESTFULNESS IN ANIMALS Iol
are useful as well as because of the comfort which they
bring.
Unrest and irregularity—Domestic animals come to
look for food at a definite time when they are fed with
reasonable regularity. Although they cannot of course con-
sult a timepiece, they come to know almost to a minute
when the time for feeding arrives. That they are in the
expectant mood is shown by cattle in the stalls usually
rising to their feet when the hour for feeding draws near,
and by those in the field being at the feeding troughs when
they are accustomed to get their food. ‘The ox knoweth
“his owner and the ass his master’s crib.” Sheep will
frequently proclaim this expectancy by bleating if there is
any delay, and swine above all animals will proclaim their
sense of neglect by the unanimity which they show in
making hideous noises. Delay in feeding in such instances
means unrest, a condition which can be well understood by
the individual who goes beyond the accustomed hour in
taking food.
The same is true of furnishing water. Where water
is accessible at all times, of course animals will help them-
selves when they want it, but when supplied only at inter-
vals they come to look for it at such times. The systern
craves it because of the habit begotten, and experiences
disquietude when it is not supplied on time.
It is equally advantageous to: milk cows with unfail-
ing regularity. When the usual hour arrives they expect
to be relieved of the milk which they have been making,
otherwise its retention interferes more or less with milk
elaboration for the next milking. Experience has shown
that maximum production in milk cannot be realized from
any cow from which the milk is not regularly withdrawn.
It has been noticed that even the unhallowed rest which
on Sabbath morning sometimes leads to delay in milking
the cows of a herd, sensibly decreases the milk flow from
two or three milkings immediately following.
102 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
It is equally important to work horses with regularity
where the circumstances are such as will admit of it.
Habit in work is much the same in horses as in men. Ask
a man to perform the work that he is accustomed to do
between the hours of seven and twelve in the morning
at any period of equal duration prior to that hour or sub-
sequently, and he will not perform it with the same ease,
though sufficiently supplied with nutriment that may be
exactly suitable. Habit has prepared the muscles for work-
ing under certain conditions, and at certain times, and any
disturbance in those conditions means lessened capacity
for work. This is seen no less in the domain of mind than*
in that of matter. In one instance, a man does his best work
intellectually in the early morning hours. In another in-
stance, another will do his best work in the late evening,
and this may sometimes happen with members of the same
family. Ask either to do the same work at any other
hour or hours of the day and the effort would end iu
failure. The same law governs the effective use of mus-
cles in men that governs the same in horses.
The farmer who is his.own feeder, and who makes the
time or times of feeding subservient to the demands of
other work greatly errs. Other work is with things inani-
mate, or at least with things that do not feel, and conse-
quently are not conscious of deprivation. The feeding
of a herd or flock, therefore, should never be made to
give place to the plowi-, of a field.
Unrest and insect pests.—<As is known to all, certain
forms of insect and parasitical life prey upon domestic
animals to an extent that seriously hinders growth during
the period of growth and production at a later period.
These may, speaking in a general way, be divided into
three classes; viz., those which irritate temporarily by
their bite or sting; those which produce prolonged irritation
by the intolerable itching which they give rise to, and those
which affect a lodgment within the tissues or within cer-
tain organs of the body. To the first class belong flies,
RESTFULNESS IN ANIMALS 103
to the second the mite which produces sheep scab, and
to the third the stomach worm.
Each class of domestic animals has its own peculiar
insect and parasitical foes. The horse is annoyed by many
kinds of flies and also by certain skin diseases which pro-
duce unrest, although every form of irritation from the
itching of the skin does not arise from the presence of
insect life. The condition of the blood may produce much
irritation. The Bot fly (Gasterophilus equt) is peculiarly
the enemy of the horse.
Prominent among the fly enemies of cattle are the
House fly (Musca domestica), and the Horn fly (Passalus
cornutus). They are also annoyed by warbles or grubs
which are developed in the fleshy tissues immediately under-.
neath the skin. They suffer from the presence of lice which
irritate by biting. They are also liable to attack from such
skin diseases as ringworm and mange, the latter of which
is peculiarly harmful, because of the ease with which it
is communicated, the extent to which it annoys and the pro-
longed treatment oftentimes called for in removing it.
Sheep are peculiarly liable to attack from a species of
the Gad fly (Tabanus ruficornis), which at a certain time of
the year sometimes succeeds in depositing eggs in the nos-
tril, which give rise to the trouble known as “grub in the
head.” The Sheep tick (Melophagus ovinus) and the mite
(Psoroptes equi), which produces scab, are peculiarly
enemies of sheep. The same is also true of certain par-
asitical troubles, such as Tape worm (Bothriocephalus
latus), Stomach worm, (Ascaris lumbricoides,) and nodule
clisease.
Swine are muck subject to attack from lice, which,
unless dislodged, go down from one generation to another.
They are also subject to mange, and there is no animal
probably which suffers so much from the house fly. This
arises in part, at least, from the extent to which they are
so frequently fed and housed in proximity to surroundings
favorable to the breeding of the flies.
104 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
The methods by which those varied forms of insect
life are to be combated will not be discussed here. They
have been mentioned for the purpose, first, of pointing them
out as prominent among the sources of annoyance and
harm to domestic animals, emanating from insect and par-
asitical sources, and second, of emphasizing the fact that
their presence is always adverse to well doing in farm
animals. The injury resulting ranges all the way from
temporary annoyance of short duration to weeks and some-
times months of suffering. In other instances death re-
sults. Watchfulness may entirely prevent the presence of
many of those sources of irritation and in other instances
prompt action may remove them when they appear. But,
whenever present, they exact a proportionate penalty which
the owner of the stock has to pay.
Unrest and labor.—All labor is harmful when it is
carried to the extent of hindering growth before maturity,
production before or after maturity, or when it shortens the
period for producing. Illustrations are furnished in the
grazing of animals on short pastures, overtaxing digestion
at any time and in working horses beyond their capacity.
Up to a certain limit, grazing is not labor. It is exer-
cise which tends to invigorate the whole being of the ani-
mal. It becomes labor when it disturbs the equilibrium
that should exist between exercise and rest. Under some
conditions, it may not be possible to maintain such equi-
librium, as when animals graze on mountain pastures or on
those of the range. But under farm conditions the proper
relation between thése can usually be controlled by the exer-
cise of sufficient forethought. The amount of exercise thus
taken without injuring differs in species and in individuals.
Horses and sheep can take more than cattle and swine,
and light-bodied animals more than those that are heavy.
But in all instances when the amount of time called for in
securing food does not allow time enough for rest and
recuperation, the penalty is hindered growth or production.
RESTFULNESS IN ANIMALS 105
When an animal is given an undue proportion of unnu-
tritious elements in the food fed to it, the labor put upon
it is excessive in digesting such food. Suppose it could
take enough to supply its needs, energy is thus expended to
no purpose, hence flesh-making, milk-giving or return in
physical work is so far hindered. Again an animal is being
fattened. It is given more concentrated foods than it can
properly digest. Energy is unduly drawn upon in the effort
of digestion to reduce and assimilate the excess, and again
in the effort of the secretions to carry off the waste. There
is thus a waste of energy, even though the power to digest
should not become impaired. Again, when food is given
not in the best condition of preparation for being easily
digested, the digestive powers are taxed unnecessarily. Po-
tatoes fed in the raw rather than in the cooked form to
swine that are being fattened, furnish an illustration of
such feeding. Happily, however, many foods as furnished
by nature are in the best condition for easy digestion as
nature has furnished them.
The requirements of labor from the korse are excessive,
first, when more labor is required of him than his natural
physical endowment can endure, that is, when he is worked
beyond his strength; second, when more labor is exacted
than the food nutrients though digested can sustain; third,
when the labor though not excessive in kind is excessive in
degree, either through being too violent in character as
when a horse is overdriven, or too long continued as when
he is worked too many hours. The law of equilibrium
between labor and rest demands that sufficient time must
be given from day to day to rest as well as to work, and
when this is not given the penalty of a lessened return
is exacted with unfailing certainty.
Overwork in all these instances reduces the period for
profitable production and in proportion to the degree of
such overwork. The earlier in the life of the animal that the
overwork occurs, of course the more harmful it is, because
of the longer period that is affected by it. Animals are
100 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
also more susceptible to injury from this source while in
process of development.
Unrest and vicious animals.—In some instances, the
stronger animals of the stud or herd so injure and domineer
as it were over those that are weaker, as to hinder develop-
ment or production, and in some instances both. This
tendency is more strongly developed in horses and cattle
than in sheep and swine, and probably for the reason that
they are more effectively armed with weapons of offence.
Sheep are almost entirely free from viciousness, hence they
have come to be the emblem of innocence and passive sui-
fering.
In some instances the tendency is inherited, in others
it is begotten and strengthened by short supplies of food.
In the latter instances horses, cattle and swine will play
the dog in the manger over food that may be given, with
the difference that they consume the best of the food,
whereas, the dog does not consume any. Under such con-
ditions horses sometimes strike and kick viciously, cattle
gore mercilessly, and swine will move back and forth
wantonly along the trough, punishing every animal as they
go and eating all the time with gluttonous haste. Even
sheep, when rack room is not abundant, will, through
crowding, force the weaker animals to stand back and
watch for their opportunity. Unless some remedy 1s
brought to bear, the return from the weaker animals will
be seriously lessened.
In some instances the only remedy is removing either
the strong or the weak to separate quarters. This remedy
is about the only one that can be applied in the case of
horses and swine. With cattle, dehorning is_ effective.
The removal of the horns after they have grown a while,
say until the animals are one year old, is more potent in
its influence on docility than preventing the horns from
growing in early calfhood. If the horns, are not allowed
to grow, the animals learn to strike with the head more
or less. If they are allowed to remain long enough to
RESTFULNESS IN ANIMALS 107
enable the animals to realize their use, and yet not long
enough to permit them to do serious harm to their fellow
animals by using them, the spirit of viciousness is almost
completely broken. Dehorned animals are more completely
docile than animals naturally polled.
Animals chased or injured by wild animals, as wolves,
or by wanton dogs, sustain injury far beyond that resulting
from the actual physical harm at the time. Chase and worry
swine by dogs occasionally, and they become restless. They
will in time rush away when a dog is called within their
hearing, whereas, other swine will give no heed to such
calls, indicating that apprehension, which means unrest, is
present in their conceptions. Sheep that have been chased
by dogs once or oftener, become so apprehensive that in
some instances they never produce profitably again. The
injury done by dogs to sheep and the apprehension of loss
from this source, has probably retarded sheep husbandry
more than all other causes combined. The supineness that
has been shown in dealing with this question by legisla-
tures is nothing short of a stigma on an intelligent people.
In some instances animals suffer greater injury at the
hands of man than from each other. Some attendants are
simply brutal in their treatment of animals, and the same
is true occasionally of owners. The basis of their treat-
ment rests on passions uncontrolled. Angry words and
angry blows are of frequent occurrence. Their unoffending
dependents instinctively shun their presence when they can.
The unrest thus occasioned results in decreased produc-
tion. The penalty thus paid is always proportioned to the
degree of the unrest occasioned by such treatment, and it is
meet that it should be so. It would not seem fitting that
such offenders should reach final judgment before they re-
ceive the first instalment of the retributive punishment
due to their indefensibly harsh treatment.
Unrest and sexual desire.—With breeding animals,
unrest is occasioned at certain seasons by sexual desire.
108 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
With females such unrest occurs at certain regular inter-
vals. Those intervals are known as seasons when in heat,
and they occur with unfailing regularity, when conditions
are normal, from the time that females are capable of con-
ception until they reach an age when they are no longer
able to conceive. Of course the period of pregnancy and
for some time subsequently to parturition are exceptions.
ft is in a sense surprising, that with domestic quadrupeds
the interval between those periods is practically the same,
notwithstanding the marked difference in the natural longev-
ity of the different species. They occur at intervals of
21 days, and last for about three days. During those periods
the animals are in a condition of unrest, and one of its
worst features is that it tends to disturb other animals of
the herd. Because of this, where it 1s practicable, such
animals should be confined until the season of heat 1s
passed. During their continuance production in the form
of either milk or meat is greatly hindered.
When animals are reared for meat only, unrest from
sexual desire is prevented by castration or spaying opera-
tions, which may be performed with greater safety when
the animals are young than when considerably advanced
in age. These operations have a beneficial influence on
development with reference to increase in certain parts of
the carcass that are more valuable for meat and decrease
with reference to parts that are less valuable. This is more
especially true of males. The influence thus exerted is far
reaching and has an important bearing on the relative price
that shall be paid for the finished carcass.
When males are’ kept mainly or solely for breeding
purposes, as a rule they should be kept separate from
the females, because of the unrest from sexual desire caused
by unrestrained access to the presence of the latter. This
unrest is of course greatest when some of the females are
‘in heat, and in such instances it results in needless waste
of energy on the part of the male. Even when kept apart
but in adjoining fields, the unrest thus occasioned may lead
RESTFULNESS IN ANIMALS 10g
to results that are greatly harmful. In some instances with
swine, males have been rendered impotent by such prox-
imity to pastures in which females have grazed in large
numbers.
Nor is the plan to be commended of allowing males and
females to herd together during seasons when the females
are pregnant, or when they do not come in heat. The latter
are much liable to be disturbed by the former, and to the
extent of more or less of harm resulting to both.
CHAPTER Vil.
PRINCIPLES THAT RELATE TO PROLONGED
USEFULNESS.
Years ago domestic animals matured much more slowly
than they do today. Those intended for labor were not
pushed so rapidly nor were they required to work so early
as is customary with such animals today. Those intended
for the block were given at least 50 per cent more time
in which to reach maturity than is accorded to them today.
Nor were cows reared for the dairy bred so young as now.
The bearing of this upon prolonged usefulness with reference
to labor, continuity in profitable breeding and abundant milk
giving was very direct and far-reaching. Unquestionably,
the relation between the time required for maturity
and the continuity of usefulness is very direct and close.
There is not the shadow of a doubt in the mind of the
author that quick maturity secured under high pressure
feeding tends to shorten this period of usefulness in the
life of the animal, notwithstanding that the demonstration
of this fact may in a sense be an impossibility at the present
time, from the absence of the necessary data.
The benefits from prolonged usefulness are many and
important. These include the following: (1) The ani-
mal must be grown for a time before it begins to give any
return, hence, the shorter the period of usefulness in ani-
mals, the larger the number that must. be grown in order
to produce a given result. From want of sufficient data, it
may not be possible to show that there is more profit in
maturing animals for labor and milk giving, also for breed-
ing with only moderate haste than under high pressure
feeding, but in view of the fact, first, that fewer animais
are to be reared and maintained to produce a given result;
second, that the results from breeding are more satisfactory ;
110
USEFULNESS IN ANIMALS LLY
and third, that high selection is more easily possible tke
fewer the number of animals required, it would seem rea-
sonable to conclude that highest profit would result from
not rushing maturity. The additional cost also of securing
the larger number of animals prior to the birth period, tends
to further strengthen this conclusion; (2) the feeding is
not of the high pressure order, and therefore, it is not so
costly. Too much must not be made of this fact, however,
as it is to some extent offset by increased cost of food
of maintenance in the slower maturing animals; (3) the
productive return is more certain than from animals young
and unproved, hence the risk of introducing animals that
are inferior for work as breeders, and also as performers at
the pail, is reduced to a minimum. Fewer animals are
required to produce a given result, for the reason that they
produce for a longer period. The smaller the number of
the animals to be chosen, the less the hazard of introducing
individuals that are mediocre or low performers. Nor is
the fact to be overlooked, that the early years of productioa
are not so valuable as those that come later. The young
horse is not at his best for two or three years after he
begins to labor and the same is true of milk giving in the
cow. The fewer the number of animals, therefore, that are
required to produce a given result, the fewer relatively will
be the number of those years of performance below what is
maximum. It is different, however, with animals that are
being grown for the block. The more quickly they are
grown without excessive feeding, the more profitably are
they grown.
Deferred production and usefulness.—The period of
usefulness may be prolonged in various ways. Among
these are the following: (1) By not seeking production
at too early a period in the life of the animal; (2) by
practicing moderation in feeding while the animal 1s in
process of development and subsequently; (3) by intel-
ligently adapting the degree of exercise given to the needs of
I12 FEEDING FARM “ANIMALS
the animal. Of course, inheritance also has a qualifying influ-
ence, but that phase of the question has already been dis-
cussed. (See page 37.)
Production is sought at too early a period when the
animals are bred too near the birth period, when the milk
giving begins at too young an age, or when labor is required
at a period too early in the process of development.
The age at which animals should be bred depends
somewl:at on the class of the animal and also the object for
which it is kept. There should be a proper relation be-
tween the period of the first breeding and the period of
average usefulness in the life of the animal. The longer
the time covered by this period, the longer should the first
mating be deferred. It is evident, therefore, that deferred
breeding would stand in the following order with domestic
animals: Standard-bred horses, draft horses, beef cattle,
dairy cattle, sheep kept mainly for wool, sheep kept mainly
for mutton, swine grown primarily for bacon and swine
of the lard types. The longest period of the deferred breed-
ing would apply to standard-bred horses, and would de-
crease with the other classes in the order named. It would
seem at least approximately correct to say that the relation
between the time of the first mating and the period of use-
fulness covered in the life of the animal, would be as one
is ta six; that is, if the period of usefulness covered by
the average animal were 12 years, it may be bred at the
age of two years. This would make the minimum age
for breeding the various classes of animals named approx-
imately as follows: Swine of the lard types one year,
mutton sheep one and one-half years, dairy cows one and
three-fourths years, cows of the beef breeds two years,
draft mares two and one-half years, and the standard-bred
three years. In practice the two classes of sheep and swine
named are bred at the same age, in order to have the young
produced at the most favorable season of the year for such
production, and in order to accomplish this, the time for
the first breeding may come a little earlier or later than
USEFULNESS IN ANIMALS igi
the age named. Sheep, for instance, are sufficiently ma-
tured for being bred at a younger age than 18 months, but
for the reason just given are not usually bred until 19
months old.
The objection to immature breeding is found in the
undue tax which it puts upon the system. While develop-
ment is yet uncompleted, the system is taxed by reproduc-
tion. When the energies of the system are thus divided at
too early an age, the development of the animal is hindered,
so that it is less perfect than it would otherwise be. The
same is true of the animal produced. It has not been de-
veloped in the highest sense while in embryo, and, there-
fore, begins the race in life at a disadvantage. Stamina is
lowered and size lessened in both the animal producing and
that produced. The argument is not tenable that animals
may be bred as soon as they are capable of breeding. To
practice this generally would be followed by decadence,
that would result in great deterioration with domestic ani-
mals and with the human family as well. Should it be
objected that wild animals breed at the earliest age possible,
and yet do not deteriorate, the answer is found in the pre-
carious character of the food supplies which insures rela-
tively slow development.
A second objection to immature breeding is found
in the fact that no sooner has the animal produced than
the drain on the system in order to feed it becomes inten-
sified. The influence of such a drain is best seen in the
quick tendency in the sow, and especially the immature sow,
to lose flesh while nursing her young. Beyond question,
reproduction unduly early, though it may hasten returns at
the first, is obtained at the cost of less perfect development
and also at that of a curtailed period of production. Should
the animal thus required to give milk while yet imma-
ture be soon bred again, the evil is intensified. The three-
fold burden is laid upon the animal of completing matu-
rity, of furnishing milk and of again*nourishing the foetus
from a second impregnation.
114 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
Should the question be raised as to whether animals
should be allowed to mature fully before being bred, theo-
retically the answer given must be yes, but practically it
is no. It has been noticed that there is some danger that
the organs of reproduction may become less active 1f
breeding is long deferred, hence the number of non-breed-
ers is increased by such breeding. Food overabundant and
lacking in succulence intensifies such a condition. It is
also thought, that a habit of the system to nourish the
frame, at the expense of lessened capacity for milk pro-
duction, is thus unduly intensified. It would seem probable,
however, that many dairymen have overestimated this dan-
ger, and have in consequence been led to breed the young
females of the herd at too early an age. Where influences
thus antagonistic meet the breeder in his operations, the
only wise course is compromise, that is to have animals
bred while. maturity is yet uncompleted but at a more
advanced age than that at which they are now generally
bred.
The third objection to immature production applies to
labor, such as is now generally performed by the horse
and mule. If labor, and especially labor unduly severe, is
required of these animals while short of maturity, capacity
for labor will undoubtedly be lessened and also the period
of effective labor. Notice, it is not labor that is thus crit-
icised, but labor that is unduly severe, which means driving
the standard-bred horse too rapidly at too young an age
and setting the draft horse and the mule drawing burdens
beyond their strength. In both instances, such labor con-
tinued until the energies are faggéd intensifies the resultant
injury. But light labor, even at an early age, should not be
in any sense harmful, since it is in line with the natural
tendency in the young horse to take abundant exercise.
Without doubt the muscular capacity of the draft horse
could thus be increased by judicious labor while young, and
also the staying capacity of the standard-bred by judicious
driving at an early age. It is more important with the
USEFULNESS IN ANIMALS TEES
horse and mule that the period of production shall be
prolonged than with animals whose flesh is used for meat
since labor is the only return which these animals furnish.
Moderate feeding and usefulness.—The influence of
excessive feeding at any time during the life of the animal
is adverse to prolonged usefulness, and the earlier that it
occurs, the more harmful is it. The harmful influences are
clearly seen in the results from fitting young animals for
the fair, in the decline of breeding power in the milch cow
fed for any prolonged season under high pressure, and in
the curtailed period of production in the same.
The opinion is current among experienced breeders
that fitting a herd or flock for the fair is in a manner
sacrificing the breeding qualities of the same. The advice
is freely tendered to those who are about to lay the foun-
dation of herds or flocks not to invest in prize winning ani-
mals. The opinion in the one instance and the advice in
the other, is grounded on experience and observation, if
not indeed on both. When breeders claim, as sometimes
they do, that a certain animal in the herd is too valuable
to sacrifice by fitting it for the fair, there is great signifi-
cance in the statement. It is not to be understood, however,
that the breeding powers of all animals are destroyed or
even greatly lowered by such fitting, but it is to be under-
stood that such hazard is always or nearly always present,
and that it is the result of forced feeding. The larger the
proportion of succulent foods fed, the more advanced the
age of the animal and the greater the skill of the feeder,
the less is the hazard from such fitting, and in fitting dairy
animals it is largely eliminated, since the basis of judgment
rests largely on the evidences of milk capacity which does
not involve the question of capacity to lay on flesh.
That breeding power in milch cows wanes under high
pressure feeding of long duration has been shown in nu-
merous instances by the results from such feeding with
many of the most famous performers at the pail. The state-
ment cannot be gainsaid that the progeny from them which
116 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
have been equally famous at the pail have been relatively
few. Such feeding apparently disturbs that equilibrium
of the system which is equally favorable to milk-giving and
to breeding capacity. The energies of the system become
so centered on the former, that transmitting power is ap-
parently weakened. It has also been noticed that the
duration of the period of such production has been short,
seldom covering a period of more than two or three years.
It then materially declines, and no amount of skill can again
restore the equilibrium. The digestive machinery has been
driven at a pressure so high that it has become impaired,
and the period of profitable production in the cow has been
proportionately curtailed.
Steady, prolonged and high production that does not in
any way impair or destroy equilibrium in the system, is
to be sought by the breeder rather than phenomenally high
production, spasmodic and short lived. The temperate zone
is to be preferred to either the frigid or the torrid zone.
Likewise the medium high production that does not call for
forced feeding to produce it, and that does not impair trans-
mitting power or in any way curtail capacity for prolonged
usefulness, is to be preferred to high pressure production,
transient in duration. Ten years of milk production in a
cow aggregating 60,000 pounds of milk, the outcome of
moderately high feeding, and a numerous progeny of good
performers is much more profitable than six years of milk
production aggregating the same, the outcome of immoder-
ate feeding, and a progeny not numerous nor capable.
Exercise and usefulness.—The bearing of exercise on
prolonged usefulness is both direct and far reaching. It
qualifies with a certainty that is unerring the degree of the
present good health that the animal shall possess, the extent
to which it shall possess stamina, the powers of reproduc-
tion and also the various functions concerned in production,
whether in the form of milk or labor. The degree of exer-
cise calléd for, however, differs with animals of the dif-
ferent species. Horses require the most and swine will
USEFULNESS IN ANIMALS 17
do with the least among domestic animals. Sheep must
be given more exercise than would be suitable for cattle.
Young animals also call for more than aged. Such exer-
cise is a necessary accompaniment of muscle development,
and in the firming of muscles during the growing period.
That nature has made provision for it is witnessed in the
gambols of young animals which grow less and less with
decrease in the necessity for them, as age advances. The
adverse influence of want of exercise is readily seen in
the case of swine, even when confined in close pens and
especially when fed a carbonaceous diet. Soon they become
unable to use the limbs and general disaster follows if such
treatment is continued. So is it with all animals. It is
only a question of time when deprived of exercise as to
when the inevitable premature breakdown shall come. The
influence of want of exercise on stamina is probably most
readily seen in the horse. Deprive the colt of exercise
and the muscles are so soft as to become incapable of
enduring properly taxing labor at a later period. There
will also be a deficiency in lung expansion and hence a
deficiency in staying power.
Nowhere is the baneful influence of insufficient exer-
cise more apparent than in the extent to which it impairs
the powers of reproduction. That probably more than any
single influence is responsible for barrenness in domestic
animals. The adverse influence which it exercises on the
character of the production in breeding is even more
marked, as is witnessed in the enfeebled condition in which
young animals so frequently come into life. Exercise may
even be withheld to the extent of rendering the animal
unable to bring forth when the birth period is reached.
The adverse influence of insufficient exercise on pro-
duction has already been touched upon when speaking of
its influence on muscle development and staying power in
the colt. The dairy cow in milk will probably do with less
of it than any other animal on the farm. But, unquestion-
ably in time, the want of exercise will tell adversely on
118 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
production in the dairy cow, if in no other way than through
the enfeebling influence which such want of exercise would
exert on her entire system. The limit of the restriction
that may be put upon the exercise given to a dairy cow has
not yet been fully determined, and probably it never can
be to the extent of formulating any rule that will prove
generally applicable since it is a factor that will be influ-
enced by conditions which relate to breed and general man-
agement. That the results referred to above will tend to
curtail the period of possible usefulness in an animal is so
patent that it does not need demonstration.
Of course the period of usefulness may be curtailed by
over exercise, but such exercise will seldom be taken vol-
untarily. If taken it is under the constraint of labor that
compels, as in the case of the horse, or under the necessity
for exercise in searching for food, as in the case of ani-
mals kept much of the time on pastures quite inadequate to
their needs.
Extent of prolonged usefulness.—There is, of course,
a limit to the period covered by the profitable production
of all animals. That period differs in the classes of domestic
animals and in the breeds of the same. Since it is influenced
by feeding, management and inheritance, it is evident that
the duration of this period is in a sense flexible. It may be
prolonged or shortened. The tendency during recent years
has been to shorten it through shortening the period of
maturity. It would seem to be easily possible to carry
change in this direction too far, especially for the best
interests of breeding, of milk production and of labor.
With meat-making animals it is different. The end for
which they are grown is the block and the age at which
they will bring greatest profit for this purpose, all things
considered, is the age when life should terminate with
them.
It is entirely different, however, with breeding ani-
mals. The successive acts of breeding involve repetition,
and the greater the number of the instances of successful
USEFULNESS IN ANIMALS I1g
repetition in breeding proper in character, the greater will
be the degree of the profit from keeping such animals for
breeding. The same is true of milk giving. There is
succession in its periods, and the longer the succession of
those periods, that is, the greater their number without
much diminution in the maximum of milk furnished by
each, the greater will be the return. With reference to
labor there is also. succession, and more constant in char-
acter than is possible from either breeding or milk produc-
tion. It is in some instances daily repetition from year
to year. Its daily occurrence without the necessity for pe-
riods of temporary cessation other than those necessary for
rest from day to day, make its prolongation still more
important. The importance of such prolongation is fur-
ther emphasized by the fact that usually animals used for
labor, that is horses and mules, are not used for meat after
the labor term is ended.
From what has been said, it will be very evident the
age limit of usefulness cannot be definitely fixed. With
animals grown primarily for meat, the shorter the life
period which duly considers the cost up to the time of birth,
and which does not involve too costly feeding, the better.
With animals maintained primarily for breeding and in a
secondary sense for meat production at the close of the
breeding period, the aim should be to prolong the period
of such breeding. The limit of such prolongation would
be the limit of capacity for breeding without any diminu-
tion in the individual prospective excellence in the progeny,
and without too much reducing the value of the carcass
when finally disposed of. With animals kept primarily
for milk production and in a still more secondary sense for
meat making, at the end of the milk-giving period, it is
still more important that the period of usefulness shall be
prolonged, since animals may be profitable for milk giving
for a longer period than it would be profitable to retain
progeny which they may bear for breeding uses.
120 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
In other words, animals may be profitable for milking
when so far past the meridian of vigor that they may not
be able to produce animals possessed of the highest essen-
tials for successful breeding. The limit of the period of
usefulness with these would seem to be the limit of mark-
edly profitable milk production. The resultant meat pro-
duction from them is of so little account that it is scarcely
worthy of serious consideration as a factor in influencing
duration in the milking period. It is quite different, how-
ever, with dual types of cows. With them the carcass is
a factor of no little importance, hence its value should be
considered. The limit of the duration of milk giving in
the dual cow would probably be the same as the limit of
the duration of her capacity for successful breeding. But
most of all is it important that the period for useful labor
shall be prolonged in horses and mules, for reasons already
given. The limit of the duration of such usefulness is not
easily fixed. It ought to cease when the relative cost of
maintenance and of driving become too great relatively for
the resultant profit. Then it is that such animals should
be sent to the shades of non-existence by some form of easy
death. To sell them to those who are liable to abuse them
subsequently would be in a sense criminal,
CHAPTER: VIE:
PRINCIPLES THAT. RELATE TO PREGNANCY
The discussion of this question will consider only such
phases of pregnancy as will show the relation between food
and exercise and development during the period of preg-
nancy and the nursing period that immediately follows it.
The whole question in the wider sense is discussed by the
author in the book, ‘““Animal Breeding,’ Chapters IX to
XVI.
Among the principles that relate to food and exercise
in their relation to pregnancy and that have the strength
of law, are the following: (1) The time of mating is
much influenced by the food fed; (2) the degree of the
impregnation is influenced by bodily condition at the time
of mating; (3) the relation between the food fed and the
character of the development in utero is intimate and close;
(4) sufficient exercise for pregnant animals is absolutely
essential to successful breeding; (5) a reasonably high con-
dition of flesh during pregnancy is in no way antagonistic
to successful breeding; (6) dams in good flesh at the time
of parturition can nourish their young better than those
in low flesh.
Pregnancy and time of mating.—The chief influences
that determine the breeding season are food, habit and in-
heritance. The first of these only will be discussed here.
Food affects the time of mating through the influence
which it exercises on the system as a whole, and more
particularly on the organs concerned in generation. It
would seem correct to say that whatever aids digestion
will also prove an aid to prompt and regular breeding.
The breeding impulse is influenced by the character of the
121
122 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
food fed as to its constituents, the degree of its succulence
and the nutrition which it contains.
Some foods are less favorable than others to repro-
duction, because they are ill-balanced. An exclusive corn
diet is too highly carbonaceous. A diet consisting entirely
of sorghum is even more harmful. Other foods are in suf-
ficient balance, but their condition is too dry. Such is grass
of certain kinds, matured and dead. Others again are too
watery. Grass young and watery may have reasonable
balance in its constituents, and yet be too watery, as when
it induces a condition of the bowels so lax as to be unfa-
vorable to development for the time being. Foods in rea-
sonable balance as to their constituents, possessed of ample
nutrients in proportion to their bulk and withal succulent,
but not watery, are the most favorable to breeding. Thus
it is that cows wintered on a low and dry diet come in
heat after having fed for a long enough season on grasses
succulent and nutritious. It also explains why ewes act
similarly which have reared lambs after they have grazed
for a short season on well-grown rape. This explains also
why wild animals that breed once a year, breed only at
a particular season
Any food that is possessed of the desirable nutrients
and that has a reasonable amount of succulence when fed
with sufficient liberality. to improve the condition of the
animal will have the effect of hastening the breeding
impulse. This arises from the fact that food that tends
to build up the system stimulates activity in all the func-
tions of the same, including the organs of reproduction.
The knowledge of this fact has been turned to practical
account by the stockman. It has enabled him to hasten
the mating season with ewes after their lambs have been
weaned, and likewise the breeding of sows from which
two litters are sought each year. It enables the stock-
man also to modify the season for breeding. This has
proved of great practical service in connection with the
breeding of cows.
PREGNANCY IN ANIMALS 123
Pregnancy and impregnation.—The character of the
food fed not only influences the season for mating, but it
also influences what may be termed the degree of the
impregnation. This means that the character of the de-
velopment in utero is influenced more or less by the physi-
cal condition of the parents at the time of mating. It
means also that with animals which produce more than
one at a birth, the relative number of the progeny will be
influenced by the same condition.
That the first influence referred to is operative has
been determined by observation. Similarly it has been
ascertained that this influence extends to the male, how-
soever the female impregnated may be fed subsequently.
It is fair to infer, therefore, that the same is true of the
influence of the female at the time of mating.
But it would seem reasonable to suppose that the
sum of the influence exerted by the female prior to the
‘birth period, would be greater than that from the male,
not in determining form and other inkerited qualities, but
in influencing the size of the young animal or animals
when born, the relative degree of bone and muscle pos-
sessed, and also the vigor of the young animal at that
time since these are of necessity influenced by the food
fed to the dam while the foetus is in process of de-
velopment.
That the condition of both parents at the time of
mating does influence the numbers of the progeny where
more than one is very commonly produced at a birth has
also been ascertained by observation. If either parent is
reduced in physical vigor, whether from want of sufficient
nourishment or from excess of the same, the influence is
adverse to relatively numerous progeny. The influence of
a diet lacking in succulence acts in the same direction,
though sufficiently nourishing. These, of course, are not
the only influences that affect prolificacy, but they are
among the most potent, though not so potent as inheri-
tance.
I24 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
The influence thus exerted has been turned to good
account, more especially by flockmasters as those of Great
Britain. As the breeding season approaches they exercise
special care in the feeding of the ram. The aim is to give
him food sufficiently nourishing and succulent to keep
him in a vigorous and “sappy” condition. Likewise the
ewes are put upon fresh and nourishing pastures two or
three weeks or more before the breeding season. Usually
the pastures are supplemented with a small allowance of
grain. In some instances the pastures are sufficiently
nourishing without grain, as for instance when they con-
sist of rape well advanced in growth. Similarly by feeding
brood sows nourishing food subsequently to the weaning
period, and for a longer or shorter period before weaning,
it has been noticed that the numbers in the litters are
increased. The duration of the building-up period, so to
speak, is dependent on the degree of the flesh carried.
Pregnancy and food.—That the relation between the -
food fed and the character of the development im utero is
both intimate and close is witnessed in the varied results
fram feeding different foods to pregnant dams of the same
species. When the carbohydrates are in excess in the
food, the development of muscle is so far less than it would
otherwise be. When the protein is in excess, the muscular
tissue will be in excess at the time of birth, hence the
progeny though large when born are much liable to be
flabby and weak. When the ash is deficient, the relative
proportion of bone will be too little and the quality of the
same will be lacking.
Feed corn for instance as the exclusive diet to a preg-
nant sow and the young when born will be less in size, and
possessed of less bone than is normal. Corn is not a bal-
anced food. It is rich in carbohydrates and deficient in
ash. Feed clover hay to pregnant ewes and along with it
large quantities of rutabagas, and the lambs will be large
at birth but flabby and weak. In such food there is an
excess of protein.
PREGNANCY IN ANIMALS 125
The importance of feeding foods in balance and suit-
able in kind to pregnant animals is too frequently under-
rated. When it is not thus fed, the young are at a disad-
vantage at the very outset, from the lack of equilibrium in
development. Such disadvantage can never be entirely
overcome. ,
The danger is also present that malformations will
be more numerous when ill-balanced food is fed, and that
TYPICAL CHESTER WHITE SOW
the proportion of still-born will be increased, and that
troubles will multiply at the time of parturition, and also
that the newly born animals will call for more careful
attention than would otherwise be necessary.
Pregnancy and exercise.—That ample exercise for
pregnant animals is essential to the well being of the
progeny has been abundantly proved in the realm of expe-
rience. The relation between the amount of exercise taken
by the dam when not excessive, and vigor in the progeny
when born, other things being equal, is constant. This
accounts for the much greater vigor of the lambs of the
Cheviot and Black-faced Highland breeds of sheep dropped
on their native pastures, as compared with those of some
126 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
of the large breeds when kept in small paddocks during
the larger portion of the period of pregnancy. The for-
mer are not easily caught when but a few hours old, the
latter frequently call for special attention to get them on
their feet.
The amount of exercise required by the different
classes of domestic animals when pregnant varies. The
mare calls for even more than the ewe, and the ewe needs
more than the cow and the brood sow. The cow will bring
forth her young with reasonable safety under conditions of
confinement that would prove fatal to the progeny of the
breeding mare. Likewise the sow will produce with rea-
sonable success under conditions of confinement that would
prove fatal to the progeny of the ewe. The importance of
this question is such as to encourage the efforts of stock
growers to increase the exercise taken by pregnant dams
under confined conditions in winter. This may be done
by enforcing labor in the case of mares and by compelling
other dams to take some exercise by changing the condi-
tions of feeding.
Milch cows will breed with reasonable success under
conditions of close confinement in winter providing they
have access to the pastures in summer. The confinement
may be as close as restriction to the stall and its stanchion
or tie chain. Notwithstanding, the stamina of the progeny at
birth is less than that of calves from cows which have some
daily yard exercise, and the stamina of calves from the latter
at birth is less than that of calves born on pastures months
subsequently to the commencement of the grazing season.
Pregnancy and good flesh.—That a reasonably high
condition of flesh rightly put on previous to or during
pregnancy is in no way detrimental to successful breeding,
but rather the opposite, is capable of easy demonstration. It
is sustained by theoretical principles, the soundness of -
which cannot be shaken, and by the results of practical
experience, notwithstanding that the opposite view is still
held by some breeders.
PREGNANCY IN ANIMALS 127
The dam of course must nourish the foetus from the
time of impregnation. The nourishment comes through
the circulatory system. The circulation is sustained from
the food digested. It stands to reason that as soon a3
conception has taken place, a part of the nutriment from
the food eaten is diverted from the dam, who would other-
wise profit by it, to the foetus which she carries. If she
is in a condition of reasonably high flesh at the time of con-
ception, she will not suffer by such diversion, but if in
low flesh at such a time then the opportunity to build up
the system and thus to fortify it against the drain which
the milk-giving period entails is so far taken away. It is
true of course, that a dam in low condition at the time of
conception may be so built up as to be in good flesh at
the time of parturition.
Of course, it is easily possible to have the dam in so
high a condition of flesh at the time of mating as to be
unfavorable to conception. It would also be possible to
sustain her in a condition of flesh so high as to be unfa-
vorable to the development of the fcetus. Such difficulty
is met with in the management of females shown at fairs
which are grown chiefly for producing meat. The progeny
of such females are in many instances less than average
in size at birth. It should be remembered, however, that
for one animal too high in flesh at the time of conception
and during pregnancy for the best results, there are many
animals too low in flesh for the same.
When pregnant animals carry flesh, to the extent of
proving adverse to successful breeding, it will usually be
found that the adverse results are owing more to the
unsuitable character of the food which made the flesh than
to the high.condition of flesh. The influence of high flesh
made by feeding carbonaceous foods, such as corn and
fodders lacking in succulence though rich in nutrients, is
very different from that exerted by the same resulting
from feeding foods in balance and withal succulent. The
same is true of course of the influence exerted by foods
128 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
on development in utero. if a dam in low flesh at concep-
tion is brought into high flesh before the time of parturi-
tion by feeding foods highly carbonaceous, such foods will
be. adverse to development in the foetus. The same con-
dition of flesh can be attained by feeding succulent foods
in balance without injury to the fcetus, but a longer time
is required to produce such a result.
The extent to which nutriment in the food will be di-
verted from the dam to the fcetus is not governed alone
by the character of the food. Two dams of the same breed
may be fed the same kind of food when pregnant and one
will nourish the foetus much better than the other, though
all the conditions are the same. One female with suitable
food will increase in flesh but at the expense of the progeny,
as evidenced in small size at birth. Another female under
like conditions will not increase in flesh, but will produce
a robust progeny of large size at birth. The reasons for
such variations are not well understood, but it is probable
that habit in digestion, the result of inheritance and also
the character of the feeding previous to the first conception,
exert an important influence.
Pregnancy and nursing.—That dams in good flesh at
the time of parturition can nourish their young better than
if in low flesh is proved by observation and by general
experience. So constantly do such results follow that they
cannot be gainsaid, even by those who are opposed to the
idea of much flesh in the dam when her young are born.
When a dam produces progeny while she is low in
flesh, the drain upon the system is such in nourishing her
young, that howsoever she may be fed, she will scarcely
be able to maintain her weight. It is more than probable
that she will lose rather than gain. The more. freely that
she produces milk, the more probable is it that she will
lose rather than increase her flesh. The food that she
furnishes to her young must come almost entirely from
the food which she eats. Suppose the same dam had been
in good flesh at the time of parturition, and that the extra
PREGNANCY IN ANIMALS 129
flesh she carried had been made from suitable foods, she
would then have been possessed of a reserve supply as it
were from which to nourish her young in addition to the
milk produced from the food fed. As in the former in-
stance she would lose flesh but not to anything like the same
degree, owing to the extent of the reserve in flesh. Her
young, therefore, would be nourished not only by milk, but
by the reserve food in her system transformed into milk.
In the second instance, therefore, she would certainly
nourish her young much better than in the first instance.
While doing so, she would be possessed of greater vigor
than in the first instance, and this would have a favorable
bearing on the processes of digestion.
The advantages from maintaining a good condition of
flesh in pregnant animals, therefore, include the following:
(1) They have a reserve fund stored in the system which
is drawn upon for the advantage of the young after they
are born; (2) they are possessed of more vigor which is
turned to good account in the processes of digesting and
assimilating the large amounts of food fed; (3) they are
much less liable to reach that low condition of flesh which
is not favorable to high production or profitable breeding.
Abundant flesh, however, produced by food highly car-
bonaceous in character, would be unfavorable to impregna-
tion, and if maintained subsequently by feeding similar
food, would also be unfavorable to the developmert of the
foetus and to the proper feeding of the young animal when
born. Such foods fed freely to dams in low condition when
their young are born, will aid in maintaining fiesh in them,
but at the expense of the progeny, as such food is not
favorable to milk-giving.
PART HH:
Having discussed the leading principles that govern
feeding in Part I, it is now in order to discuss in Part II
the value of type in the animals to be fed, and the princi-
ples that govern the actual feeding of the foods with refer-
ence to adaptation to age and class. The principles that
govern feeding will not avail unless the foods are fed to an-
imals of at least measurably correct form to answer the pur-
pose for which they are fed. Nor will these avail unless
the rations used are given in at least approximate accord
with the principles that govern the actual feeding of the
foods. Chapter IX, therefore, will discuss the value of
type in domestic animals and Chapter X, the principles
that govern the feeding of foods.
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CHAPTER IX.
THE VALUE OF TYPE IN DOMESTIC ANIMALS.
Type may be defined as another name for form or
conformation. But it differs from these in that, when used,
it has reference to form or conformation, bearing upon
adaptation to a certain end, whereas these terms apply to
conformation in the abstract. In the strict sense it applies:
(1) To conformation within the breed rather than to con-
formation within the class to which the breed belongs.
For instance, the class cattle embraces many breeds. These
differ from one another in form, hence they differ from one
another in type. But within some of the breeds are cer-
tain strains or families possessed in common of peculiarities
of form. In Shorthorn cattle, there are the Bates, Booth
and Cruikshank strains. Each of these constitutes a type
which differs from the others in certain points of conforma-
tion, hence these differ from one another in type; (2) to
conformation within the class as determined by classifica-
tion, or, to be more exact, as making classification possible.
For instance, within the species cattle are known as the
beef, dairy and dual purpose classes. Each of these em-
braces several breeds, and also many animals of mixed
breeding, possessed of certain peculiarities in form in com-
mon, with reference to a certain énd, notwithstanding other
peculiarities of form in which they differ. Hence, they are
also spoken of as beef, dairy and dual purpose types; (3) to
animals possessed of certain peculiarities of form which
stand out more prominently than other peculiarities but
without reference to breed or grade, as when cattle are
referred to as being of the low-down, blocky, or of the
longer limbed and more rangy form. They are then com-
monly referred to as possessed of the blocky and rangy
types respectively.
133
134 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
Type is valuable as an indicator of utility or adaptation
for a certain end. Peculiarities of form in horses indicate
capacity for speed or labor respectively, or for a combina-
tion of the two. In cattle these indicate capacity for
meat or milk, or for a combination of the two. In sheep
they indicate capacity for mutton or wool production, and in
swine for producing meat of a certain quality. In a sense
less pronounced, it is an indicator of breeding qualities, of
general ruggedness or weakness, and of feeding capacity.
But its chief value lies in what it indicates with reference
to capacity for production, as of meat, milk, wool, speed
or labor.
Type, however, as an indicator of utility or adaptation
is to be taken as a general, rather than as an absolute guide.
In a general sense, it is an infallible guide. Jor instance,
when a cow is possessed of pronounced dairy form, it is
also known that she is possessed of far higher adaptation
for producing milk than for producing meat. But this ex-
act degree of her capacity for milk production cannot be
known in the absence of actual proof, the result of perfor-
mance. Hence, it is, that no judge living can go into an ex-
hibit of dairy cattle, all the individuals of which are high
performers, and tell to a certainty which stand highest in
actual milk production. So it is with performance in all
lines and with all classes of live stock. This is owing to
the bearing which other qualifying influences have on pro-
duction; such as habit, use, training, and also to the wis-
dom previously exercised in the application of the various
known influences that have a bearing on development in
performance or production.
Type should be sought in the highest degree obtain-
able in the line of what it indicates, providing it is not car-
ried to that point where it begins to react prejudicially
upon properties co-related and essential to highest perform-
ance or production in the direction sought. For instance,
should ranginess in the running horse be sought to the ex-
tent of weakening staying power, the type thus sought is
TYPE IN DOMESTIC ANIMALS ~ 135
extreme. The same is true of dairy type that carries light-
ness and spareness of form to the extent of undue narrow-
ness in the chest and hind quarters, of mutton type that
carries blockiness to the extrente, which is prejudicial to
breeding, and of bacon type which carries length of body
so far as to produce unprofitable feeders.
Type is the basis on which rests the classification of
breeds with reference to production or performance. To
be more precise, it is the interpreter of the indications of
that utility on which classification rests. It divides cattle
into the beef, dairy and dual purpose classes; sheep, in a
general way, into mutton and wool-producing classes ; swine,
into producers of lard and bacon, that is, fat and lean pork;
and horses into draught, light and general purpose classes.
Each of the individual breeds within the class is also char-
acterized by its own distinguishing type features.
It is very evident, therefore, that if food is to be util-
ized to the greatest extent possible, this can only result
when it is fed to animals possessed of the correct type for
the end sought. To feed food to animals possessed of pro-
nounced beef type in the hope of securing a high return in
milk would be in vain, and vice versa. To feed food in
harmony with correct type for the ends sought is positively
fundamental, or these ends will not be obtained. This
necessity has the strength of law as shown in Chapter IIT.
To aid the student and indeed any who may desire to
get a correct knowledge of form or type, what are termed
“standards of excellence” have been drawn up for the
various breeds, as such, and also for the various types,
grouped with reference to adaptation to a certain end. In
some instances, these standards are known by the designa-
tion “scale of points” and in others by the term “score
cards.” The scale of points is so designated because a cer-
tain value is affixed to each expressed requisite relating
to form, singly or taken in groups, and stated in figures.
The sum of these for each standard is 100, which indicates
perfection. The score card is simply a scale of points,
130 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
usually condensed in the terms in which it is expressed.
It is intended to show the student the relative value of
each particular factor or requisite of form, but it is not
adapted for use in the show ring, because of the time con-
sumed in using it thus. When judging by the score card
blank spaces for the numerals are filled in by the student,
according to his judgment of the merits of the various
points of the animal which he is judging, and the sum of
these indicates his judgment of the standing of the animal
in relation to perfection.
These standards, as usually drawn up, are intended
and very properly so, to indicate the perfect animal of its
kind or class. In some instances, indications of function
are also given as well as those of form. It is very evident,
however, that correct form in the same animal will apply
very differently, at least in some phases thereof, according
as the animal is in high flesh, moderately high flesh, or lean.
This means that the standard of perfection for meat-mak-
ing animals in good flesh as given in the standards, will
not furnish a sufficient guide for the person who is select-
ing animals for feeding. For instance, the standard for the
beef cattle beast in good flesh calls for full crops. Should
the animal be lower in flesh, the crops will not be full, and
so of various other points of conformation. But the meas-
ure of fulness in the crops of lean animals varies greatly,
and the ability to distinguish between these, so as to know
whether future good feeding will fill the crops or not, and
how far it will fill them, is of great moment to those en-
gaged in producing meat. The ability to judge animals
prospectively with reference to future development is much
more rare than ability to judge the standing of the finished
animal. Cattle, sheep and swine, purchased with a view to
growing or fattening them, or for both uses, are usually
purchased while in moderate, or even in a low condition of
flesh. To purchase these on the basis of standards drawn
up to represent the animal in perfect condition as to flesh,
would be misleading.
TYPE IN DOMESTIC ANIMALS 7,
In the hope of furnishing more exact guides to those
who single out animals for future feeding, or who purchase
them for the same, feeding standards will be submitted,
which are intended to show the leading essentials of form
which such animals should possess. This, however, will not
be necessary in the case of animals not kept primarily for
growing meat, as dairy cattle and horses. As these are
supposed to be maintained simply in that moderate condi-
tion of flesh most favorable to production of milk in the onc
instance and of labor in the other, the necessity for two
classes of standards for these does not exist as in the case
of animals grown for the block. Type will now be con-
sidered in its relation to cattle, sheep, swine and horses
respectively.
Type in its relation to cattle—Type with reference
to production, as already intimated, divides cattle into the
beef, dairy and dual purpose breeds. The recognized beef
breeds in America are, the Shorthorn, Hereford, Aberdeen
Angus and Galloway breeds. The vast majority of high
class animals suitable for the best productions of meat are
grades of these, which means that they are the progeny of
sires of one of these pure breeds, and of females of common
or mixed breeding. The dairy breeds are the Holstein,
Dutch Belted, Ayrshire, Guernsey, Jersey, French Canadian
and Kerry. Likewise, the great majority of good dairy
cows in the country are grades of these, more especially of
the Holstein, Ayrshire, Guernsey and Jersey breeds. The
higher the grade, both in the case of beef and dairy cattle,
that is, the greater the number of the successive generations
of straight breeding from sires of one breed, the more
valuable are the animals likely to be, up to a certain limit,
for the ends for which they are kept. The dual purpose
breeds are, the milking Shorthorn, the Brown Swiss, the
Red Poll and the Devon. The bulk of dual purpose an-
imals are not confined to the high grades of these breeds,
but as found at present are composed of various blood ele-
ments, in many instances, blended without much system.
“
138 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
But they are produced with much more certainty and satis-
faction as the direct progeny within dual purpose breeds
or high grades of these.
Type in cattle for feeding.—The standards of perfec-
tion not only for beef cattle but for each of the recognized
pure breeds in America, and also for each of the pure
breeds of sheep, swine and horses, are intended to repre-
sent what these should be in the perfected form. A correct
SELECTED STEER FOR FEEDING
{By courtesy of the owner, Ill. Exper. Sta.]
knowledge of the standard for any breed is invaluable to
the person engaged in breeding the same. These stand-
ards are given in the “Study of Breeds” written by the
author. But the standard for the guidance of the breeder,
as already intimated, in the case of animals designed for
the block, is not the same as that for the feeder. For the
guidance of the latter, therefore, when selecting cattle,
sheep and swine, standards for these respective classes of
TYPE IN DOMESTIC ANIMALS 139
animals will be submitted, each in its proper place. That
for cattle is as follows :—
- Principal points in cattle for feeding.
1. Uniformity—They skould be selected with a view
to uniformity in breeding, size and quality.
2. Size—At least medium for the age and breed.
3. General Outline-—The body should be moderate in
length, with good depth and width, and not high from the
ground. F ;
4. Head.—Of medium size, short, broad and clean cut.
(a), Forehead, broad,
(b), Muzzle, large, broad and moist,
(c), Nostrils, large and expansive,
(d), Eyes, large, full, clear, calm,
(e), Horns, of medium size and good texture and
oval in shape,
(f{), Ears, of medium size, short and broad for the
breed, carried firmly and not unduly active.
5. Neck.—Moderately short, with indications of good
muscling as shown in depth and thickness.
6. Back.—Straight from base of neck to tail-head, width
and levelness depending somewhat on condition as to flesh,
and having large loin area.
7. Fore quarters.—Wide and deep, fulness in front, also
width and levelness at withers, depending largely on the
flesh carried.
(a), Shoulders( broad, front and top shoulder points
not too prominent, smoothness of shoulder being
largely dependent on the amount of flesh present,
(b), Chest, capacious,
(c), Breast, broad and deep, fulness depending on
flesh carried,
(d), Brisket, broad but breadth is dependent largely
on condition, :
(e), Arm, broad at elbow, well muscled, and taper-
ing markedly toward the knee.
140 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
8. Barrel or coupling—Large, wide and deep.
(a), Ribs, good outward spring and good length,
well spread apart and well muscled,
(b), Crops, full preferably, but fulness is dependent
largely on condition,
(c), Foreflank, deep and moderately full,
(d), Hindflank, deep,
(e), Barrel depression, but moderate in size,
(f), Underline, straight or nearly so,
(g), Girth, good around flank and heart and about
equal.
9g. Hind quarters——Long, deep and wide.
(a), Hips, broad and well muscled,
(b), Rump area, large and broad from loin to tail-
head and the more level the better,
(c), Pin bones, wide apart and placed on a level or
nearly so with the loin,
(d), Thigh, broad and well raised!
Cen, ise low.
10. Legs.—Both before and behind, short, straight,
and set well anart with bone of fairly good size and qual-
ity.
11. Handling qualities —
(a), Skin of moderate thickness and covered with a
fair amount of hair,
(b), Pliability of skin and softness of coat are de-
pendent chiefly on conditions relating to food and
flesh.
Points especially objectionable——These include, prob-
ably in the order named, a narrow chest, a long, slim head
and neck, flat ribs, a small loin and rump area, and a rough
shoulder and hook points.
Reasons may be given in minute detail iy these in-
dications of form and function should be present. But to
give them in connection with each of the standards sub-
mitted would unduly swell the contents of the book. For
the fuller study of these, the reader is referred to “Animal
TYPE IN DOMESTIC ANIMALS I4t
Breeding,” more especially the chapter therein on “Animal
Form an Index of Qualities.” However, as standards in
previous works by the author have not been submitted re-
lating to the proper furnishings of animals selected for
feeding, the following brief explanations will be in order :—
Uniformity is important because of its bearing upon even-
ness in quality and attractiveness and through these on
price. Size has an important bearing upon future possible
increase. The head and neck indicate in various ways ca-
pacity for development and the character and quality of
the same. The back has an important bearing upon the
character and hence upon the value of high-priced meat.
The development of the fore quarters influences weight,
and indicates measurably the degree of the stamifa. The
barrel development indicates capacity for food consumption,
in its relation to possible production. The hind quarters
have an important bearing upon weight of relatively high-
priced meat. Legs short, straight and wide apart, usually
sustain compact and wide bodies. Handling qualities indi-
cate the character of the digestion and more especially of
the assimilation of food. The carriage is an indication of
health, vigor and disposition.
Development in the framework of all immature animais
must continue until maturity, hence, the fattening of young
animals carries on development of the frame but in a less
degree relatively than of the flesh. In animals more ma-
ture, the development relates mainly to the clothing of the
framework with flesh and fat and in those mature entirely
so. In the latter, therefore, fattening affects only in a
slight degree the head in all its essentials, the chest capacity
and the size of the limbs. With reference to the head, chest
and limbs, therefore, the standards for the unfinished
and finished animals are virtually the same. But in various
other respects, the difference is marked.
Prominent among those differences are the follow-
ing:—(1) In the finished animal the entire body becomes
more massive and the carriage more labored; (2) the neck
142 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
vein is more filled, the back is wider and more level, the
breast is fuller, the brisket is wider, the fore flank becomes
fuller and the hind flank thicker, the crops become fuller
and the thighs increase within and without; (3) the cover-
ing of the parts usually bare, or nearly so, in the lean animal,
as the shoulder blade and loin is increased; (4) the points
prominent in the lean animal, as the shoulder points, hooks,
AAGGIE CORNUCOPIA PAULINE
World’s Champion Holstein seven-day butter cow with her
owner and breeder, H. D. Roe. Record 34 lbs. 5.2 ozs.
[Photo by Prof. W. G. Johnson.]
and pin bones, become less so, in some instances, to the ex-
tent of being hidden and (5) the skin often somewhat harsh
and adherent over the ribs in the lean animal, becomes
much more pliant and loose, and the hair increases in mos-
siness an brightness.
Type in dairy cattle—With dairy cattle the leading
indications of form and function are essentially the same in
all breeds and grades, from the time that the cow first
TYPE IN DOMESTIC ANIMALS 143
comes in milk until she is sent to the shambles. Even be-
fore lactation begins, the indications are virtually the
same, except that in the heifer not yet in milk, the inclina-
tion to paunchiness in barrel is not so pronounced, and the
milk veins are not so large, as they develop with age and
use, and the udder is not sufficiently developed to furnish
the opportunity for properly judging of the character of its
glandular development. The one standard, therefore, will
suffice for dairy cows, viewed from the standpoint of capac-
ity for production. The variations arising from breed pe-
culiarities may be found from the standards for the respec-
tive dairy breeds given in the “Study of Breeds.”
Indications of correct form and function in dairy cows.
1. Size—Medium to large for the breed or grade.
2. General outline—What is known as the triple
wedge-shaped formation, which means,
(a), Increasing width from the withers downward,
(b), Increasing width toward the rear parts,
(c), Some increase in distance between the top and
bottom lines as they go backward.
3. Head.—Medium to fine, clean cut, and relatively
.onger, lighter and more dished than in the beef breeds.
(a), Forehead, broad and dishing,
(b), Nose, fine,
(c), Muzzle, medium to broad and moist,
(d), Nostrils, large and open,
(e), Cheeks, clean and spare,
(f), Eyes, prominent and lively,
(g), Poll, medium to wide, according to breed,
(h), Horns, fine,
(i), Ears, medium with ample secretions, thinner
than in the beef breeds and somewhat livelier.
4. Neck.—Inclining to long and light, almost slim.
(a), It should be fine at the junction of the head
and should widen and deepen only gradually,
I44 FEEDING FARSI ANIMALS .
(b), The junction with the body should be well de-
fined, almost abrupt in character.
5. Back.—Narrow at the withers, wide at the loin, and \
at least moderately so at the pin bones, and straight or
swayed according to individuality.
Guys Sen back is to Le preferred, other things
being equal,
(b), The spinal column should be large, well de-
fined and open spaced,
(c), There should te more or less downward slope
from the crupper to the outer edge of the kip.
6. Fore quartcrs—Lighter than the hind quarters and
spare.
(a), Withers, narrow,
(b), Shoulders, not heavy, pronounced in their up-
ward slope toward one another, and more or less
abrupt in front,
(c), Chest, wide through the heart and capacious,
(d), Breast, wide below, but not prominent,
(e), Brisket, wedge-shaped,
(f{), Arm, inclining to light.
7. Barrel_—Long, deep, capacious, in a sense paunchy.
(a), Ribs, broad, wide-spaced, with a deep, down-
ward and outward spring, and much space between
the last rib and hook point,
(b), Crops, steep, but not necessarily depzessed,
(c), Fore flanks, fairly well filled,
(d), Hind flanks, thin but not sunken,
(e), Underline, more or less sagged,
(f£), Girth, at least fairly good around the heart, and
increasingly so at the hind flank.
8. Hind quarters——Long, but varying somewhat in the
breeds, wide at top of the hips and coming well down, but
without fulness.
(a), Hips, not heavy, but more heavy in some breeds,
(b), Thighs, inclining to light, thin and more or
less incurved,
TYPE IN DOMESTIC ANIMALS 145
(c), Buttock, upright or receding somewhat to-
ward the thigh,
(d), Pin bones, prominent and wide-spaced,
(e), Twist, open, placed high, and roomy,
(f£), Tail, not coarse, tapering, of good length, and
hanging at right angles to the back.
g. Escutcheon—Well defined and well developed
from the perineum to the udder and extending well out-
ward on the thighs.
(a), Breadth below the perineum is said to denote
prolonged milking qualities,
(b), Width at the thighs is said to indicate deep
milking qualites.
10. Udder.—Long, broad and deep, extending well
forward and well up behind, and evenly quartered.
(a), It should be well let down, but not pendulous,
and the skin should hang in loose folds behind when
the udder is empty,
(b), In quality it should be fine and elastic, glan-
dular, not fleshy,
(c), The hair on the udder should be soft and not
plentiful,
(d), The veins on the same well defined,
(e), The teats of medium size and squarely placed
or pointing slightly outward.
Milk veins —Large, tortuous, preferably branched
and entering the abdominal wall, well forward and throug
large orifices, usually called milk wells.
(a), More commonly there are but two milk wells,
but more are much prized,
(b), The veins increase in size with edyeone age
in the animal.
12. Legs—Medium in length, fine in bone and
straight, at least fairly wide apart and yet well under the
body.
146 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
13. Skin.—Medium to fine, finer than in the beef
breeds, easily movable, and covered plentifully with fine,
soft hair.
14. General appearance——The carriage should be
active, the prominences at the angles and also the ribs dis-
tinctly apparent, and there should be evidences of a ten-
dency to spareness in form when in milk.
Given in summary the more important . indications
in a good dairy cow and important perhaps in the order
given are the following :—
(1) Much length and depth in the barrel or coupling,
indicating a large consumption and utilization of food; (2)
refinement of form, as evidenced more particularly in the
head, neck, withers, thighs and limbs; (3) good develop-
ment of udder and milk veins; (4) constitution, as in-
dicated by a capacious chest, much width through the
heart, a broad loin, a full, clear eye, and an active carriage;
(5) downward and yet outward sprung and open spaced
ribs, covered with a soft, pliable and elastic skin. Details
relating to nerve power, or temperament, constitution and
vitality, also quantity and quality in milk are given in the
“Study of the Breeds,” page 16. (See also XVIII.)
The males differ from the females in the following es-
sentials, as outlined in Extension Bulletin No. 9 of the
Michigan Agricultural. college :—
1. The general outline should be stronger, including
more bone and should possess marked indications of mas-
culinity, as shown in head, neck and fore quarters.
2. The head_should be strong and full of character
and vigor, as expressed in its poise, clean cut outline, width
at forehead and full active eye.
3. The neck should have less of length, more of
muscling, and should be somewhat arched.
4. The fore quarters should be more strongly devel-
oped and should have good width and depth of breast and
chest as a strong guaranty of good constitution.
TYPE IN DOMESTIC ANIMALS 147
5. Lhe back should be straighter, stronger and. wider.
6. The barrel should be relatively shorter and more
compact.
7. The hind quarters should be relatively longer and
broader, the width being carried well back from loin to
tail-head, and the hip bones set well apart.
CHAMPION BROWN SWISS COW
[Typical Dual Purpose Cow.]
[By courtesy of the owner, E. M. Barton, Hinsdele, I1l.]
8. The rudimentary teats should be well developed
and the milk veins should be easily traceable.
g. The skin should be thicker and heavier and yet it
should be loose, soft, pliable, mellow and elastic and covered
with a good coat of soft, silky hair.
10. The general appearance should indicate what may
be termed irrepressible action, but without any tendency to
viciousness.
As the indications of milk inheritance are not so easily
traced in the dairy male as in the female, it is more im-
portant relatively ‘that he shall come from ancestry dis-
148 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
tinguished for abundant dairy production in the near gen-
erations thereof. It is also more important because of the
more numerous progeny which comes from the male.
Type in dual purpose cattle—The essentials in
form and function in dual purpose cattle are virtually the
same in all the breeds and grades of this class. The chief
differences are such as relate to breed and grade peculiari-
ties. The differences pertaining to breed may be ascer-
tained by consulting the standards given in “The Study
of Breeds.” Those pertaining to grades of those breeds are
virtually the same, but may be less in degree.
Indications of correct form and function in dual purpose
cows.
1. Size—Large in form and capacious in body, not
massive like the high type beef animal, neither coarse nor
unduly refined and possessed of what may be termed a
happy equilibrium in development.
2. General outline—The form should be parallelo-
grammic rather than wedge-shaped, and nearly evenly de-
veloped in front and rear.
3. Head.—Only moderately large and inclining to
long, clean cut and free from throatiness.
(a), Forehead, wide,
(b), Nose, inclining to long and fine,
(c), Muzzle, medium to strong and moist,
(d), Nostrils, large and open,
(e), Cheeks, lean,
(f), Eyes,~large, prominent and neither restless
nor sleepy,
(zg), Poll, varying with the breed or grade,
(h), Horns, inclining to fine when present,
(i), Ears, of medium size, thickness and action, but
varying with the breed or grade.
4. Neck.—Inclining to long and fine, but not slim.
(a), Not coarse at the junction with the head.
TYPE IN DOMESTIC ANIMALS 149
(b), Of medium increasing width and depth toward
the shoulder, and joining the latter neither abruptly
nor so smoothly as in the beef breeds.
5. Back.—Moderately wide at the withers, wide at the
loin and pin bones, and straight.
6. Fore quarters.—Nearly equal in development with the
hind quarters.
(a), Withers moderately wide,
(b), Shoulders large but not prominent, and pos-
sessed of medium upward and forward slope,
(c), Chest, wide through the heart, capacious,
(d), Breast, wide, moderately deep and full,
(e), Brisket, wide and but moderately full,
({), Forearm, broad and but moderately full,
7. Barrel—Long, deep, roomy, capacious.
(a), Ribs, at least fairly well sprung and deep, well
spaced, easily discernible when the animal is giving
milk, and possessed of good space between the last
rib and hook point,
(b), Crops, filled up nearly level with the shoulder,
when in fair flesh,
(c), Fore flanks, low and full,
(d), Hind flanks, low, moderately full and of less
than medium thickness,
(e), Girth, good at the heart and at least good at
the hind flank,
(f), Underline straight, or slightly rounded down-
ward,
8. Hind quarters——Long, wide, deep and but slightly
drooping away from the sacrum and crupper.
(a), Hips straight on the sides,
(b), Thighs, broad and in a line externally with
the hips, and possessed of but little or no incurvature
behind,
(c), Buttocks, straight, or nearly so,
(d), Pin bones, wide, but not prominent,
(e), Twist, open and placed moderately low,
150 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
(f), Tail, inclining to fine and long, smoothly set
on and hanging at right angles with the body.
9g. Udder.—Capacious, evenly quartered, coming well
forward and backward and not too high or too low.
(a), When empty it should be pliant, not fleshy, and
with much loose skin hanging in folds at the rear,
(b), The teats should be of good size and pointing
slightly outward.
10. Milk veins—Large, long, tortuous, all the better if
branched, and they should enter the body through large
orifices or milk wells.
11. Legs—Medium in length and bone, straight and
widely placed.
12. Skin.—Medium, inclining to fine, easily movable
particularly on the ribs, and plentifully covered with soft
hair devoid of coarseness or harshness.
13. General appearance.—The large, refined and fairly
smooth form of the dual purpose animal carries with it
evidences of producing capacity.
(a), In movement, it is neither sprightly nor slug-
gish, but easy,
(b), When in milk, it is not high fleshed, but puts
on flesh quickly when dry.
Given in summary the more important indications in
dual purpose cows and important, perhaps in the order
named, are the following :—
(1) Medium to large size for the breed or grade; (2)
good length and depth in the barrel; (3) good development
of udder and milk veins; (4) good constitution as indicated
by good width through the heart; (5) head and neck inclin-
ing to long and fine and (6) ribs of medium spring, deep,
open-spaced and covered with a good handling skin.
The points of contrast between dual purpose cattle,
dairy and beef cattle respectively are given in “The Study
of Breeds,” page 21. What has been said with reference
to the points of contrast between the male and female in
dairy cattle (see p. 146) will apply also to the dual purpose
TYPE IN DOMESTIC ANIMALS I51I
breeds, except that the indications of nervous energy are
not so marked in the latter. In choosing males, much at-
tention should be given to the dual qualities of the im-
mediate ancestry.
GRAND CHAMPION CHEVIOT EWE AT STATE FAIR
[By courtesy of American <Agriculturist]
Type in sheep for feeding.—As previously intimated,
the standard for sheep selected for fattening is not the same
as for sheep of the pure breeds. For the guidance of the
feeder, the following standard is submitted:
Principal points of sheep for feeding.
1. Uniformity—This should relate to breeding, size
and quality.
152 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
2. Size—The size should be sufficient for the breed
and the age, and linked with it should be bone, medium to
strong but not coarse.
3. General outline—Smooth, compact, cylindrical in
shape and square at the ends.
4. Head.—Of medium size, the shape varying with the
breed, but a tendency to short, broad and tapering is pre-
ferred.
5. Neck.—Short, round rather than flat, well muscled,
and increasing in size toward the shoulders.
6. Body.—Long, wide, deep, round and equally bal-
anced before and behind. ;
(a), Back, strong, straight and broad, with large
loin area,
(b), Breast, broad and deep and the fuller the
better,
(c), Brisket, broad and rounded,
(d), Shoulder, wide, deep 4nd smooth,
(e), Forearm, strong and well-muscled,
(f), Girth, at fore and hind flank large and about
equally good,
(zg), Ribs, well-sprung from spinal column, well
arched and deep.
7. Hind quarters——Long, broad and deep.
(a), Rump area, long, wide and level as possible,
(b), Twist, low,
(c), Hind flank, low,
(d), Thigh, well-muscled.
8. Skin —Of bright color and the more pliable, the
better.
9. Legs —Short, straight and strong, wide apart and
well under the body, and standing firmly on hoofs of good
shape and quality.
10. The whole body should be covered with bright
lustrous wool and characteristic of the breed or grade.
TYPE IN DOMESTIC ANIMALS 153
Points especially objectionable.—These include and
probably objectionable in the order named:—(1) Indica-
tions of lack of constitution as shown in long, slim head
and neck, narrow chest and small heart girth; (2) lack of
vigor, as shown in low carriage of head, dull eye, drooping
ears, crooked legs with weak bone, short dry lusterless
wool and sluggish movement and (3) lack of good flesh-
ing qualities, as shown in weak back, small loin and rump
area and small thighs.
Except in animals not mature, fattening does not in-
crease the size of head or limbs but it does influence
materially the covering on all parts of the body. The
neck vein is filled, the breast rounded out, the crops and
flanks are filled muck fuller, the spinal column is covered
or nearly so in all parts, flesh is increased on the loin and
the thighs increase within and without. The yoke is in-
creased in the wool and with such increase comes increase
in luster. Thus marked are the contrasts in the furnish-
ings of the finished sheep, as compared with the one not
yet fattened.
Type in swine for feeding.—While the standard for
swine chosen for being fattened is not the same as for the
various breeds in perfected form, the difference is not so
marked usually as with cattle and sheep, since swine
are more commonly kept in a relatively better condition of
flesh during the growing period. The standards for the
different breeds are given in ““The Study of Breeds.” The
standard now submitted applies more to the lard and inter-
mediate types than to the bacon types. The essential dif-
ferences will be given by way of contrast.
Principal points of swine for feeding.
1. Uniformity—This should relate to breeding, size,
color and quality.
2. Size—The size should be sufficient for the breed
and the age of the animal.
154 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
3. General outline-——Moderately compact rather than
rangy, having the appearance of strength and vigor.
4. Head—Medium size, short, broad, tapering and
not coarse.
5. Neck—Short rather than long, moderately wide
and deep at the junction with the head and increasingly
so at the junction with the shoulders.
6. Body.—Long, deep and broad, with fore and hind
quarters evenly balanced.
(a), Back, straight, or slightly arched in the longer
bodied breeds and even in width,
(b), Shoulders, large, broad and deep,
(c), Chest, wide and deep,
(d), Brisket, broad,
(e), Forearm, moderately short, broad, tapering
and well-muscled,
(£), Side, moderately long, deep, straight and even,
(g), Ribs, springing out well from the — spinal
column, descending with a sharp curve and extend-
ing well down,
(h), Heart and flank girth, large and about equal.
7. Hind quarters—Long, deep and wide.
(a), Hams, large and at least moderately full,
(b), Rump area, broad, level, retaining width from
loin backward, and not much drooping toward the
tail-head,
(c), Thigh, moderately short, broad, tapering and
well-muscled within and without,
(d), Twist,-low.
3. Legs.—Short, straight, set well apart, with strong
bone and short, straight pasterns.
9. Skin—Smooth, free from scurf, and covered with
a moderate coat of soft hair of good quality.
Points especially objectionable-—These include and
probably objectionable in the order named:—(1) A long
TYPE IN DOMESTIC ANIMALS 155
narrow, shallow body; (2) long fine legs with weak pas-
terns; (3) a long, narrow head, neck and chest and (4)
scurfiness of skin, indicating mal-nutrition.
The bacon breeds differ from the lard and _ inter-
mediate types in the following particulars:—(1) They are
less compact in form and are longer in head, neck, body
QUALITY, CHAMPION PERCHERON STALLION
AT SPRINGFIELD, ILL., 1906,
[A Typical Draught Horse]
[By courtesy of the owners, Taylor & Jones, Williamsville, IIll.]
and limbs; (2) they are fully as deep in body but not so
wide; (3) they have relatively lighter shoulders and hams;
(4) they are more active in movement.
Except with swine not mature, fattening does not
increase the size of head except in the jowl, or of the
limbs, but it does increase the covering on all other parts
of the frame. It affects the width more than the depth.
Type in its relation to horses.—As previously men-
tioned, type divides horses into the draught, light and
156 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
genera: purpose classes. This classification is general
rather than specific, as the intermediate types between
draught and light horses are many and various, and in some
instances these are not distinctly pronounced. The minute
discussion of these differences cannot be entered upon in
this work. Draught horses are maintained primarily for
drawing heavy loads in the cities and towns and for doing
heavy work on the farm or elsewhere. For doing such
work strength and endurance are the first considerations.
Light horses are maintained primarily for driving or
riding. While thus employed, speed and endurance are
the first consideration. General purpose horses are main-
tained primarily for driving and also for performing work.
But such strength is not to be looked for as from draught
horses, nor such speed as from light horses.
Type in draught horses.—The four distinct breeds of.
draught horses in America are the Percheron, the Clydes-
dale, the Shire and the Belgian. Each of these has its own
distinct peculiarities. These can only be ascertained by the
careful study of the literature pertaining to each. Notwith-
standing these differences, there are certain essential points
of form and function which they possess in common, to
the extent of making it feasible to draw up a scale of points
that will apply to each of these breeds. This has been
done by Prof. John A. Craig in his excellent book “Judging
Live Stock,” and is reproduced here.
Scale of points for gelding draught horses.
General appearance.— Perfect Score
Weight, over 1500 pounds. Score according
to age, 4
Form, broad, massive, low set, proportioned, 4
Quality, bone clean, yet indicating sufficient
substance; tendons distinct; skin and hair fine, 4
Temperament energetic, good disposition, 4
Head and neck.
Head, lean, medium size, re
TYPE IN DOMESTIC ANIMALS 157
Perfect Score
Muzzle, fine, nostrils large, lips thin, even, I
Eyes, full, bright, clear, large, I
Forehead, broad, full, I
Ears, medium size, well carried, if
Neck, muscled, crest high, throatlatch fine,
windpipe large, I
I’ore quarters.—
Shoulders, sloping, smooth, snug, extending
into back, 2
Arm, short, thrown forward, I
Forearm, heavily muscled, long, wide, 2
Knees, wide, clean cut, straight, deep, strongly
supported, 2
Cannons, short, lean, wide, tendons large set
back, 2
Fetlocks, wide, straight, strong, I
Pasterns, sloping, strong, lengthy, 3
Feet, large, even size, straight, horn dense;
dark color; sole concave, bars strong, frog
large, elastic, heel wide, high, one half length
of toe, 8
Legs, viewed in front, a perpendicular line
from the point of the shoulder should fall up-
on the center of the knee, cannon, pastern and
foot. From the side a perpendicular line
dropping from the center of the elbow joint
should fall upon the center of the knee and
pastern joints and back of hoof,
Body.—
Chest, deep, wide, large girth,
Ribs, long, close, sprung,
Back, straight, short, broad,
Loin, wide, short, thick, straight,
Underline, flank low,
Find quarters.—
Hips, smooth, wide, 2
Croup, long, wide, muscular, 2
-
me b%o bw& WH ND
158 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
DAN PATCH 1.55 AT HOME
[By courtesy of the owner, M. W. Savage, Minneapolis, Minn.]
Perfect Score
Tail, attached high, well carried, I
Thighs, muscular,
Quarters, deep, heavily muscled,
Gaskins, or lower thighs, wide, muscled,
Hocks, clean cut, wide, straight,
Cannons, short, wide, tendons large, set back
Fetlocks, wide, straight, strong,
Pasterns, sloping, strong, lengthy,
Feet, large, even size, straight, korn dense,
dark color, sole concave, bars strong, frog
large, elastic, heel wide, high, one half length
of toe, 6
bh web ON NN
TYPE IN DOMESTIC ANIMALS 159
Perfect Score
Legs, viewed from behind, a perpendicular line ,
from the point of the buttock should fall upon
the center of the hock, cannon, pastern and
foot. From the side, a perpendicular line from
the hip joint should fall upon the center of
the foot and divide the gaskin in the middle
and a perpendicular line from the point of the
buttock should run parallel with the line of
the cannon. 4
Action.— ;
Walk, smooth, quick, long, balanced, 6
Trot, rapid, straight, regular, 4
Total, 100
Type in light horses.—Light horses are commonly
divided into three classes. These are the roadster, saddle
and carriage types. In the pure form they are represented
in the standard trotter or pacer, in the standard saddle horse
and in the various breeds of coach horses. Because of
variations in type more or less pronounced, it will not be
possible to present a scale of points that will furnish an ab-
solute guide for the selection of the various classes of light
horses. Nevertheless they have in common certain essen-
tial characteristics which may thus be given. These have
been well summarized by Prof. John A. Craig, and are
now submitted :—
Scale of points for gelding light horses.
General appearance.— Perfect Score
Form, symmetrical, smooth, stylish, 4
Quality, bone clean, firm, and indicating suff-
cient substance, tendons defined, hair and skin
fine, 4
Temperament, active, kind disposition, See
Head and neck.—
Head, lean, straight, I
160 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
Perfect Score
Muzzle, fine, nostrils large, lips thin, even,
teeth sound, I
Eyes, full, bright, clear, large, I
Forehead, broad, full, I
Ears, medium size, pointed, well carried, and
not far apart, I
Neck, muscled, crest high, throatlatch fine,
windpipe large, I
Fore quarters.—
Shoulders, long, smooth, with muscle oblique,
extending into back,
Arms, short, thrown forward, I
Forearms, muscled, long, wide, 2
Knees, clean, wide, straight, deep, strongly
supported, 2
Cannons, short, wide, sinews large, set back 2
Fetlocks, wide, straight, I
Pasterns, strong,’ angle with ground 45 de-
grees, 3
Feet, medium, even size, straight, horn dense,
frog large, elastic, bars strong, sole concave,
heel wide, 6
Legs, viewed in front, a perpendicular line
from the point of the shoulder should fall up-
on tke center of the knee, cannon, pastern and
foot. From the side a_ perpendicular line
dropping from the center of the elbow joint
should fall upon the center of the knee and
pastern joints and back of hoof, 4
Body.—
Withers, muscled and well finished at top,
Chest, deep, low, large girth,
Ribs, long, sprung, close,
Back, straight, short, broad, musclec,
Loin, wide, short, thick,
Underline, long, flank let down,
= dvd KS HH &
TYPE IN DOMESTIC ANIMALS 161
Hind quarters.— Perfect Score
Hips, smooth, wide, level, 2
Croup, long, wide, muscula., 2
Tail, attached high, well carried, I
Thighs, long, muscular, spread, open angled, 2
Quarters, heavily muscled, deep, 2
Gaskin or lower thighs, long, wide, muscular, 2
Hocks, clearly defined, wide, straight, 5
Cannons, short, wide; sinews, large, set back, 2
Fetlocks, wide, straight, I
Pasterns, strong, sloping, 2
Feet, medium, even size, straight, horn dense,
frog large, elastic, bars strong, sole concave,
heel wide, high, 4
Legs, viewed from behind, a_ perpendicular
line from the point of the buttock should fall
upon the center of the hock, cannon, pastern
and foot. From the side a perpendicular line
from the hip joint should fall upon the center
of the foot and divide the gaskin in the middle
and a perpendicular line from the point of the
buttock should run parallel with the line of the
cannon, 4
{ction —
Walk, elastic, quick, balanced, 5
Trot, rapid, straight, regular, high, 15
Total 100
Type in general purpose horses.—Since general pur-
pose horses have been variously bred and usually in a sort
of aimless way, that is without any very distinctly defined
purpose in view, it could not be otherwise than that the
horses of this class should vary greatly. Some will be so
heavy as to constitute what may be termed light draught
horses and some so light as to carry no more weight than
162 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
DAN PATCH, THE WORLD’S RECORD PACER
[By courtesy of the owner, M. W. Savage, Minneapolis Minn.]
the carriage classes. They will also vary much in con-
formation, according to the character of the grade or cross
used in obtaining them. Because of these differences, it is
scarcely possible to present a scale of points at the present
time that would be of much service in describing horses of
this class.
CHAPTERLX.
PRINCIPLES THAT GOVERN FEEDING.
The discussion in Chapter X relates to the principles
that govern the feeding of animals with reference to the
chemical constituents which feeds possess, as adapted to the
class and age of animals to which they are to be fed and the
precise objects for which they are maintained. It differs
from the discussion in Part I in that it is specific while the
former is general. The principles in this chapter relate to
furnishing feeds that will contain the nutrients which they
must have in due proportion if the end sought is to he
reached.
In theory, these principles have all the strength of law,
but in practice it is very frequently not possible to appiy
them so that the results sought or that should be expected
from such feeding, will follow, owing to the subtle influ-
ences that frequently result from environment, from inter-
nal causes that cannot always be discerned, and from varia-
tions resulting from the physiological influence of feeds
apart from the nutrients they contain as given by chemical
analysis.
The elementary substances necessary to the growth
of plants are essentially the same as the chemical elements
of the animal body. These are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen,
nitrogen, sulphur, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magne-
sium and iron. In addition to these are chlorine and so-
dium, the elements of common salt. These elements do not
exist simply but are united into numberless compounds,
both organic and inorganic. For convenience of reference,
they are classified as nitrogenous or non-nitrogenous, ac-
cording as the chemical compounds of which they are com-
posed contain nitrogen or do not contain nitrogen. The
water in foods must also be considered, but this is not so
163
104 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
important, since water can be supplied. These elements
exist in varying degrees in plants and in the same plant at
different stages of development, and similarly they differ in
the degree of the digestibility which they possess. The de-
gree in which they are present and also the degree of the
digestibility which they possess, can only be determined by
chemical analysis, hence the necessity for tables of feeding
stuffs, which the feeder may consult when preparing or
feeding foods. The proportions in which these elements
should be supplied to animals also varies with the class of
the animal, the age, the performance and the object for
which it is kept. The adaptation of food to the needs of the
animals to which it is to be fed virtually constitutes the
great art of feeding.
For convenience in reference, certain definitions per-
taining first to the feeds themselves and second to the meth-
ods of blending or compounding them for feeding, have
come into common use. These are all considered in Chap-
ter X. The definitions which pertain to feeds include the
terms: (1) Food nutrient; (2) food factor or feeding stuff ;
(3) food or feeding ration and (4) table of feeding stuffs.
Those which pertain to the blending or compounding of
feeds, include the terms: (1) Nutritive ratio; (2) feeding
standard and (3) table of feeding standards. Familiarity
with these terms and the ability to reduce to practice what
is implied in them, should prove helpful to all persons en-
gaged in growing stock.
Food nutrient.—A food nutrient is any single chem-
ical compound capable of being assimilated by the body, for
the purpose of producing new tissue, either for new growth
or to replace that which is worn out. The body is com-
posed of: (1) Nitrogenous organic substance; (2) non-
nitrogenous organic substance and (3) mineral substance.
Since a food nutrient in order to permit of easy assimila-
tion, must in its composition be identical with the substances
normally found in the body, the nutrients may be classified
very similarly to the classification of the substances of the
PRINCIPLES THAT GOVERN FEEDING 105
body as given above. They are, therefore: (1) Nitrog-
enous organic substances; (2) non-nitrogenous organic
substances and (3) mineral or inorganic substances. Al-
bumen, the essential constituent of the white of egg, is an
example of a nitrogenous nutrient, starch of a non-nitrog-
enous nutrient, and common salt of a mineral or inorganic
nutrient. Nutrients are seldom found in an unmixed state,
but are generally combined in one fodder.
Food factor or feeding stuff.—The term food factor
or feeding stuff is any natural or artificial product used as
food for animals. Food factors usually contain two or
more nutrients intimately blended but in varying propor-
tions and also more or less substance that is indigestible and
which, therefore, cannot be appropriated by the animal to
which the food is fed. Feeding stuffs may be roughly clas-
sified as nitrogenous or non-nitrogenous according as the or-
ganic nutrients are more largely of one kind or the other.
In nearly all instances they contain a sufficiency of mineral
nutrients, the exceptions being common salt and in some in-
stances ash and phosphate of lime.
The principal nitrogenous constituents of feeding stuffs —
are the albuminoids, as legumin, the nitrogenous constituent
of peas, beans and clover, and gluten, the nitrogenous
constituent of wheat. Likewise the nitrogenous substances
of the body consist largely of albuminoids. So _ in-
trinsically important are they, that all the manifestations of
animal life are dependent on them and on the organs which
are composed of them. They also furnish the materials
out of which the other important groups of nitrogenous
substances are formed; viz., the gelatinoids and the horny
matters.
The albuminoids are found under various manifesta-
tions in all the organs and fluids of the healthy body except
the urine and they form the chief constituents of their com-
position. Nearly all the vital processes of the body have for
their object the effecting of changes upon the form, location
166 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS 7
or function of the albuminoid material. The principal al-
buminoids of the body are albumen, found in nearly all its
fluids, flesh fibrin, the chief constituents of muscular fibre,
blood fibrin, the essential element of the clotting part of
blood, and casein, the constituent of milk which forms the
basis of cheese. The gelatinoids form the nitrogenous sub-
stance of the bones and cartilages and also make up the
larger part of the tendons, ligaments, connective tissue and
the skin. The horny matters, which differ but little in chem-
ical composition from the albuminoids or gelatinoids, are
found chiefly on the outer surfaces of the body, that is, in
the epidermis or scarf skin, the hair, the wool, the horns
and the hoofs. The chemical composition of these three
groups of nitrogenous substances is practically the same,
and what is exceedingly important in this connection, the
same chemical composition will hold good with respect to
the nitrogenous substances found in foods. The further
discussion of the many and exceedingly important functions
of the nitrogenous substance in the animal body cannot be
carried further in this work.
The principal non-nitrogenous constituents of feed-
ing stuffs are cellulose, starch, sugar, gum, fat, oil and the
various vegetable acids. These are classified as carbohy-
drates and fat. The carbohydrates, composed principally
of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, include cellulose, starch,
sugar, gum and the vegetable acids. The fat and oil are
generally considered together as fat. The non-nitrogenous
constituents of plants may, therefore, be considered as be-
ing carbohydrates or fats. But a part of the cellulose of
plants often becomes hardened into a more or less indigesti-
ble fibrous condition. This is commonly separated from the
remaining carbohydrates in the table of feeding stuffs (see
p. 175) and placed in a class by itself as crude fibre. The
non-nitrogenous substance also includes the ash, that is, the
inorganic or mineral part which remains after the plant has
been consumed by fire. These all play a more or less impor-
tant part in the economy of animal growth and production.
PRINCIPLES THAT GOVERN FEEDING 167
Fat is the most abundant by far of the non-nitrogenous
organic substances of the animal body. It is found in vari-
ous parts of the same, in some places as minute particles
and in others as special deposits of considerable quantity.
The sources of fat in the body are, first, the fat in the food;
second, the albuminoids or nitrogenous substance in the
food, and third, the carbohydrates in the same. Whether
the carbohydrates are direct sources of body fat is uncer-
tain, but indirectly they certainly are. The presence of ani-
mal fat in the animal body has the effect of decreasing the
protein consumption and of retarding the tendency to nitro-
gen equilibrium.
Protein consumption means the removal of that por-
tion of the nitrogenous substance, that is protein, taken into
the body and digested through oxidation and the excretion
of worn out nitrogenous tissue.
Nitrogen equilibrium is that principle which inheres in
the animal body through which it eventually puts itself into
equilibrium with the nitrogenous constituents which it re-
ceives in its food above what is necessary to maintain it in an
average condition. This question, significant in its bearing on
practical feeding, cannot be elaborated further in this work.
The following are chief among the influences which fat
in the food exerts: (1) It decreases protein consumption
and thereby increases protein deposition. Protein deposi-
tion means the retention and use of that portion of the ni-
trogenous food consumed and digested which remains in
the body for a longer or shorter time. It is assimilated as
new. nitrogenous tissue or as tissue which has replaced old
worn out or waste nitrogenous tissue. (2) It decreases the
protein consumption in the body and it does so indepen-
dently of the protein supply. The protein consumption in-
creases and diminishes with the protein supply in the food,
and all that the fat does is to diminish it by a certain quan-
tity, which will be the same no matter how large the protein
supply in the food may be. (3) Like fat in the body it re-
tards the tendency to nitrogen equilibrium. Its presence in
168 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
the food favors the formation out of the protein supply of
stable tissue, in place of part of the circulatory protein,
which means to some extent increase in flesh. Circulatory
protein is that portion of the nitrogenous substance taken
from the food which remains for a time in the blood, await-
ing either conversion into stable flesh tissue, or oxidation
and decomposition into the fluids of the excretory organs.
In well-fed animals, it causes what is called the juiciness oi
the flesh.
It skould also be remembered that while the presence
of fat in small quantities is favorable to the formation of
flesh, in large quantities it is injurious, since it disturbs the
digestion and thus impairs the appetite. Therefore, the
ordinary feeding stuffs fed to farm animals should contain
but little fat.
The influence of carbohydrates in the food on the
formation of flesh is very similar to that of fat in the same.
Prominent among these influences are the following: (1)
Carbohydrates in the food decrease the protein consump-
tion and thereby increase the protein deposition (see p. 167)
the protein consumption depending as regards quantity
solely on the protein supply. (2) They retard the tendency
toward nitrogen equilibrium and therefore cause a longer
continued gain of flesh than would be affected by nitroge-
nous foods alone.
The carbohydrates are helpful in promoting growth,
in producing fat, and in generating heat so necessary to the
maintenance in healthy action of all the functions of the
body. Experience has shown that the greatest gain of flesh
is made when the-proportion of carbohydrates in the food
fed is large. In regard to flesh formation they produce
about the same results as fat and are much cheaper, hence
they should be fed to the greatest extent possible instead of
fat, except in such instances as when it is necessary to feed
fat in the food because of its greater power to produce heat
(see p. 177). They are much more abundant than protein
in foods and, therefore, cheaper than this element also, hence
PRINCIPLES THAT GOVERN FEEDING 169
their free use in feeding stuffs tends to cheapen the ration.
Moreover, they are readily eaten and digested by all the ani-
mals of the farm. And yet a sufficiency of protein must be
fed since the nitrogenous substances constitute so large a
proportion of the animal body, since many of the vital proc-
esses are dependent on them, and since they are so neces-
sary to performance as in the production of flesh, milk and
muscular exertion.
Crude fibre is that tough woody portion of the plant
which constitutes its framework. It is the portion that re-
mains after the softer parts have been dissolved and washed
out. Young plants contain considerably less of crude fibre
than those which have produced seeds, and the seeds of
plants also contain much less than the stems and leaves.
It is not easily digested, especially by animals which do not
ruminate. The portion digested is thought to have prac-
tically the same function as the other digestible carbohy-
drates, and is supposed to equal them in value. The indi-
gestible portion, oftentimes a tax upon the digestion, may
sometimes serve a useful purpose in the bulk which it fur-
nishes.
Ash, the inorganic portion of plants and of animal bod-
ies, is that part which remains after either has been con-
sumed by flame. In plants it is most abundant in the leaves.
These mineral matters are usually amply present in all foods
to meet the needs of animals, with the exception of salt,
which must be supplied. In the form of lime and phosphate
they go to make bone, as soda and chlorine they aid the di-
gestive juices, and as iron they probably help in the forma-
tion of the red corpuscles in the blood. For reasons that
will be manifest young and growing animals need them in
largest supply.
Importance of nitrogenous substances.—From what
has been said, it will be apparent that the nitrogenous sub-
stances of the body are by far the most important since they
include nearly all the solid parts except the fat and the min-
eral constituents of the bones. Therefore, for the sake of
170 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
brevity, it is usual to speak of all the nitrogenous substance
of the body as flesh, as distinguished from fat and bone.
For a similar reason the word fat is used to denote all the
non-nitrogenous substance of the body, both the real fat
and the other substance. Likewise the word bone is fre-
quently used to denote only the mineral constituents of
bone, although much of the substance of bone is nitroge-
nous organic matter. The flesh of the animal body is also
referred to as protein substance and the fat as non-protein
substance. It should be remembered that these various
terms are only close approximations to the truth.
The discussion of the various food factors in feeding
stuffs should not close without some reference to their
furictions in producing heat and in sustaining muscular ex-
ertion. The influence which they exert on milk production
is touched upon elsewhere (see p. 413).
Heat in the animal body results from the constant proe-
ess of oxidation or burning of waste tissue and of food sub-
stance which is going on everywhere in every part of the
body to which the blood reaches. The heat supply is de-
pendent on the food supply, for the tissues that are oxidized
or burned come orignially from the-food. This oxidation is
maintained with no gain of substance but of loss, as the
products of the combustion, carbonic acid gas, water and
urea must be gotten rid of by the excretory organs. It is
estimated that of the whole quantity of food eaten by an
animal for maintenance about four-fifths are required to
sustain the demand occasioned by the production of heat.
Since the nitrogenous substance, the fats, and the car-
bohydrates of the food are all oxidizable, they may be all
used as sources of heat. But the fats and the carbohy-
drates are the most suitable since their oxidation in the
blood is much more readily effected than that of the ni-
trogenous substance. They are also on the whole much
cheaper, as previously intimated (see p. 168).
Regulation of animal heat.—How the heat of the ani-
mal body is regulated cannot be discussed here. But in
PRINCIPLES THAT GOVERN FEEDING 171
passing it may be said that the following are chief among
the influences concerned in such regulation: (1) The kind
and amounts of the food fed; (2) the temperature to which
animals are exposed; (3) the warming of food and drink
taken into the stomach; (4) the amount of the muscular ex-
ertion allowed or demanded; (5) the conduction and radia-
tion of heat from the skin; and (6) the evaporation of
water from the skin and lungs.
Muscular exertion may be classed as external and in-
ternal. The former is the muscular exertion called for in
effecting the movements concerned in the various vital
processes within the body. The latter is the muscular exer-
tion called for by animals when exercising or performing
physical work. The relation between these is very close.
Of whatever kind it may be, it calls for a constant supply of
heat to maintain it, and the greater the exertion, of course
the greater the supply of heat demanded. Of course this
heat must all come directly or indirectly from the food. Be-
yond this, the relation between food supply and muscular
exertion is not well understood. It is certain, however, that
the food given to the animal to support muscular exertion
must be something more than fuel, that is, it must be partly
nitrogenous and it must be liberal in supply. Stated in sum-
mary: (1) Muscular exertion is dependent on the food sup-
ply; (2) the greater the exertion to be made, the greater
must the food supply be; (3) the greater the exertion, the
greater also must be the proportion of the nitrogenous sub-
stance in the food.
Food or feeding ration.—The term food or feeding ra-
tion more commonly means a combination of the food fac-
tors used in feeding animals in any given instance, but
sometimes it may mean but one food factor. When the
proportion of the nitrogenous and non-nitrogenous nutri-
ents are present in a food ration in that degree that will
best effect the ends sought when fed, it is said to be in bal-
ance (see p. 172). When not fed in balance waste in some
172 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
of the nutrients will follow since they cannot be all re-
sorbed into the system, and energy is taxed in removing
the excess from the same. Nor can that happy equilibrium
in the process of digestion, assimilation and excretion be
attained, which is necessary to the best utilization of all the
food fed unless it is in balance, not only in its nutrients but
in the proportion of the bulk that accompanies the nutrients.
The definition of a balanced ration usually considers only the
balance of digestible nutrients, while the balance in bulk
and concentration may be of but little less importance. Cer-
tain foods have also a physiological influence in addition to
the nutrients they contain. The comprehensive definition,
therefore, of a balanced ration may be made to read thus:
A balanced ration is one in which the bulk and concentrates,
the nitrogenous and non-nitrogenous nutrients, and the
physiological influence which these exert in addition to their
food value, are present in that degree which will best pro-
duce the results sought from feeding them. The great im-
portance, therefore, of feeding foods in at least approxi-
mate balance is very evident.
Information regarding the balancing rat rations is ob-
tained from two sources; viz., from the experience of feeders
and from a table of feeding standards (see p. 184). The first
of these sources is by no means to be despised, as an old
and experienced feeder, without any knowledge of feeding
standards, will frequently take foodstuffs and, guided only
by his own judgment, will obtain superior results from feed-
ing them to those obtained by the inexperienced feeder who
blends them in exact accord with what is called for in the
feeding standards. ~This result may not follow from any
error in the standards, but from the presence or absence oi
the physiological influences referred to above, or because of
lack of equilibrium between the bulk and nutrition, or from
both causes combined. Notwithstanding, a knowledge of
feeding standards and of the way in which they may be util-
ized in feeding will always be of great service to those en-
gaged in this work, because of the wide range of its general
PRINCIPLES THAT GOVERN FEEDING 173
practical application. The feeder who gains his knowledge
only through experience and from tradition, is long in gath-
ering it, and his knowledge of compounding rations is usu-
ally confined to the productions of but limited areas.
The definition of a feeding ration does not necessarily
call for a balanced food. Nor does it imply that more than
one kind of food shall be used. Grass pasture, though it
may embrace but one variety of grass, is none the less a
food ration than one formed by blending any number of
foods. In some instances a single food may make a bal-
anced ration quite as effectively as a combination of foods,
since it may contain within it, not only the requisite propor-
tions of both nitrogenous and non-nitrogenous constituents
to effect a given end, but it may also contain the requisite
bulk that should accompany the feeding of the nutrients.
Table of feeding stuffs—FTeeding stuffs vary greatly
in their nutritive constituents, that is, they vary in the total
dry matter which they contain and in the proportion of the
nitrogenous and non-nitrogenous factors, as carbohy-
drates, fat and crude fibre, and in the proportions of these
that are digestible. They also vary in the relative propor-
tions of mineral matter which they contain, and in the pro-
portion of the nitrogenous and non-nitrogenous factors, as
protein, carbohydrates, fat and crude fibre, and in the pro-
portions of these that are digestible. They further vary
in the relative proportions of mineral matter which they
contain. Information regarding the relative amounts of
each of these factors have been obtained through analyses
made by the chemist of the various foodstuffs, and of the
proportions of the nitrogenous and non-nitrogenous factors
digestible in each instance. The proportion of these that
are digestible have been obtained from chemical analyses
based upon actual experience in feeding the respective foods.
The great value of such information to the practical feeder
will be at once apparent. These proportions are stated in
percentages, and for convenience of reference are collected
and given in tables in orderly sequence. Such a collection
is known as a table of feeding stuffs. Briefly then, a table
174) FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
of feeding stuffs is a table giving the chemical constituents
of food expressed in percentages. In some instances these
tables only give the relative proportions of the various fac-
tors that are digestible. In others the total percentages of
each factor is also given.
It should be remembered, however, that these tables
are only to be taken as general guides. The chemist and
the scientist can ascertain the proportionate percentages of
nitrogenous and non-nitrogenous constituents in a feeding
stuff or in the feeding stuffs fed in a given instance. But the
following influences among others that may be named lead
to variation: (1) Plants of the same variety differ in the
nutrients which they contain at different stages of growth
and of maturity. (2) These percentages vary with the
inherent character of the soils on which the plants have been
grown, with the manures applied or withheld, and with the
cultivation given. (3) They further vary with the time and
method of harvesting, with the degree and nature of the ex-
posure while curing and in some instances in the way in
which they are prepared for feeding. Moreover, (4) the
various classes of animals differ in their ability to digest and
assimilate foods, more especially the crude fibre, and the
same is true of individual animals of the same class. These
tables, therefore, are only to be taken as approximate esti-
mates of the nutrients which the foods contain. But they
are reasonably close approximations since with the more im-
portant at least of the foods the constituents submitted are
the averages of a number of analyses and their digestibility
as stated represents as a rule the average of a number of
feeding trials. ;
Table of feeding stuffs—Feeding stuffs vary greatly
in the more important feeding stuffs mentioned in this work
is now submitted and also their digestibility as far as both
could be obtained from American sources. This table is
based on the composition of feeding stuffs as given in the
revised edition of Farmer’s Bulletin No. 22 issued by the U.
S. Department of Agriculture. Those who desire to follow
the subject further are referred to this bulletin. The figures
PRINCIPLES THAT GOVERN FEEDING 175
giving the digestibility of the various feeding stuffs submit-
ted are based chiefly upon the digestion trials conducted by
the experiment stations and compiled by Lindsay in the re-
port of the Massachusetts (Hatch) Experiment Station for
1896.
TABLE: * I:
GIVING THE CONSTITUENTS OF THE ORDINARY FEEDING STUFFS AND
: OF THEIR AVERAGE DIGESTIBILITY.
Note 1. The figures printed in ordinary type show the percentage
of composition of each constituent.
Note 2. The figures below in each instance slfow the percent-
age of these quantities that are digestible.
g
So
hae
n ~ aH o
Bae Steet aoe a 8
Bigs BED oe Se oe fa)
Cured fodders oY ose og EAS S
“+ Qs u oo5u vo
Co) = 2s ny FON eck Lei a
Pay toi ies! rom upan = G
is) i= = 0 oo sown u n
= Z fy ‘6 6) 4
Red clover hay...... Be ee ae ae a2 6.6
Alsike clover hay... ae 1 8 a a) a 2.6 8.3
a ) od 2
Crimson clover hay 90.4 o 2 ae a 6 ai 2 8.6
62 2 D
White clover hay...90.3 15.7 2.9 39.3 24.1 8.3
66 73 51 70 5 61
Afalian Nay soqca../-<< 91.6 ote an aa 25 0 7.4
60 7 3s } 3
Cowpea hay ...... 89.3 16.6 ie maa 20.1 75
° 59 65 5 7 3 .
Waele leh oancuccess 88.7 ae ae 36-1 abe 7.9
65 6 65 5 2
Soy bean hay ........ 88.7 Be A aan a 7
62 9
MmMOthy Haye aici 86.8 ree coe ae po 4.4
57 « o oa
Orchard grass hay 90.1 se oe =e 0 oe 6.0
56 55 5 )
Red top hay; <...-..- 91.3 ae oi ag 4 ae 4.9
60 5 2 5
Met NAV! Foccien cs cine 92.3 7.5 ie a0 aud 6.0
65 60 54 ivi 8
Gorn, fodder ~...5.5--- 57.8 a a 34.7 14 3 Parl
66 5e 76 7 52
WOE STOVER voces cers 59.5 3.8 aS oe an 3.4
60 45 2 7
Sorghum fodder ....20.6 ve ram He By fal
67 6 7 7 5f
ESVGQEESUEAW sicnciciciccce 92.9 3.0 12 46.6 38.9 BH
: 46 21 32 37 60
Wheat straw ......%: 90.4 3.4 a an ot 42
43 11 3 : 52
Barley straw ......-. 85.8 3.5 a Sn ae 5.7
53 20 2
OD GLEN, SeoguodsbUe 90.8 4.0 2.3 42.4 37.0 Bal
48 3 30 44 54
Food from cereals pe
and other seeds 5
a=)
88
of
B
WYNEAIES Pett. dociaces mele 89.5
72
OBES pers mtaeerceietereexatoretves 89.0
70
18t:h jten gman ooeeoacre. Jocede 89.1
86
RUE! 1. Seroaee misetestees 88.4
87
TR@AIS eeracetarvererccere bavustete 89.5
87
Cottonseed ...... 90.9
66
DL AbNceeeettateicreisisietetercisiolete 90.8
77
IDesoh (efop 300 Eg oGsoqonos 89.4
91
By Products >
So
~
a
ae
oe
a
Wheat Jprainicc. cn. - 88.5
61
Wheat middlings ..87.9
79
Brewers’ grains, wet 24.3
63
Brewers’ grains, dry 92.0
62
Malt “sprouts: ....-c. 89.8
67
Corn and cob meal ..84.9
79
Gilaten meal) ae 91.4--
87
Gluten. feed’... 2... 92.2
84
Oil cake, old process 90.8
79
Oil e’ke, new pr’cess 90.1
80
Cottonseed meal ....91.8
76
Cottonseed hulls ....88.9
41
Whole cow’s milk...12.8
FEEDING
TaBLE I—Continued
Nitrogenous
substance
(protein)
11.9
stance (protein)
Nitrogenous sub-
16.1
extract)
n2w Fats (ether
oR
83
Fats (ether
extract)
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates
other than
FARM ANIMALS
fibre (nitro-
gen free
extract)
other than fibre
(nitrogen free
extract)
Crude fibre
4) ion 60)
|
| HBr 808
-Mo Crude fibre
aso
PRINCIPLES THAT GOVERN FEEDING 7-7:
TaBLeE I—Continued
e. v
az :
ne eee)
n & he 3 a 3 o
Field roots eS) o HOH bi
ral sD seo oe)
and tubers Be 5 o 20 2 % bo
ee 2 = Bie a ae ©
oa aes} ane 2540 us}
of = ap) ROSE a a
= Z ca Oo Oo <
Sugar beet pulp..... 10.1 1.0 0.2 6.3 2.2 0.4
82 63 84 83
IEE Sie acluiacias slecione 8.8 1.4 0.2 5.4 0.8 1.0
79 75 — 91 43
BUS AaATDCCLES: fa... ceee 13.3 1.5 0.1 9.9 0.9 0.8
95 91 50 100 100
MUTA ALAS | eee ck ante 11.4 1.2 0.2 ‘te 1.3 1.2
87 80 84 95 74
TMPMIPSie w. sajecbeadees 9.4 ies 0.2 5.9 12 0.8
93 90 98 97 100
IPOTALOES feos cco ste ce ere 21.3 2.1 0.1 17.3 0.6 1.0
17 44 — 91 _
Nutritive ratio.— By the term nutritive ratio is meant
a statement of the proportion of the digestible nitrogenous
substance in a feeding ration to the digestible proportion of
the non-nitrogenous substance. It is obtained by dividing
the total digestible non-nitrogenous substance in the same
by the total digestible nitrogenous substance. The total di-
gestible nitrogenous substance is simply the digestible pro-
tein. The total digestible non-nitrogenous substance is the
sum of the digestible carbohydrates other than fibre, of the
digestible crude fibre, and of 2% times the digestible fat.
The digestible fat is multiplied by 2% to place it on the
same basis as the carbohydrates in heat production. _ It
has been found that although the carbohydrates and fat are
about equal for producing flesh, if one pound of digestible
fat is burned under water, all the heat being conserved, it
will raise it to the same temperature as would 2% pounds
of digestible carbohydrates burned under similar conditions.
Therefore, the power to produce heat is 2'4 times greater in
the former than in the latter, and this is true of these food
factors in the production of heat in the animal body.
It will be apparent, therefore, that with a table of feed-
ing stuffs at hand giving the relative amounts of the or-
ganic substances in any food stuffs that are digestible, the
178 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
nutritive ratio of the same may be easily computed. Take
clover hay for instance, in the table on page 175, the total
digestible nitrogenous substance given in this food is
0.07088 per cent, the total digestible carbohydrates other
than fibre as 0.23322 per cent, crude fibre as 0.10731 per cent
and fat as 0.02790 per cent. When the fat is multiplied by
2% and added to the carbohydrates the sum of these is
0.40330 per cent. When this is divided by 0.07688, the total
digestible protein, the quotient is 5.2. Therefore, the nu-
tritive ratio in clover hay is 1:5.2. When more than one
food is combined in the ration, the digestible nitrogenous
constituents of each must of course be taken together and
also all the digestible non-nitrogenous constituents when
ascertaining the nutritive ratio.
Nutritive ratios are regarded as wide and narrow in
proportion to relative amounts of the digestible nitrogenous
and non-nitrogenous nutrients which they contain. One
comparatively rich in nitrogenous substance is spoken of as
narrow, and in non-nitrogenous substance as wide. For in-
stance, skim milk has a nutritive ratio of 1:1.63 and man-
gels of 1:9.2. The former represents an unusually narrow
ratio and the latter a more than ordinarily wide one.
Whether the ratio should be wide, narrow or intermediate
to effect a given end is shown in the table of feeding stand-
ards on page 184.
The great value of the nutritive ratio to the practical
feeder lies in the fact that it enables him to understand the
value of the food stuffs which he may have on hand to ef-
fect a given end. The nutritive ratio in itself would not tell
him this, but when taken in conjunction with the facts
given in correct feeding standards it does, as is shown on
page 182. Similarly it serves as a guide to him in com-
pounding food stuffs for feeding, that is, in determining the
approximate proportions in which they shall be fed.
Table II, given below, states in pounds the dry matter,
the digestible food ingredients and the fuel value contained
in 100 pounds of the feeding stuff submitted. The fuel
PRINCIPLES THAT GOVERN FEEDING 179
value, that is the value of the food to produce heat for the
body and energy for work is stated in calories. It is taken
from Farmer’s Bulletin No 22, U. S. Department of
Agriculture :—
TABLE II.
GIVES THE DRY MATTER AND DIGESTIBLE FOOD INGREDIENTS IN
100 POUNDS OF FEEDING STUFFS.
Total dry Pro- Carbo- Fuel
Feeding stuff matter tein hydrates Fat value
Green fodder: lbs lbs lbs Ibs calies
Corn fodder (average of all varieties) .20.7 1.10 12.08 0.387 26,076
PSC Ee COLNE LOGGCR Ca scsie ap ieriticeieieionalereies 27.0 0.87 13.80 0.43 29,101
BRESFE! SLO GOR Seis eels cteiestcte vine are sleveleve ieisease era 23.4 20be Malt 0.44 31,914
ANE SEOUL G CIO or os cicle oserale wicisiore oto via'elelaielaieieiescloyere 37.8 2.44 17.99 0.97 42,098
FLCUCOD. Fill DIOOID » .esicccctesisicnlaacinsets cases 34.7 2.06 21.24 0.58 45,785
Orchard -Stass: sine DOOM: ‘ic cere cinree'se aise 27.0 rab wea lsy eal 0.58 35,593
Meadow fescue, in bloom............... 30.1 1.49 16.78 0.42 35,755
Timothy, at different stages .......... 38.4 2-01, ~ 21.22 0.64 45,909
PATI CY, DIG SSTASS: ‘sjsns peere'eisldsieisieant 34.9 2.66 17.78 0.69 40,930
ERA CETUS ue ctcistnse arateta mare so vieveiaiacess 28.9 1.92 15.63 0.36 34,162
Red clover, at different stages ........ 29.2 3.07 14.82 0.69 36,187
CUAIMISON ClOVET aacilowscinsiacicee se aesecwees 19.3 2.16 9.31 0.44 23,191
Alfalfa, at different stages ............ 28.2 3.89 11.20 0.41 29,798
SO WiDE AN | Fie ercicte tac cidte oecasetle Beales uence .-16.4 1.68 8.08 0.25 19,209
PION DEANS he tastes. erste ts Clete oe terereiniovete wiste ate «28.0 2.79 11.82 0.63 29,833
ERIM Tiatarntetleosictsle’ siete trelelesninletotele rats cima wiciniers-oteeere 14.3 2.16 8.65 0.32 21,457
Corn silage (recent analyses)..............- 25.6 456: 0.88 33,046
Corn, fodder; sfieldGured! 25 tsesc. bere he es ale are 57.8 2.34 32.34 1.15 69,358
Cornestover,, Meld CuUGOGs.aciceciciewe awicie sleoste 59.5 1.98 33.16 0.57 67,766
Kafir corn stover, field cured.............0. 80.8 1.82 41.42 0.98 84,562
Hay from—
SETI O YY oohi tere siciseloicisloinete Synieleiciaisieleretereiamere leleiers 89.4 5.11 35.94 1.55 82,894
BES are hi Rihl ws leiaele cries is wicleiane ejetele wretetaselaers 84.0 4.07 33.35 1.67 76,649
OECHARG’ “STASS, e's Secciciais ise eotere sreawipieisieterelsserse 90.1 4.78 41.99 1.40 92,900
EREGEOD eo ant ao cc eke ec aisje Rete aenrnmarneatane 91.1 4.82 46.83 0.95 100,078
Timothy (all analyses) .- -86.8 2.89 43.72 1.43 92,729
Kentucky blue grass ........... - 18.8 4.76 37.46 1.99 86,927
ERAN PA EIA ET ASS ee ches cclesieiesicie ce olaeinessioke 92.3 4.50 51.67 1.34 110,131
WVU SACO We HOSGCING! wale cieretelcostnceletelsialereleceisselsieieisieisi 80.0 4.20 43.34 Ls 95,725
MMT RCAIFSTASSES.wctae boreal ae eo Seale aaeinaclsee 87.1 4.22 43.26 133 933925
ERONVET ACTER) BAS es crecosleraelarerslecersrelesa/e'to eretas 83.4 7.19 41.20 1.48 96,040
Mixed grasses and clover .............-87.1 6.16 42.71 1.46 97,059
RREGH COMER? ice ccc sie eke Sa ciete cue Selnoaieine et 84.7 7.38 38.15 1.81 92,324
PAN SIGE R GLOW. OTe ec a6 ists notes sts aciteinacioepidlncsmen & 90.3 8.15 41.70 1.36 98,460
VAR TECm CLONE TEs Ye aie, Seteiele cteraisieiesasMencieataaihersreiel 90.3 11.46 41.82 1.48 105,346
SEIS OMe CLOWEN Ur cinias o ciainisieleicieiee opatacioie erevetels 91.4 10.49 38.13 1.29 95,877
JURE 7 pn eae aprons ie See ae aie 91.6 10.58 37.33 1.38 94,936
WOW DEA a taamese Sao oles cca biodisieie:5 tielecais's setae 89.3 10.79 38.40 1.51 97,865
SOVPD CAMs soisrea cccisiesie eta siatiesls\e-stcres ciple wieiare 88.7 10.78 38.72 1.54 98,569
UREA. “SUA Wal fn acisisievisleiert «aloideincieee ceeewsene 90.4 0.3 36.30 0.40 69,894
RAMS ULCAVY, ie Ehehatie erecsisteicle eteiee ie niareialeicieictetatie aielace 92.9 0.63 40.58 0.388 78,254
MONA SEE WVGM ait) ciara siz inietoc) Pere ete late a role csreier ole weiner 90.8 1.20 38.64 0.76 77,310
SONU CEUTA SET Wie cre clgareern Oey aiejeteie @ Sie. sisieve'aje'aisievcra's 89.9 2.30 39.98 1.03 82,987
Roots and tubers:
PO PAE OCS tira. cisiecw sin. ( (a wiv alsvs wlarsiolae «Wie eis lerom eine PAlsal 1.36 16.43 — 33,089
BISCOLS ars aor ka ceca cnlous anerebosnam ceree 13.0 1.21 8.84 0.05 18,904
UAL Wil DACUS st olaiels aise =icicisiniels a clnlo'wrele eiatera 9.1 1.03 5.65 0.11 12,889
SIStUEM POS) os wks Geen» Sapee Seca N alae cea sdeette teens 9.5 0.81 6.46 0.11 13,986
EOIN AR IGM Aopen ac OD DONC AO CODC Lone SE SOCn- 11.4 0.88 7.74 0.11 16,497
GUEDRTIVES | © ccna atoicictclevetes c(orsiolh a nielcie oiselsieleisiclere 11.4 0,81 7.83 0.22 16,999
180 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
TaBLeE [1—Continued
Total dry Pro-
matter tein hydrates Fat value
Feeding stuf
Grains and other seeds: lbs
Corn (average of dent and flint)........ 81.1
Maire AC OTM a Aceaish eteerc ohrcelonte aoe ee 87.5
BARLOW ian ce etete se cen ae Eee 89.1
Oats Feet tok oe nth nice eee 89.0
EUV CSR Pie so clotetec arciele Roa wR CE ee ee 88.4
Wihealt n(ailliivarietics)y 5 neknces seen 89.5
Cotton. Seed (whole)... sc-ccscunsssscenen 89.7
Mill products:
Copnyameall ens. Gace se ee eee eee 85.0
Corn-and=cobsmeal 5. sae nee eee 84.9
Oatmeal wicca renee ee ase cee ee 92.1
Barley meal) tae sanctions oe ee Eee 88.1
Ground corn and oats, equal parts ...88.1
Pear mMeall) yossaccee oe scents tee eee eae 89.5
Waste products:
Gluten meal—
BUI ALOT eae cat aoe s ooh ele A ose 91.8
CHICAP ORY en oetcecesc Cee ee ee 90.5
ETATAMIONG = Fane sate ee ae Toners 91.9
SCL 8 sae roe ee so ny nee ante ens 92.8
Cream gluten (recent analyses) ....90.4
Gluten feed (recent analyses) .......... 91.9
Buffalo (recent analyses) .......... 91.0
Rockfords GDiamond)e eee ee 91.3
ELOMIUIMY, CHOPS Ss - 6 en ooeecasiane senna cere 88.9
Malta Sprouse. encncss cacao tee eee 89.8
IBREWeLrs, Jerains nCwebire vecscesccn amen one 24.3
Brewers” grains: (dried ).,... 08 none. 92.0
Distillery grains (dried), principally
COMI Se. crevtre liar aoeete tae tae eee 93.0
Distillery grains (dried), principally
Vi OV Mateo oh ccc atase ls See Rae
Atlas gluten feed (distillery by-
DEOGMUCT) Ho. ahs oe aksntomacecone 92.6
IRV CTO LAM iiaacasonkh cen ae Mentone aes 88.2
Wheat ybran;, val analyses) aseceesceeens. 88.5
Wheat bran; (allvanalySes)i....4. een 88.5
Wiheatiamidaline ss is.enkaceeee sete eae ae 84.0
WiIREAE SHORES tataiccoc cit eee ee me eee 88.2
Buckwheat bran ........... ee Waateee eens 88.5
Buckwheat middling s© s.ca.cseeackeseece 88.2
Cottonseed “feeds eet ecco ee ee eee eae 92.0
Cottonseed “med Sire. po.ctossce dere aee eee 91.8
Cottonseed hulls tee. te ec eeee ene 88.9
Linseed meal (old process) ............. 90.8
Linseed meal (new process) ............ 90.1
Sugar beet “pulp (iresh)) “ces .cwcn<ees sere 10.1
Sugarvbect pulp dry te cetee wlan ee 93.6
Milk and its by-products:
AY,8 oN) (wis coll eer Non cAnpotadsooCacoSnnOAG 12.8
Skim milk, cream raised by setting .. 9.6
Skim milk, cream raised by separator. 9.4
Buttermilk. c.c2 bike es ee suits stelioeitecietcnine 9.0
TW BGY ee kee u seine yale tae aelae ier ie eine 6.2
lbs
7.14
5.78
8.69
9.25
9.12
10.23
11.08
6.26
4.76
11.53
7.36
7.01
16.77
21.56
33.09
24.90
30.10
Carbo- Fuel
lbs lbs cal’ies
66.12. 4.97 157,237
53.58 1.33 116,022
64.83 1.60 143,499
48.34 4.18 124,757
69.73 1.36 152,400
69.21 1.68 154,848
33.13 18.44 160,047
65.26 3.50 147,797
60.06. 2.94 132,972
52.06 5.93 143,302
62.88 1.96 158,918
61.26 3.87 143,202
51.78 0.65 130,246
43.02 11.87 170,210
39.96 4.75 155,918
45.72 10.16 174,228
35.10 15.67 187,399
45.36 2.47 151,429
54.22 5.35 160,533
51.71 2.89 150,933
54.71 3.82 155,788
61.01 7.06 158,952
43.50 1.16 120,624
9.37 1.88 30,692
31,79 6.03 119,990
38.09 10.83 157,340
42.48 6.388 125,243
35.64 11.88 159,818
52.40 1.79 126,352
41.23 2.87 111,138
41.23 2.87 111,138
53.15 3.40 136,996
49.98 3.83 131,855
31.65 4.56 113,992
36.14 6.21 134,979
38.57 3.37 103,911
16.52 12.58 152,653
2.21 1.89 69,839
32.81 7.06 144,313
88.72 2.90 141,155
7.12 — 14,415
65.40 — 134,459
4.80 3.70 30,829
4.61 0.90 18,139
5.10 0.30 16,351
4.70 0.50 16.097
5.00 0.10 10,764
Feeding standard.—A feeding standard is a statement
of the proportionate amounts of digestible nitrogenous and
non-nitrogenous substance which experience has shown to
PRINCIPLES THAT GOVERN FEEDING 181
be best suited to effect a given purpose in feeding.
The purposes sought are such as maintenance or the
production of flesh, of fat, of milk or of work. For
the sake of precision it is usual to state these amounts
as proportions or ratios, and when so expressed they are
spoken of as the nutritive ratio resulting from the foods
used in the feeding standards. A feeding standard differs
from a nutritive ratio in giving the proportionate amounts
of the digestible food factors found in the foods selected
from which to form the ration, which experience has shown
to be best suited to the purpose, whereas the nutritive ratio
is simply a statement of the relation which these bear to one
another. The first relates to foods and their chemical con-
stituents, whereas the latter relates to the quantitative rela-
tion which these bear to one another.
The following is an example of a feeding standard that
has been found suitable for the sufficient maintenance of
cattle at rest, that is, cattle neither doing work nor laying
on flesh or fat. The amounts are calculated per day and per
1000 pounds live weight.
Digestible nitrogenous substance, 0.7 pounds
7 carbohydrates, S250 7
. fat, OHS. 7
Total nutritive substance, Q1Ox se
A “carbohydrates and fat SA S%5
Nutritive ratio, L212
Total organic dry matter required, UPS tie! Fs
In regard to the above it will be noticed: (1) That the
ratio is a wide one and for the reason that the animal is at
rest. Had the same animal been producing, the ratio would
have to be narrowed, that is, it would have to contain a
much larger proportion of nitrogenous substance, and the
total amount of nutritive dry substance required would
182 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
have to be greater. (2) That the standard supposes a mod-
erately warm stable. Exposure to cold would call for the
use of more carbohydrates as fuel food. (3) That the to-
tal amount of dry matter required by the standard should
be bulky, which means that it may contain a considerable
proportion of crude fibre. (4) That the quantities of the
food factors fed are calculated for an animal of 1000
pounds weight, which implies that with variation in the
weight of the animals, the quantities fed would vary, but
not necessarily in exact proportion to the variations in
weight, since smaller animals require in proportion more
food than large ones owing to the greater proportionate
loss of heat in them. (5) That if the animals were being
fattened, the proportion of digestible fat in the food should
be increased, but not to the extent of disturbing digestion.
The explanation now follows of how such a ration may
be compounded. Being a wide one it will be low in protein
and must also be bulky. Such a ration is likely to resutt
from straw alone or from straw and some hay. Since it is
to be fed to animals at rest, it is important that it shall be
inexpensive and, therefore, that the proportion of straw fed
shall not be large. Suppose that the feeder has both. He
knows that he requires about 17.5 pounds of total dry or-
ganic matter (see p. 181). By consulting the table of feed-
ing stuffs on page 175 a little calculation will show him that
about 21 or 22 pounds of these feeding stuffs will give him
approximately that amount if he uses about twice as much
straw as hay. This he ought to do to make the ration
inexpensive.
He tries, say 15 pounds of oat straw and 7 pounds
of clover hay and the problem works out as follows:
15 pounds of oat straw would yield
15x90.8-100 pounds of dry matter or 13.620 pounds
7 pounds of clover hay would yield
7x78.2-100 pounds of dry matter or, 5.474
‘ce
PRINCIPLES THAT GOVERN FEEDING 183
Total dry matter in the ration, £91004.) *
Again: ;
15 pounds of oat straw would yield
15xX4-100x 30-100 of digestible ni-
trogenous substances or, 0.1800 “
7 pounds of clover hay would yield
7x12.4-100x62-100 of digestible
nitrogenous substance or, 0.53816 “
Total amount of digestible nitrog-
enous substance, O.7ZIStO.
Similarly, the 15 pounds of oat straw will yield:
Digestible fat .11385x2%4 0.25616 “
‘Digestible carbohydrates other
than fibre, 2.79840 “
Digestible fibre, 2.99700 “
Total amount of digestible non-ni-
trogenous substance in the straw, 6.05156 “
And the 7 pounds of clover hay will yield:
Digestible fat, .19530x2™%, 0.43942 “
Digestible carbohydrates other
than fibre, L.O3254
Digestible fibre, O75hige
Total amount of digestible non-ni-
trogenous substance in the hay. 2.82313
Therefore, the total amount of the digestible non-ni-
trogenous substance in the ration is 8.87460 pounds and the
ratio of digestible nitrogenous substance t) digestible non-
nitrogenous substance in the ration is as 0.71816 to 8.87469
or 1: 12.3. The ratio thus obtained is a little too wide and
may be narrowed by reducing somewhat the amount of
straw fed which would also make it conform more nearly
to the total amount of dry matter required in such a ration.
Feeding standards.—A table of feeding standards is
simply a collection of feeding standards stated in a regular
184 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
and concise order. It usually relates to the feeding of va-
rious classes of animals at different ages and from which
different kinds of performance are required. Although the
form of expression in those standards varies, they usually
contain the following:
I. The total dry organic substance,
2. The total digestible nitrogenous substance,
3. The total digestible non-nitrogenous substance
which includes,
(a) The total digestible carbohydrates including fi-
bre; and,
(b) The total digestible fat.
4. The total nutritive substance, and,
5. The nutritive ratio resulting.
The following table of feeding standards is taken from
that portion of “First Principles of Agriculture” credited to
the author and published in 1891. It is virtually identical
with the standard given by Armsby in his book “Cattle
Feeding.”
Tase III.
GIVING FEEDING STANDARDS,
(Calculated per day and per 1000 pounds live weight.)
Non-nitrogenous
substance
ae AE @
eS Boe tl tele 3
Ss x oae Sg aa) 3
o. nove ne oO H
SO FECES oo dO o ee
Loe 05 S wm s = pe o
etaaysksog 2 43 2
a5 one 8s = a =
Seegeseeuts $ 32 =
HPDowvrnita os on Pe) =) =
ouw ofnN~ oO8 AS On 5
BH is a (a) H GZ
lbs lbs lbs lbs lbs
1Cattle: ake Test anwstallesemeeceec. ars 0.7 8.25 0.15 9.1 1:12
2, Sheep, producing woel (coarse
WOO] DreEdS)) eefreccci asics oles 20.0 1.2 10.6 0.2 12.0 19
Sheep, producing wool (fine
WOOl™ bDreeGS)) canes seek secets 2225 ibe 11.75 0:25. et3eb 1: 8
38, Oxen, moderately worked ...... 24.0 1.6 11.7 0.3 13.6 Ae Zeb
Oxen, heavily worked............ 26.0 2.4 iby 0.5 16.8 a6
4, Horses, moderately worked ....22.5 1.8 12.0 0.6 14.4 ers
Horses heavily worked .......... 25.5 2.8 14.6 0.8 18.2 Pe bb
5; IMilchrs COWS Peach bceeeecomeneenaaes 24.0 2.5 issu 0.4 16.0 1:54
6, Cattle, fattening (1st period)....27.0 P45) 15.75 0.5 IMGT HBTS
Cattle, fattening, (2d period)....26.0 3.0 15.8 0.7 19.5 feeb eh
Cattle, fattening (3d period)....25.0 2.0 15.6 0.6 18.9 156
7, Sheep, fattening (1st period)....26 3.0 16.0 0.5 19.5 125.5
Sheep, fattening (2d period) ....25 3.5 1515 0.6 19:25) isch
PRINCIPLES THAT GOVERN FEEDING 185
TasLe IlI—Continued
Non-nitrogenous
substance
Qo eee 2 ) °
2 eae 22 3 =
= OY A p=
99 BOS BS ty Boe
Aas wo S Ss > i= wy = S o
HAS nyse Sen 2 @ >
Geavegrs vou = Sr pics
WD) Sig Zio Eo Bl, 2 Qn a)
SeOQn 2 Sea cid n 2 fa
S50 8250 80g = Ss p
oa Seer oe8 oe 5 5
S is is) A & Z
lbs lbs Ib lbs lbs
8, Swine, fattening (1st period)....36.0 5.0 27.5 32.5 12.5.5
Swine, fattening (2d period)....31.0 4.0 24.0 28.0 ees
Swine, fattening (3d period)....23.5 Path 17.55 p15 es Wee sf)
9, Cattle growing:
Age in Average live wt
months per head
2- 3 165 lbs 23.0 4.0 16.8' 2.0 22.8 1: 4,7
3- 6 325 lbs 23.4 3.2 15.0 1.0 19.2 TG}
6-12 550 lbs 24.0 res 14.4 0.6 eS 1eaG
12-18 750 Ibs 24.0 2.0 13.6 0.4 16.0 ek
18-24 925 lbs 24.0 1.6 a5 0.3 14.4 Tes
10, Sheep growing: cat
Age in Average live wt
months per head
5- 6 62 lbs 28.0 3.2 16.8 0.8 20.8 1: 5.5
6- 8 74 lbs 25.0 rat 14.52 0.6 T8266
8-11 83 lbs 23.0 21 iP 0.5 14.7 b Tea
11-15 91 lbs 22.5 rleiti 11.5 0.4 13.6 a ai
15-20 95 lbs 2.0 1.4 10.9 0.3 12.6 1: 8
11, Swine, growing and fattening:
Age in Average live wt
months per head
2- 3 50 lbs 42.0 Rey 30.0 37.5 ilo!
3-5 110 Ibs 34.0 5.0 25.0 30.0 13-5,
5- 6 137 Ibs 31.5 4.3 23.65 DE GO Ty ani ania:
6- 8 187 lbs 27.0 3.4 20.4 23.8 1G
8-12 275 lbs 21.0 2.5 16.2 ISS LS 65
Note—The weights given above represent German pounds, each of
which is equal to 1 1-10 pounds avoirdupois. Practically this fact is of
but little importance since the weights of the animals and of the foods
given are relative.
A careful study of the table of feeding standards will
abundantly repay the labor thus expended. The truths
which it teaches with reference to practical feeding are
many and far-reaching. Prominent among them are the
following :
1. That for the maintenance of animals at rest, the nu-
tritive ratios are the widest. For any kind of production,
animals need more food and of a more nitrogenous charac-
ter. The additional quantity of food required is principally
186 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
for the production of heat, and the additional nitrogenous
food for the production of muscular tissue or of muscular
exertion.
2. From an examination of 9, 10, and 11 in the table,
it will be noticed that for all growing animals the nutritive
ratios are narrow and that the younger the animal is, the
narrower is the ratio, for the reason that for the devel-
opment of all the important parts of the animal, nitrog-
enous food is absolutely essential and in sufficient supply to
secure the necessary development needed above what will be
oxidized and excreted.
3. While for animals at rest but a small amount of fat
is required, it must be inc.eased very considerably for ani-
mals working or fattening, for the reason in the one case
that heat is required which the fat readily supplies and in
the other that fat in the food conduces both directly and
indirectly to the formation of body fat.
4. An examination of the total nutritive substance as
given in the table which appertains to the growing of cat-
tle, sheep and swine respectively, will show that the total
nutritive substance set down as being required for each age
given per 1000 pounds live weight, decreases relatively
more or less rapidly with advancing age in the animal. But
with it the relative increase made decreases even more rap-
idly (see p. 371). This indicates the great importance of
securing, during the whole time of the animal’s develop-
ment, the largest increase consistent with economy.
5. Cattle that are reduced in flesh and fat cannot at
once be quickly fattened as before quick fattening can fol-
low, the animals to be fattened must possess a certain pro-
portion of both organized and circulatory protein before
they are capable of rapidly storing up the protein and fat
of the food as new fat (see p. 377).
6. The proportion of fat and also the proportion of the
same in the standard ration for milch cows is less than in
the rations for fattening. Since the fat of the ration does
not increase the percentage of fat in the milk, but it does
PRINCIPLES THAT GOVERN FEEDING 187
slightly increase the quantity of milk by protecting some
of the nitrogenous substance of the food from oxidation
and increasing the amount available for the formation coi
cells in the milk glands.
7. The nutritive ratio for the food of milch cows is
comparatively narrow. The explanation is first, that pro-
tein is necessary for the production of dry substance in the
milk; and second, that within certain limits the percentage
of the dry substance will be increased with an increase of
the nitrogenous substance in the food.
8. Sheep require relatively more fodder than larger an-
imals and fodder with a relatively narrower nutritive ratio,
both for maintenance at rest and in fattening. They can
bear a more concentrated food than cattle and the food
should be less watery. For the production of wool only, it
is only necessary to keep the animals in good condition,
hence an excess of nitrogenous food would be waste when
wool is the sole or even principal object sought.
g. Swine eat much more food relatively than other an-
imals, especially during the early stages of growth and fat-
tening, and they increase in weight correspondingly. But
in both respects their ability to increase in relative weight
diminishes with advancing age and with advancement in the
fattening period.
10. Horses that work severely call for not only a pro-
portionate increase in the amount of the food, but they also
require food with a greater proportion of nitrogenous
constituents.
Notwithstanding the valuable assistance which these
tables render to the feeder in choosing and balancing ra-
tions suitable to the needs of the animals fed, the fact re-
mains, that rations balanced from the standpoint of chem-
ical analysis are only to be considered as approximate rather
than as absolute guides. The following influences among
others may lead to variations in the results from feeding
rations so balanced: (1) The inherent and cultivated appe-
tites of animals to take the same food vary greatly and
188 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
these variations produce corresponding variations in the re-
sults from feeding the same foods. (2) The inherent power
of animals of the same age and class to digest certain
foods also varies greatly, and with these variations the re-
sults obtained will correspondingly vary. (3) Foods vary
in their digestibility with variations in the soils on which
they grew, and with the mechanical and chemical condition
of the same, also with the degree of the development and
maturity, hence the constituents of these will not be in strict
accord with the chemical analyses given in feeding stand-
ards. (4) Some foods have a physiological influence which
is favorable or adverse to digestion, and this influence will
lead to even important variations from feeding rations in
equal chemical balance. (5) Adaptation or the want of
this in the relative proportion of bulky food and concen-
trates fed, will have an important bearing on the results ob-
tained from feeding them. And (6) the degree of succu-
lence in the ration has also a modifying influence.
ART LY:
The more important of the foods grown in the United
States and Canada are discussed in Part III; also their
preparation for feeding. The discussion of the various sub-
jects is in the following order: Chapter XI discusses food
from cured fodders; Chapter XII, food from cereals and
other seeds; Chapter XIII, food from by-products ; Chapter
XIV, food from pastures; and Chapter XV, food from field
roots and tubers. Chapter XVI dwells briefly on preparing
foods for feeding. ;
189
[‘uulIW ‘stjodvouulyT ‘eSeArg "MM “WW ‘I92UMO 9} JO Asoeyanoo Aq]
t{Z0:7 GNOOAN ‘SHALLOUL FO ONIM AHL ‘SAaOSAND
CHAPTER XI.
FOOD FROM CURED FODDERS.
The term fodders, as used in this chapter, means
bulky foods such as hay, corn and sorghum stalks, also
straw of the various small cereals. The necessity for feed-
ing cured fodders is usually proportionate to the length of
the winter, but under no conditions can their use be entirely
dispensed with. Cured fodders only are discussed in Chap-
ter XI. Fodders are also frequently fed in the green form.
Those who desire further information in regard to feeding
them thus are referred to the book ‘“‘Soiling Crops and the
Silo,” by the author. The leguminous fodders discussed
are: (1) Clover hay; (2) alfalfa hay; (3) cowpea hay; (4)
hay from vetches, and (5) bean hay. Those derived from
the grasses proper are: (1) Timothy hay and (2) hay from
grasses other than timothy. Those derived from small
grain bearing plants are: (1) Hay from the small cereals,
(2) hay from cereals mixed and (3) millet hay. Those de-
rived from corn and the sorghums are: (1) Corn fodder;
(2) sorghum fodder and (3) non-saccharine sorghum fod-
der. Lastly, the discussion of straw as fodder includes
straw furnished by all the small cereals.
Clover hay.—In one or another of its varieties, clo-
‘ver may be grown with more or less success in nearly all
the arable areas of the United States and Canada, but it has
higher adaptation relatively to conditions North, rather than
South. Its distribution is wider and much more general
than that of alfalfa since it may be grown on a greater
variety of soils. It may be designated the standard fodder
crop of the farms of the United States, and also of much
of Canada, but it is not probable that it will ever become
greatly popular when fed away from the farm. This is
owing first, to the extent to which the leaves are lost while
193
192 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
it is being handled in transportation; second, to the dust it
frequently contains, the outcome of curing too little or too
much before it is stored, and third, to the fact that it is less
satisfactory than timothy on the whole as a fodder for
horses.
The warieties of clover chiefly grown differ from each
other in feeding value, but the elements of difference are
physical rather than chemical. The common red, the stand-
ard clover grown, is of medium fineness in both the cut-
tings, which are commonly obtained the same season. The
mammoth variety has stems so coarse that the waste in
feeding may be considerable. The alsike, of fine growth,
is usually fed with little waste. White clover with its small
stems and leaves adds comparatively little to the bulk of the
ordinary meadow. Crimson clover has a relatively large
proportion of stem and the stems soon become woody,
hence, as a hay, it is not so popular as the medium red or
the alsike. Moreover, the stems are covered with hairs,
and in these, on hay made from clover well advanced to-
ward maturity before cutting, the danger is present, that
when fed to horses, the hairs will gather into balls in the di-
gestive tract and so lead to impaction. Japan clover, used
for hay to some extent in the South, has proved about equal
to Bermuda hay as food for cows. It would probably be
correct to say, that clover provides more hay for live stock,
and especially for cattle and sheep, than all other legumes
taken together. Its preeminence in this respect is owing’
to the wide range in its distribution, its high palatability,
and the richness of its nutrients.
For cattle, clover hay is excellently adapted to their
needs owing to the relish with which it is eaten and to the
equilibrium in its nutrients. It is virtually in itself a balanced
food for them, especially for making growth and producing
milk, but, owing to its bulkiness, concentrates are fre-
quently fed along with it for making quick growth and are
commonly always fed along with it when seeking abundant
milk production or rapid fattening. No better fodder can
FOOD FROM CURED FODDERS 193
be given to calves, when the clover has been cut while
young and tender. So excellent is it for such feeding that,
where practicable, a supply of it should be specially stored
for such feeding by those who need it. Like alfalfa it has
high adaptation for being fed along with corn in fattening
cattle. Since clover, however, is not quite so rich in pro-
tein as alfalfa, some concentrate rich in protein should be
added, though in limited quantity. Oil cake, gluten meal
or cottonseed meal are very suitable. When it forms the
sole fodder ration for cows in milk, as much as half the
concentrate fed may be corn, but in proportion as corn
fodder or corn stover is substituted for clover, the propor-
tion of the corn fed should be decreased.
For sheep, clover of fine growth and well harvested 1s
particularly excellent. Its value for such feeding is les-
sened in proportion as it is coarse, over ripe when cut or
over dried when cured. For breeding ewes, good clover
hay alone may furnish a sufficient ration in itself until the
lambing season. When it forms the sole fodder part of the
ration, it is not necessary to add much protein to corn when
fed as the concentrate, but 5 to 10 per cent of such food
as oil cake will prove helpful.
In feeding swine, especially in winter, clover nay may
be made to serve a useful purpose; first, as a source of pro-
tein and second, to give distension to the digestive organs.
It is particularly valuable in feeding brood sows to which
such carbonaceous foods as corn and rye are being fed. It
is frequently fed simply as hay, but the ration is improved
by chaffing the hay, adding the meal and steaming the mix-
ture. Such food, however, should not be fed to swine be-
ing fattened.
For horses, clover has been assigned a lower place
than is meet for such a fodder. This is owing chiefly to
the dust so frequently found in it, as the result of over or
of under-curing at the time of storing. This dust, penetrat-
ing the lungs of horses to which such hay is fed for a pro-
longed period, is much liable to produce heaves. It is also
194 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
claimed and probably with truth, that working horses fed
on it are liable to sweat more than horses fed timothy or na-
tive hay. Nevertheless, it furnishes fodder quite suitable for
foals and brood mares when it is of good quality. The pre-
judice to feeding well made hay composed of timothy with
a goodly sprinkling of clover in it, is not well founded, as
the clover really adds to the feeding value of the hay.
Alfalfa hay is the principal reliance for hay in all the
mountain states of the West. In the states of the Central
West, between the Mississippi and the semi-arid region, it
is also extensively grown for fodder, and in sections of va-
rious other states, its growth is extending more or less rap-
idly. As hay it is usually fed in the uncut form, but when
run through a cutting box and mixed with cut straw, it in-
sures a much larger consumption of the latter. Recently a
preparation has been made from it known as alfalmo which
consists of alfalfa hay, fine in character, cut early, cured in
good form and ground more or less finely. It is sometimes
fed to young calves when started on fodder. The value of
alfalfa hay is largely dependent on the stage of growth at
which it is cut, and on the nature of the curing. Alfalfa
cut, when, say one-fifth of the blossoms have appeared and
cured without loss of leaves or exposure to rain, may be
fully 50 per cent more valuable than alfalfa cured under
opposite conditions. When the conditions of growing and
curing are correct, alfalfa is somewhat more valuable as a
fodder than the clovers but if the stems have become woody
before it is cut, and if in addition many of the leaves are
lost in the curing, its feeding value may be much less than
that of well made clover hay.
For cattle, alfalfa hay properly made is unexcelled.
Cattle are very fond of this fodder. It is easily masticated
and digested, is fed with but little waste, and is very rich in
protein. Hay made from it, of thick growth and cut early,
makes unexcelled fodder for calves. Young cattle will
come through the winter in good form on alfalfa alone, and
will also make a good growth. It has special adaptation
FOOD FROM CURED FODDERS ~ 195
for being fed to cattle that are being fattened along with
carbonaceous food such as corn. When corn is virtually
the exclusive grain ration fed, alfalfa is so far superior as
roughage to corn or sorghum, that feeding it should effect
a saving of not less than 33 per cent in the grain fed. Its
large protein content makes it highly suitable for pregnant
cows or cows in milk. When fed to the latter as the sole
fodder, fully 50 per cent of the grain fed may be corn.
For sheep, it is quite as valuable as for cattle. Sheep
grown chiefly upon it like cattle similarly grown, attain to
a relatively large size. Breeding ewes may be successfully
wintered on alfalfa of good quality without grain, up to
the season for lambing. As when fattening cattle, it should
effect a saving of fully 33 per cent in the grain ration when
fed to sheep.
As swine fodder, when of good quality, alfalfa hay is
frequently fed to brood sows in the winter and also to other
swine, but is relatively more suitable for the former be-
cause of its bulkiness. In some instances it is fed as hay,
in others in the cut form and in admixture with meal,
steamed or not steamed, but preferably steamed where the
cost involved is not excessive. The leaves are much prized
for such feeding when they accumulate sufficiently for such
a use. In corn and alfalfa growing areas, alfalfa hay may
be made to furnish a very considerable proportion of the
ration for swine in winter.
For horses——In some sections, as in areas where alfalfa
grows very abundantly and the grasses grow less abun-
dantly, alfalfa furnishes the chief fodder fed to horses. It
has been found very suitable for colts, horses that are idle
and also for brood mares both when carrying and nursing
their foals. As it is more or less laxative when fed to
horses driven faster than a walk, it produces too much
looseness in the bowels, especially at first. Alfalfa hay and
corn furnish a more suitable food for horses than timothy
and corn, viewed from the standpoint of nutrients, since it
is in better balance. Tests have shown that horses will
196 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
maintain flesh better on alfalfa hay than on timothy hay.
Like clover, unless due care is taken in curing it, the hay ts
much liable to be dusty; this lowers its value much as a
food for horses which soon become very fond of it and may
eat it to excess.
Cowpea hay, not required in the North because of
the large number of other hay plants that may be grown,
is very commonly made in nearly all parts of the South.
No other plant in the South of equal value for hay is grown
over so wide an area. In many of its varieties it may be
grown for hay after the removal of a crop grown previ-
ously the same season. It furnishes hay of high quality
viewed from the standpoints of palatability and nutrition.
When well cured, live stock relish it quite as much as, or
even more than alfalfa, and in nutrients it is very similar.
The yields average about two tons an acre and run all the
way from one-half ton to five tons. It has been claimed
that two tons of cowpea hay an acre will furnish in total
digestible nutrients more than a similar area yielding 40
bushels of oats or 30 bushels of corn. But the curing of
cowpea hay is somewhat difficult, and in some varieties it
is not easily handled because of the running character of
the vines.
By cattle, cowpea hay is not only relished, but for
growing cattle, no fodder in the South is superior to it. In
fattening cattle it feeds well along with corn stover or corn
fodder, but its highest use in the South as food for stock,
is found in producing milk. For this purpose it has proved
fully equal to alfalfa and somewhat superior to clover hay
and has been claimed to be even superior to corn silage.
The value of the hay for such feeding is much influenced
by the stage of maturity at which the crop is cut. Hay with
grain well advanced toward maturity is more valuable for
fattening cattle than hay cut during the period even of
medium bloom and it is much more easily cured, but it may
lose something in palatability. For the silo, they should
be reasonably well advanced before being harvested.
FOOD FROM CURED FODDERS IG7
In feeding shecp and lambs, cowpea hay, though not
much used because of the relatively small amount of such
feeding done in the South, has high adaptation. Of course,
hay produced by the finer growing varieties is more valu-
able than what is bulky. What is said about the value
of vetch hay for fattening sheep (see p. 198) will apply
about equally to cowpea hay. If additional grain were ad-
ded, corn, barley, rye and even oats would prove very suit-
able. For milk production, cowpea hay cut, say when the
plants are in the late stages of bloom, should answer well
for ewes nursing lambs.
For swine, cowpea hay is not well adapted, owing to
the relatively small amount of the vine consumed, except
when the crop has been cut at an early stage of growth. But
when it has been harvested at maturity and the fodder
much injured by rain, it may be in order to feed the loose
sheaves or bundles to swine that will search out and con-
sume the peas. .
For horses.—This hay is considerably prized in the
South, not only for feeding brood mares, weanling foals
and indeed all young horses of the draught types and also
of the standard bred classes. Such food adds to the size.
For working horses and mules it serves about the same
purposes as alfalfa (see p. 195) and answers well for being
fed with a grain ration consisting of corn and oats. As
with vetch hay, more or less dust is likely to be present.
This, of course, is so far objectionable.
Hay from vetches.—Vetches are frequently grown
for hay, but more commonly in conjunction with one of the
small cereals in order to furnish them the support neces-
sary to prevent them from falling on the ground during
the later stages of growth. For this purpose rye is some-
times sown, but more commonly the cereal of support is
wheat or oats. Hay from these is more relished than hay
from rye. Vetch hay is thus grown from the winter and
spring varieties of the common vetch and also from the
sand or hairy vetch. Such hay is grown toa considerable
198 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
extent in the Pacific states, and toa less extent in the
South. In the former large yields of hay are obtained es-
pecially from the common vetch which is highly nutritious
and is much relished by stock. The feeding value is much
influenced by the stage of maturity at which it is cut. The
more grain the hay possesses and the more mature it is up
to the limit of not lessening the palatability of the plant, the
more valuable is it for fodder.
By cattle, vetch hay is much relished. Grown thickly
and cut when the first pods have formed, it makes a most
excellent fodder for young calves. It is probably more val-
uable for older cattle when more mature. When fed to
beef cattle and also to dairy cattle, the most suitable vetch
_ hay is obtained when the grain is a little short of maturity.
Such hay is especially valuable for producing milk. Vetch
hay made from vetches and oats grown together is also al-
most equally good for producing milk.
For sheep, it is admirably. adapted. The growth is finer
than that of the pea, hence there is even less waste in feed-
ing vetch hay to sheep than in feeding pea hay. Vetch hay
cut at any stage between that of full bloom and the filling
of the pods makes admirable hay for sheep being carried
through the winter and especially for ewes nursing lambs.
Such hay will virtually suffice for nursing ewes without
other food, and when the hay is almost mature before it is
cut, sheep may be fattened by feeding vetch hay alone when
it can be spared for such a use. As with peas, exposure to
rain while being cured speedily reduces the feeding value.
For swine, vetch hay pure and simple is virtually of lit-
tle value, except when cut not later than the stage of early
bloom. But when fed in the mature form, swine will, of
course, find food in the grain to the extent even of fattening
upon it, as when they are allowed to glean amid the mature
though unharvested crop. - But this makes no use of the
vines for food, which would be a waste that in ordinary
feeding could not be defended. However, should the har-
vested crop be greatly injured by rain, it would be justif-
FOOD FROM CURED FODDERS 199
able to feed vetches to swine in the loose sheaves or bun-
dles in which they are usually harvested, except when the
straw is wanted for bedding.
For horses, vetch hay stands much on a par with clo-
ver hay as a food. It is richer in nutrients than clover and
horses are fond of it, but like clover it is not easily cured so
as to be free from dust. When grown in admixture, as
with wheat or oats, the combination makes excellent fodder
for horses when cut somewhat short of maturity.
Bean hay.—Hay is seldom or never made from the
common field bean (Faba vulgaris), but it is sometimes
made from the soy bean (Glycine hispida), the velvet bean
(Mucuna utilis), and the horse bean, a variety probably of
the species Taba vulgaris. It is more frequently made from
the soy bean than from the other plants of the bean family,
but soy beans also are more commonly grown to provide
grain rather than hay. Soy bean hay which yields on an
average about two tons an acre is much relished by stock
when cut and cured so as to retain the bulk of the leaves.
Owing to the intertwining nature of the vines, the harvest-
ing of velvet beans is not easy nor is the crop easily cured,
hence it does not stand as high, relatively, in the popular es-
timate as it otherwise would. But its hay is said to be
much relished by stock and in some instances the cutting
may be so regulated as to give two of these crops a year.
Horse beans are seldom harvested for hay. They are
usually grown primarily for the grain and incidentally for
the straw. They are slow in curing but may be made into
hay should occasion require this. As curing them thus us-
ually calls for considerable work, it is oftentimes considered
preferable when the facilities are present, to cure them in
the silo along with other feed such as corn.
By cattle, hay made from the crops named is much rel-
ished, but it is not commonly fed to them in any considerable
quantity nor in prolonged feeding, since in nearly all in-
stances such fodder may be obtained with less labor from
other plants that may be grown in the same locality. It is
200 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
more commonly fed to dairy cows, as the high protein con-
tent in each is conducive to free milk production. It is
claimed that soy bean hay should be made before the plants
approach the maturing period or much of the grain will es-
cape mastication and will not be properly digested.
In sheep feeding, hay from these plants is not much
used for the reason just given as to why it is not much used
in feeding cattle. But when cut early and well cured, sheep
eagerly consume it, especially after they have become ac-
customed to it. It is particularly useful in feeding ewes
nursing lambs and which have not yet been turned out to
pasture. When largely made up of coarse stems from
which many of the leaves have been lost, the value of the
hay for feeding sheep is proportionately lessened.
In feeding swine, bean hay is of but little value, owing
to the small quantities of it the animals consume. But, of
course, hogs may glean profitably in soy bean and velvet
bean fields, when the crops are not to be otherwise har-
vested. Common field beans and horse beans are too val-
uable for such feeding. Swine are not so fond of beans in
the raw state as they usually are of peas, corn and the
small cereal grains.
Horses and mules may be fed bean hay when available.
To young horses and brood mares it may be fed with much
freedom, when the proportion of grain in the hay is not too
large. The horse bean, when fed as hay in the nearly ma-
tured form, may be made to furnish a large proportion of
the fodder and grain required. The additional grain
should be corn when available. What has been said of the
horse bean will probably apply also to the soy bean.
Timothy hay.+This crop now grown most extensively
inthe northern part of the United States, and in nearly all
of the arable areas of Canada, stands higher as a fodder for
horses than any other plant grown. In states farther south,
it is also grown more or less, but in these it is not relied
upon to anything like so great an extent in providing fod-
der for horses. No other kind of hay is so suitable for
FOOD FROM CURED FODDERS - 201
shipping and none brings so high a price in the average
market.
For cattle, timothy does not rank high when fed alone.
It is but little ahead of corn or sorghum in its protein con-
tent. Usually the market value for timothy unmixed and
of good quality, makes it too dear for such feeding. The
yield of timothy is also relatively low compared with the
fodders just named. Timothy of fine growth, cut early and
well cured, may be fed to calves with suitable adjuncts, but
when coarse and woody, the results from such feeding will
not prove satisfactory. If fed as the exclusive fodder por-
tion to cattle that are being fattened, the concentrate fed
along with it should be rich in such protein foods as oil
meal, gluten meal, pea meal, cottonseed meal and wheat
bran. When fed to cows in milk, even larger proportions
of these foods should be fed. When grown on farms for
such feeding, it is usually sown in conjunction with clover.
The two grow admirably together and furnish a mixed hay
well suited to the needs of cattle. The larger the propor-
tion of the clover in such thay, the more valuable it is rela-
tively for cattle and sheep, but the reverse of this is true
though with some limitations with reference to horses.(See
- Pp. 193).
For sheep, timothy when fed alone, is even more un-
suitable than for cattle. This is especially true of timothy
that is coarse and overripe, as sheep will not readily eat
such hay. Should they be compelled to eat it as the sole
fodder ration, they will not maintain good form, unless con-
centrates rich in protein are fed to them. It is quite ad-
missible, however, to feed mixed timothy and clover to
sheep when the crop has been cut at an early stage in the
maturity of the timothy.
For swine, timothy hay is quite unsuited. The swine
do not care to eat it and it is also ill suited to their diges-
tion. It is questionable if it will pay to feed it to them,
even though chaffed and steamed.
202 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
For horses, timothy is par excellence the fodder. No
fodder grown on the continent will at all compare with it
in popularity for this purpose. It occupies the place among
horse fodders that oats does among grains. Timothy and
oats are the standard and favorite foods for horses wher-
ever they can be grown.
The high estimate thus put upon timothy arises: First,
from its freedom from dust; second, from the little loss re-
sulting from handling it; and third, from the fondness
which horses show for it. It does not, like clover and al-
falfa, produce too much of laxness in the bowels, and it
seems to impart and sustain both nerve and staying power
akin to the results that come from feeding oats. It has,
moreover, peculiar adaptation for being fed to horses that
are driven much and fast or worked hard. But mixed tim-
othy and clover has higher adaptation for being fed to foals,
young horses, brood mares and horses that are idle because
of its higher protein content.
Hay from grasses other than timothy.—Prominent
among the grasses other than timothy that are grown in the
United States for feeding as hay, are Redtop (Agrostis
vulgaris), Russian brome (Bromus ixermis), Orchard
erass (Dactylus glomerata), Meadow fescue (Festuca pra-
tensis), Tall oat grass (Arrhenatherum avenaceum ), West-
ern rye grass (Agropyrum tenerum), Kentucky blue grass
(Poa pratensis), Canadian blue grass (Poa compressa)
and in the South Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon). The
wild grasses of the prairie are also an important source of
hay in western and northwestern areas. Other grasses, as
for instance, Perennial rye grass (Lolium perenne), Italian
rye grass (Lolium Italicum), Texas blue grass (Poa art-
chnifera), Rough stalked meadow grass (Poa trivialis ),
Fowl meadow grass (Poa serotina), Rescue grass (Bromus
untoloides) and Velvet grass (Holcus lanatus) are grown
more or less largely for fodder, but because of the compara-
tively limited areas to which their growth is restricted, they
will not be discussed here further than to say that being
FOOD FROM CURED FODDERS 203
carbonaceous, they should be fed in conjunction with
legumes.
Redtop, probably more extensively distributed than any
other grass, ranks high as a fodder. It is seldom grown
alone to provide fodder in northern areas, save in land that
is naturally slough-like in character. It is much grown
along with timothy on congenial soils, to increase the total
yield. The feeding qualities are much like those of timothy,
and alone or in conjunction with timothy, it may be fed in
much the same way (see p. 200).
Russian brome grass is popular as a dry fodder in
large areas of the northwestern states and in nearly all of
the cultivated areas of northwestern Canada. The yields
are generally in excess of those obtained from timothy, and
the feeding value is by many considered higher, owing to
the greater leafiness and superior palatability of Russian
brome. It is adapted to about the same uses as timothy
(see p. 200), but is not so readily cured, nor is it so good a
fodder for shipping, nor in all respects for feeding horses.
Orchard grass has never become nearly so popular as
timothy or redtop as a hay crop. This is owing to its coarse
growth, to the greater woodiness of the stems, to the short
period during which it may be harvested in season, to the
greater degree of the injury it takes from rain, and to the
less relish which animals have for it. It must not be under-
stood, however, that it will not make good hay if cut and
cured properly. It may be fed in substantially the same
way as timothy.
Meadow fescue is not grown alone to provide dry fod-
der over large areas, as it takes longer to form-a thick and
strong growth than timothy. Nor can it be said that on
average soils it produces more abundantly than the standard
hay fodder mentioned, although in some of the central
western states it has produced more abundantly than tim-
othy. Its feeding value is much the same.
Tall oat grass, more extensively grown in the South
and in the central and far western states than elsewhere on
204 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
this continent, has the merit of growing quickly and vigor-
ously into hay. Its palatability is not so high relatively as
that of timothy, owing to a somewhat bitter principle found
in the hay, and to a greater extent in the pasture and to the
coarseness of stem and leaf. Nor is it so easily cured as
timothy, while it takes greater injury from rain. In feed-
ing value it is scarcely equal to timothy, especially for
horses, but like timothy it should be fed in conjunction with
leguminous foods.
Western rye grass, frequently called slender wheat
grass, has special adaptation for the prairies of the West
and the Northwest, and more particularly for areas too dry
for growing other grasses at their best. It is native to
much of the prairie region, and under cultivation will pro-
duce large yields of hay. The hay is very easily cured, but
it is not so much relished as timothy or Russian brome, ow-
ing in part at least to its woody character, but it will furnish
hay under cultivation on soils too dry for the growth of
other cultivated grasses. Its uses are almost identical with
those of timothy (see p. 200).
Kentucky blue grass is not a good grass to furnish fod-
der. Because of the fine and dwarfish habit of growth, the
yields are relatively small and unless cut with much prompt~
ness at the proper stage of growth, it becomes so dry and
woody as to be little relished. Its habitat will ultimately
embrace nearly all the tillable areas of the United States.
It is very easily cured and may be fed in about the same
way as timothy (see p. 200). It is seldom cut for hay ex-
cept when it forms a part of another hay crop.
Canadian blue grass, like the Kentucky variety, does
not give large yields, but it produces more valuable hay, es-
pecially for horses. It has so much of body to it, as it were,
that it weighs heavily. When the conditions for growth
are not really favorable, this grass may frequently be grown
with profit for hay. Like all the grasses, when cured it has
highest adaptation for feeding horses, especially when at
work.
FOOD FROM CURED FODDERS 205
Bermuda grass is by far the most valuable grass grown
in the South. It is, strickly speaking, a summer grass, and
one for mild latitudes, as it turns brown with the first frosts
of autumn. It willnot live in a soil that is penetrated deeply
by frost. It will also grow, though by no means equally
well, on nearly all the soils of the South. Strickly speaking,
it is a pasture grass, but it also makes palatable and nutri-
tious hay, although the yields are not large relatively. The
aim should be to feed it in conjunction with such fodder as
alfalfa or cowpea hay, or with such a concentrate as cotton-
seed meal. |
Wild prairie hay is largely fed in both the American
and Canadian Northwest. Of course it is a gradually dimin-
ishing quantity, but for many years it will still continue to
be an important source of hay in the areas named. It varies
greatly in quality with the grasses which compose it, the
soils on which it grows, the stage at which it is cut, and the
character of the curing. It usually embraces a number of
grasses and other plants, some of which partake of the
character of the weeds. On the upland the general charac-
ter of the growth is fine, but in the sloughs it is usually rank
and dense. Harvesting prairie grass is very frequently so
long deferred that the value of the hay is lessened although
it will bear such treatment better than most grasses. It is
also very frequently injured by over exposure in the swath.
It is very evident that such hay will vary so much in charac-
ter that its feeding value cannot be given in any other than
a general way. In tests made, upland prairie hay has been
found to possess feeding properties about equal to timothy
and to be adapted to the same kinds of feeding (see p. 200).
The presence of foreign substances will of course reduce
the value of such hay in proportion as they are present.
Hay from the small grains.—Hay is sometimes made
from the various kinds of .small grains grown singly,
or in various combinations. When grown singly the hay
takes its name from the grain which furnishes it. There is,
therefore, rye hay, speltz hay, wheat hay, barley hay, oat
206 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
hay, pea hay and vetch hay. The oat is more commonly
made to furnish hay than any of the small grains . The ne-
cessity for growing hay from these sources is based on the
needs of the localities where they are thus grown, and on
the attendant conditions of soil and climate. Hay from
these crops is made in the same way as hay from the grasses.
The time of cutting varies with the use that is to be made
of it. The aim, however, in cutting it seeks to retain the
green color in the hay without sacrificing entirely the grain
product. In other words it seeks to cut the crop as soon
as the plants are possessed of a maximum of nutrition and
before the crop has matured.
Rye hay is probably the least valuable of the kinds of
hay made from any of the small cereals. At a very early
stage of growth it becomes woody in character and so un-
profitable that live stock do not eat it readily unless when
chaffed and mixed with other fodders. The matured grain
of rye -is usually more valuable than the grain and fodder
together when harvested short of maturity. Rye hay is less
relished by sheep than by other live stock unless it has been
cut at or before the early earing stage.
Speltz hay is sometimes made in semi-arid regions
where hay from other sources is not easily obtained. That
it does not produce high yields of fodder is so far an ob-
jection to its use. Care must be taken not to allow it to be-
come so mature that it will get over-woody.
Wheat hay is grown to a considerable extent in certain
ot the Pacific states and in some of the semi-arid country
to provide hay chiefly for horses and more particularly for
horses at work. On the bench lands of these states it may
usually be harvested and cured in the absence of rain.
When cut a little short of maturity it makes excellent hay
for horses at work, but for other classes of animals on the
farm it is usually too costly for such feeding. In other
words, other plants may usually be grown that will furnish
hay more cheaply.
FOOD FROM CURED FODDERS 207
Barley nay is frequently grown in the western moun-
tain and Pacific states, and as with wheat, chiefly for the
purpose of providing food for horses. For such a use it
stands high in favor, especially for horses that are being
driven. In regions where alfalfa grows, such hay would be
too costly for feeding cattle, sheep or swine. If allowed to
become mature before it is cut, the beards will make
trouble. |
Oat hay is probably grown more than hay from all the
other grains combined. In all parts of the United States
where oats can be grown, more or less oat hay is also grown.
This hay may be fed with profit under certain conditions to
all classes of farm animals except swine. It is chiefly
grown to provide food for dairy cows and the aim in grow-
ing it thus is to furnish fodder and a part of the grain in
the same plant, without the necessity for threshing or grind-
ing the grain. Such hay usually ranks next to clover hay as
fodder for dairy cows. The crop is usually cut with the
binder when the grain is in or nearing the dough stage, tied
in small sheaves and cured in the shock. When fed to
sheep it should be cut not far beyond the heading out stage.
Pea and vetch hays are not usually grown alone, but
rather in combination with some other cereal. For the dis-
cussion of growing peas thus see p. 208. For the discus-
sion relating to vetches see p. 208.
Hay from cereals mixed.—Hay is sometimes grown
from a mixture of the seed of certain of the cereals. Such
fodders are usually more valuable relatively, at least for cer-
tain uses, than they would be if grown singly. This arises
first, from the finer growth that usually characterizes the
hay because of the thicker stand of the plants; second, from
the larger yields that result from the thick stand; third,
from the variety in the hay which whets the appetite, and
fourth, from the better balance given to the fodder when
legumes are grown with non-legumes.
These mixtures may be varied indefinitely; the tnost
popular by far are mixtures of oats and peas, oats and
208 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
vetches, or of the three combined. In other instances wheat,
oats, barley and flax are grown together. When legumes
are grown with non-legumes, the aim usually is to have not
more of the latter in the mixture than will sustain the le-
gumes, but this of course may be varied at the will of the
grower. In order to obtain the desired proportions of each
plant, the seed must be sown with that end in view, and it
may take some time to ascertain how much of each will fur-
nish the best fodder.
Peas and oats grown together furnish excellent fodder
when the crop has been kept from lodging. If cut a little
underripe the hay is excellent for all kinds of growing
stock. But when fed to growing animals it may be neces-
sary to add other fodder as the peas and oats may contain
too large a proportion of grain for the needs of the stock.
For dairy cows, such food is excellent. It also meets in fine
form the needs of sheep. When breeding ewes are fed such
fodder usually they do not require any additional grain.
This fodder when properly grown may be cut with the
binder and fed from the sheaf or it may be cured like hay.
Oats and vetches are grown similarly to oats and peas.
The proportions of each that ought to be sown can only
be determined by experiment, but the vetch is the more val-
uable fodder of the two, and should, therefore, furnish thé
bulk of the fodder. The relatively high cost of the seed is
the most serious objection in the way of growing such hay
in the meantime. It furnishes a grand fodder for milch
cows and ranks even higher as a fodder for sheep. Such
hay can be obtained from the common vetch and also from
the sand or hairy_vetch. The latter cannot be harvested
satisfactorily for hay, unless grown with some grain crop
owing to the intertwining nature of the vines.
Oat, pea and vetch hay is much relishea and when
properly grown is of fine growth. Usually the seed of the
vetch must be used freely in the mixture or the vetches will
be overshadowed by the growth of the other plants. Some
variety of oats, short and stiff in the straw, is to be preferred
FOOD FROM CURED FODDERS 209
to oats tall and coarse. It is important that the crop snall
be prevented from lodging, otherwise its quality will be
proportionately lowered.
In wheat, oat, barley and flax hay, the flax is sown to
furnish what is the equivalent of oil meal to the fodder. The
amount to sow must be determined by the conditions of
each locality. The more rank the growth of the other
plants in the mixture, the more the amount of the flax re-
quired and vice versa. Usually from 2 to 4 quarts an acre
will suffice. Hay properly made from these grains, much
relished by cattle and useful in feeding sheep, is of highest
value relatively for horses.
Millet hay.—Millet in all its varieties is more com-
monly grown as a catch crop in the United States and Can-
ada than as the principal crop of the season. It is pecu-
liarly adapted for being grown thus, owing to the short
period it occupies the land. It will usually mature a hay
crop in from 60 to 75 days from the date of sowing. It
grows best during the warm weather of summer, and it
may be successfully grown on any land that will grow good
corn. Its value for hay depends much on the season of
cutting and also on the method adopted in curing the crop.
If cut too early, the hay is lacking in body and yield, and
when fed freely tends more or less to induce scouring. If
cut too late, it becomes so woody that more or less of the
coarser parts will be left uneaten by the stock to which it 1s
fed. Much of the seed will also shatter, and that which does
not is so hard that it may cause more or less irritation in the
digestive organs. To make hay suitable for feeding to live
stock generally, it should be cut when a golden tint begins
to show in the heads on looking over the field. The curing
should be about the same as would be suitable for curing
first class quality of clover hay. When properly cured the
hay should be green rather than brown. No class of hay
varies more in value because of variations in the modes of
making it. When made as outlined, it is an excellent fod-
der adjunct for cattle, horses and sheep. But, usually, it
210 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
should form not more than 50 per cent of the fodder fed,
for the reason first, that its protein content is not high;
and second, that it has not proved entirely satisfactory or
safe when fed continuously as the sole fodder ration.
Fed to cattle, the aim should be to alternate the feeding
with clover or some other legume. Though not equal to
clover or alfalfa as a food for calves, when finely grown
and well cured, it may, with much propriety form at least
one half the fodder ration. It may also be fed thus to beef
cattle, the other fodder in all such instances being legumi-
nous. Cut and cured in good form, it is superior to timothy
as a milk producer, but when overripe it is of little value for
such feeding and may do harm.
Fed to sheep, it is highly important that it shall be of
fine growth. When thus grown and well cured, sheep eat it
with avidity, but when coarse, overripe or overcured, it is
less valuable than straw of some of the small cereals. Fed
to lambs at the Michigan experiment station, it proved
less valuable than clover hay and oat straw fed together, the
grain fed being corn.
For swine, it has low feeding value. Unless when it
contains seed, it has practically no feeding value as the an-
imals will not eat enough of it to make it in any considerable
degree even a food of support. But in some instances,
they have been carried through the winter by allowing them
to eat the heads of matured millet, when other food was
not obtainable.
For horses, millet, if well cured, may usually be made
to form half the fodder ration, but if fed continuously for
any considerable period, serious complications may follow.
In the prairie sections of the Northwest where considerable
millet is grown for hay, it is claimed that horses have died
from the exclusive feeding ot millet hay. Experiments con-
ducted at the North Dakota experiment station apparently
justify the following conclusions: (1) That feeding millet
increases unduly the action of the kidneys; (2) that tt
causes a swelling of the joints that leads to lameness, which
FOOD FROM CURED FODDERS . 211
may, however, disappear when the feeding of millet is dis-
continued; and (3) that it injures the texture of the bone
by rendering it softer and less tenacious.
Corn fodder.—This is an elastic term which may be
applied to corn cut at any stage of growth and fed in the
green or cured form, with or eid the removal of the
ears. It thus applies to the crop grown so thickly or cut so
early that it has no ears, to the mature crop fed along with
the ears which it has borne and also to the crop from which
the ears have been removed, but the stalks from which the
ears have been taken are usually spoken of as stover. Shock
corn means the cured product as fed from the shock or
stack and without husking. Snapped corn is a term applied
to ears which are pulled from the standing stalks and fed
without being husked.
In estimating the value of corn fodder for feeding, the
following considerations should be taken into account; viz.,
(1) The proportion of ear to stalk; (2) the object sought
from feeding the corn; (3) the stage of maturity at which
the crop is harvested and (4) the time that has elapsed
since harvesting the corn. Of well matured corn -grown
for the ears, it would probably be correct to say that more
than half the entire weight of the crop and considerably
more than half of the nutrients 1; in the ear. Consequently
when cattle and sheep are being fattened, the greater the
proportion of ears to the fodder fed the more suitable is
it for such fattening. But, as usually fed, the proportion
of the stalks rejected will be greater than from corn grown
rather to produce fodder than ears, because of the coarse
and harsh-character of the former.
When corn is fed simply for maintenance, to promote
growth without fattening, or for milk production, the con-
sumption of the entire product will be greater when the
fodder has been grown so thickly as to reduce the size of
ear and stalk. When thus grown, the total yield to the acre
of nutrients will also be greater than if grown to produce
the largest amount of ears. Consequently the food value of
2BI2y FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
an acre of corn of the former class, should be greater for
such feeding than of the latter class. There is a limit, how-
ever, to the extent to which corn should be crowded in
growtk in order to increase fineness and leafiness with a
view to increase palatability in the fodder. Ordinarily that
limit is the point at which the yield of total digestible nu-
trients per acre would be decreased, if thick growth were
carried further. Where this point is, cannot be definitely
stated, since it will vary with variations in varieties of corn,
soils and temperatures. It is possible, however, to grow
corn fodder so fine and leafy as to insure its entire con-
sumption when fed.
The stage at whick corn should be cut for feeding when
cured is greatly important. The increase in weight from
the time the corn is fully silked until mature is very great,
and the increase in nutrients is much greater. Corn should
never be cut to be made into cured fodder or for the silo,
until the grain has reached the glazing stage, except when
such cutting is necessary to protect the crop from impend-
ing frosts. It is even better when the crop passes the glaz-
ing stage. Nevertheless, corn that has not passed the milk
stage of the grain when it must needs be cut for the reason
given, is by no means to be despised for fodder, notwith-
standing that pound for pound well matured corn fodder
has a higher feeding value.
The maximum of nutrition is in the corn crop when it
has matured. When shocked in the field in well put up
shocks, the loss from deterioration in feeding value is not
great for a time. Soon, however, there is loss though the
fodder should not be injured by rain, and this loss increases
in an acclerated ratio and with increase in duration subse-
quently to the time of harvesting. The losses in dry mat-
ter and in such substances as protein, sugar and starch are
heavy, especially after the winter months, nor will stacking
or storing under cover prevent such losses. They are
thought to result from chemical changes brought about by
fermentations. Add to such loss the incidental losses from
FOOD FROM CURED FODDERS 213
fodder exposed and from decrease in palatability, and the
feeding value of the crop in time becomes greatly lessened,
hence the advisability of feeding the fodder when practi-
cable in the autumn and early winter, reserving the fodder
for later feeding.
For feeding calves, corn fodder is suitable when of fine
growth, but not so suitable as clover hay or alfalfa. When
not too coarse, it furnishes excellent food for young cattle
of any age, but it is too low in protein to produce results
entirely satisfactory when fed alone. Stover is less suitable
for such feeding, being lower in nutrients. but may be so
used when shredded.
For cattle that are being fattened, corn fodder is in-
creasingly suitable as the grain which it contains increases.
Feeding corn from the shock is regarded as more econom-
ical than feeding from the crib, as the labor of husking is
saved, more or less of the fodder is consumed, and the ten-
dency to scouring often resulting from the heavy feeding of
ear corn is lessened if not entirely prevented. The benefits
resulting from feeding snapped corn are somewhat similar
though less in degree, as when feeding it the consumption
of coarse material is not so great. Fodder corn is fed by
strewing it over grass pastures daily, or by feeding in
slatted racks in yards or sheds. The distance between the
slats should be enough to permit the cattle to insert their
heads when feeding. The aim should be when feeding such
fodder to have two pastures or two feeding lots, and to al-
low other cattle to glean after those that are being fattened.
When fodder with but few ears or stover is being fed to
such cattle, the aim should be to feed it in the shredded
form, and to make not less than half the ration clover hay.
For dairy cows in milk, corn fodder furnishes excellent
roughage when not too coarse on the stalk. With much ad-
vantage it may form 50 per cent or even more of the entire
roughage fed, according to the nature of the other fodder
‘used. When possessed of a fair amount of nubbins, it is
not necessary to add any more shelled corn. Even mature
214 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
corn, growrt so thickly as to furnish virtually no nubbins
has been found excellent for milk production, and also one
of the most economical of foods, owing to the ease with
which it may usually be grown and to the relatively large
yields obtained. Good corn fodder is fully as valuable ton
for ton, if not more so, than good timothy. In trials at the
Wisconsin station, one ton of corn stover fed to dairy cows
was found to be equal in feeding value to three tons of
mixed clover and timothy hay. Fully one-third of the sto-
ver was left unconsumed. Cows in milk may be fed about
12 pounds of corn fodder per day, and mature cattle that
are being wintered a much larger amount.
For sheep, the value of corn fodder depends largely on
the character of the growth. For ordinary feeding the fod-
der should be of fine growth, but some feeders prefer corn
with full sized ears when sheep are being fattened. In such
instances, a large proportion of the fodder is left uncon-
sumed. Corn stover is less valuable relatively for feeding
sheep than for feeding horses and cattle, and largely because
of its coarse character. In the shredded form it has not al-
ways proved entirely satisfactory as a food for sheep, as
they do not consume it with the same relish as the larger
animals.
For swine, particularly in some of the sweet varieties,
corn fodder apart from the grain and in the cured form, is
comparatively valueless. The stalks of the sweet sorts may
be made to furnish some food, but not nearly so much as
sorghum (see p. 216). Green corn fodder will of course
be partially consumed by swine. They will also find succu-
lence in corn ensilage, but no large amount of food apart
from the grain.
For horses, fodder corn has a high feeding value.
When it is grown so thickly that the ears are half the size
or less, it makes excellent fodder for young horses in the
growing stage, idle horses and brood mares. It may even
form half the fodder ration for horses that are worked mod-
erately. Even the stover, quite suitable for growing colts
FOOD FROM CURED FODDERS 215
and idle horses, may sometimes form a part of the ration
of working horses. Pound for pound, good stover has been
found to have a feeding value about equal to timothy.
Shredding stover will usually insure a larger consumption
of the fodder by cattle and horses, and the same is true of
running it through a cutting box. Feeding tests have
shown that an average acre of corn stover well preserved is
fully equai in feeding value to an average acre of timothy
hay.
Sorghum fodder.—Sorghum has proved valuable as a
fodder in regions too dry for the successful growth of corn.
But where corn may be profitably grown, it is not probable
that it will supplant the former as a fodder plant since it is
more delicate than corn when young and it also involves
more labor to keep it clean in the early stages of growth.
In certain areas of the dry West, it is much used as a fod-
der plant, but in states further east it is not prized so highly.
The feeding value of sorghum, judged from the standpoint
of nutrients, is much the same as that of corn with the dif-
ference that sorghum has more sugar and less starch. Con-
trasted with corn fodder, sorghum will in many instances,
produce a larger tonnage per acre, is not so easily harmed
b: exposure when harvested, and is more palatable because
of the high sugar content that it contains. But it heats in
the stack much more readily than corn, and after the stalks
have frozen and thawed out again, the juices stilk remaining
in them become more or less acid to its detriment as a fod-
der. Its highest feeding value occurs in the period between
the maturing of the crop and the advent of hard freezing
weather. It may be also made into good ensilage if allowed
to become practically mature before putting it into the silo.
By cattle, young and old, sorghum, especially when of
fine growth, is much relished, when fed from early maturity
until the ground freezes solid. To obtain fine growth, it
must be grown thickly in rows not distant, or on the plan
followed in growing grain. It is usually fed to cattle by
drawing it from the shocks or cocks in the field where it
216 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
grew and strewing it on a grass pasture. But it may also be
fed in mangers or feed boxes in the stables or yards. The
aim should be to feed it in conjunction with leguminous
hay, because of its highly carbonaceous character. Sor-
ghum bagasse, the substance which remains after the juices
have been removed for the production of syrup, has consid-
erable value as a fodder for cattle, should facilities for feed-
ing it be present.
For sheep, sorghum fodder of fine quality, frequently
spoken of as sorghum hay, is quite as valuable as in feeding
cattle, and it may be fed to them also on the pastures or by
strewing it in clean paddocks. But there would be much
waste in feeding coarsely grown sorghum to sheep. When
the stalks are not too coarse, both sheep and cattle will con-
sume sorghum with but little waste. The waste is usually
less than in the case of corn fodder. As with cattie, the aim
should be to feed hay of some legume once a day when feed-
ing sorghum hay.
In feeding swine, sorghum fodder has been made to
render good service. For sucha use, coarse stalks are bet-
ter than fine. They usually contain more juice relatively
and more sugar. When feeding upon them, swine simply
extract the juices, leaving the stalks a mass of shreds.
When stalks are fed to sheep or cattle so coarse in character
that much of the coarser portions are left uneaten, if swine
can be given access to the feed yards at suitable seasons,
they turn to good account the food thus rejected. Some con-
centrate rich in protein, as shorts or bran, should accompany
such feeding.
For feeding horses, in some areas as in the semi-arid
region, sorghum is much used as hay. If in such areas
sorghum hay may be made to alternate with alfalfa, the
combination is a good one. Where this cannot be done,
some-such concentrate as wheat bran fed along with the
grain would improve the ration. Horses are quite as fond
of sorghum as other classes of live stock and because of this,
it may be turned to good account in feeding them.
FOOD FROM CURED FODDERS 217
Non-saccharine sorghum fodders.—The chief of the
non-saccharine sorghums grown for fodder in the United
States are: Kafir corn, Jerusalem corn, durra and Milo
maize. Of these, Kafir corn in one or tke other of its vari-
eties is by far the most extensively grown. Broom corn,
much akin to these plants, may also be grown for fodder,
and also pearl millet, although it is not strictly speaking a
non-saccharine sorghum. ‘Teosinte also bears some resem-
blance to them in its growth, but it also is not really a non-
saccharine sorghum. The growth of these plants, unless it
be broom corn, is confined chiefly to areas that are con-
sidered too dry for the safe and abundant production of
corn and sweet sorghum. All these plants are less highly
relished than sweet sorghum, and are so far less valuable
for feeding.
For cattle, Kafir corn is extensively used as a fodder in
areas where it is much grown. Its value for such feeding
is much influenced by the way in which it has been grown
and in which it is fed. When grown thickly and fed from
the sheaf or cock, it contains more or less seed, which, of
course, adds to its palatability and feeding value. When
the fodder only is fed after the heads have been removed
from a crop grown primarily for the grain, not a little of
the coarser portion will be rejected. The palatability of
such fodder will be so far improved by shredding, that its
consumption will be much increased, thus reducing the
waste, and because of the dry conditions amid which it
grows, Kafir corn does not usually spoil readily in the
shredded form. Because of the relatively small amount of
protein which this fodder contains, it is important when
practicable that it shall be fed in conjunction with alfalfa,
as the latter can usually be grown on areas favorable to
the growth of Kafir corn.
To sheep, when fed as fodder after the grain has been
removed, much of it will be rejected unless when shred-
ded, because of the stocky character of the growth. When
grown like grain it makes more suitable fodder for sheep.
218 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
When fed to cattle, it ought to be fed in conjunction or
alternating with leguminous fodder, as for instance, alfalfa
or cowpea hay.
In feeding swine, Kafir corn fodder is of but little use.
In this respect it would be about on a par with corn stalks
(see p. 214). But when the crop contains more or less
seed, swine may consume some of the stalk, especially if
fed while still possessed of succulence in considerable de-
gree.
For horses, Kafir corn fodder in certain areas serves a
useful purpose. As when feeding cattle, it is more valu-
able when the stalks are not coarse. With horses as with
cattle and sheep, it may form fully half the fodder fed
when fed in conjunction with leguminous fodders.
What has been said about Kafir corn will apply in the
main to Jerusalem corn and durra. These are quite stocky
in growth, even more so than Kafir corn. As they are
grown chiefly for the grain, fodder from them is a very
secondary consideration. Milo maize, except in the dwarf
varieties, is of much taller growth and has more abundant
leaves around the portion of the stalk from which the seed
head emerges. In the experiments conducted by the au-
thor, it was found that Milo maize was eaten by cattle even
with as much avidity as sweet sorghum. When fed as fod-
der, these plants are more commonly grown thickly and are
fed from the cock. j
Broom corn, which grows up very quickly, may be
used for fodder, but when thus fed should be grown for the
purpose. When grown for the brush to be used in making
brooms, the stalks“are usually ploughed under where they
grew. Other plants of this class are considered more valu-
able than broom corn in furnishing fodder, hence it is
scarcely ever grown for such a use.
Pearl millet may be made to produce enormous crops
of fodder in the milder portions of the continent. In ex-
periments conducted by the author, however, tke live stock
did not take kindly to the fodder. They did not relish it
FOOD FROM CURED FODDERS 219
nearly so well as corn, sorghum, Kafir corn or Milo maize.
Its growth for fodder, therefore, where any of these piants
can be grown in good form is not to be commended.
Teosinte produces an enormous amount of long, slen-
der leaves. A large tonnage of fodder may be obtained per
acre from one or more cuttings in the season, but, owing
to the character of the growth, it is not easily handled nor
readily cured, nor does it seem to be more highly relished
than pearl millet. . However useful, therefore, it may prove
for regions far south, its growth is not to be recommended
for fodder in the northern or central states.
Straw as fodder.—Straw from the small cereal grains,
so generally used for bedding, is also frequently used for
fodder. When used as fodder, it should usually be as a
part of the fodder ration only, owing to the large bulk
which it possesses in proportion to the nutrition and also
to the large amount of the crude fibre which it contains.
Although the feeding value of nearly all kinds of straw is
low relatively, it may frequently be fed with profit to ma-
ture or store animals that are being simply carried
through the winter, or along with concentrates to cheapen
the ration, when hay is dear. The necessity for and the ad-
vantage from feeding straw, is largely dependent on the rel-
ative value of other fodders. Straw has considerable value
for feeding on the farms of New England and on those of
the eastern provinces of Canada, while in wheat growing
areas of the American and Canadian Northwest, it is usu-
ally burned to get rid of it. Rye, wheat, barley, speltz,
oats, peas, beans and flax are the principal sources from
which straw is obtained in America.
The feeding value of straw is much influenced by
what may be termed its physical condition, by the way in
which it is cured and by the extent to which it has been in-
jured by such diseases as rust. The physical condition of
straw has reference among other things to the stage of ma-
turity at which it was cut, the fineness of stem and abun-
dance of leaves, and the extent to which beards are present
220 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
or absent. Straw cut at early maturity is much better rel-
ished than when cut late and has less crude fibre. The finer
the stems and the more abundant the leaves, the more highly
is straw relished. Beards in it are more or less objec-
tionable as they sometimes influence mastication adversely,
especially when the crop is fully matured, as harshness, so
to speak, in the beards, is enhanced by increasing maturity.
The methods of curing straw affect it similarly to the way
in which methods affect the curing of hay. When straw is
overcured and bleached by exposure, live stock do not care
to eat it and heavy rains wash out of it soluble nutrients.
The feeding value of pea and bean straw may be almost
destroyed by such exposure, and to a less degree that of
oat straw. Such parasitical diseases as rust may greatly
lessen the value of straw. Smut acts similarly and also
mildew, which frequently attacks some kinds of leguminous
plants. It may not be safe to say that straw thus affected
will produce positive troubles in digestion, but it is safe to
say that such visitations affect its palatability adverselv in
proportion as they are present.
The composition of straw, as may be expected, differs
much with the class, the variety, the soil in which it is
grown, the nature of the stand, whether grown alone or in
combination, and whether leguminous or otherwise. Rye
straw stands lowest in feeding value because of its unpala-
table and woody character, unless in the case of speltz.
Next in feeding value is wheat straw, based on palatability
and nutrients. Then follow oat straw, flax straw, pea
straw and bean straw in the order named. Varieties of the
same kind of grain, naturally of fine growth and leafy, fur-
nish straw more valuable than those opposite. Soils well
supplied with nitrogen furnish straw more rich in protein
than those ill supplied with the same. A thick fine stand of
grain furnishes more palatable fodder than a stand thin and
coarse. Straw from grains grown together furnishes a vari-
ety, and hence larger quantities will be eaten of some of
them at least, than if grown alone. The straw of legumes,
FOOD FROM CURED FODDERS 221
as peas for instance, differs from the straw of other cereals
much as clover hay differs from that made from the
grasses, that is, it is richer in protein and is more palatable.
For stock—Straw is by no means equally well adapted
to the feeding of the various classes of farm animals. It is
better adapted relatively to the feeding of ruminants than
to feeding horses or mules, owing to tke relatively larger
stomach of the former and to the greater length and com-
plexity of their digestive canal, which gives them more time
and greater power to digest bulky products of low relative
nutrition. Notwithstanding, straw may furnish a consid-
erable proportion of the fodder ration of work horses when
occasion calls for it, providing the amount of the concen-
trates is increased so as to furnish the requisite nutrition.
Horses that are idle maybe entirely, or almost entirely,
wintered on good straw of certain of the cereals. Cattle
that are being fattened and cows in milk may also utilize
considerable quantities, providing concentrates are used to
maintain equilibrium in nutrients. The free and judicious
use of straw may frequently effect a considerable saving in
the wintering of young cattle beyond calfhood without ap-
parently checking growth, and, as with idle horses, straw
alone, or almost alone, may be made to sustain cattle at rest,
for considerable periods. Sheep utilize straw to better ad-
vantage even than cattle. They can more readily pick out
the finer portions. Straw fodder is quite unsuited to the
needs of swine.
Rye straw is so unpalatable and woody, that it ranks
low in feeding value. In nutrients it is fully equal to
wheat straw, but is not equal to it in palatability. The
economy of forcing animals to eat rye straw unless in in-
stances when fodder is scarce and dear is at least open to
question
Speltz straw is somewhat more valuable than rye straw
for feeding, but the hard, stiff character of the straw and
beards present discounts its feeding value not a little.
222 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
Wheat straw when bright and good may, under certain
conditions, form a very considerable proportion of the diet
of cattle, sheep and horses in winter, but cattle and sheep
that are being fattened, cows in milk and working horses
should not be required to consume it in large quantities,
owing to its low protein content, its relatively low digesti-
bility and its want of palatability.
Barley straw is somewhat more valuable than wheat
straw. It is eaten with more relish than the former.
Nevertheless, what has been said of wheat straw will apply
in a considerable degree to barley straw. Both barley and
wheat straw may be made to form a considerable part of
the fodder fed along with heavy grain feeding.
Oat straw is in nearly all respects more valuable than
wheat and barley straw. In fattening cattle and sheep, and
in feeding milch cows, also working horses, it may fre-
quently furnish half the fodder ration, and in wintering
store stock it may furnish the sole fodder ration. When
bright and clean it is eaten with a relish, and when available
may be fed so as to economize in the feeding of more ex-
pensive hay.
Flax straw has considerable feeding value as the analy-
sis shows. Live stock are fond of it and will eat it in
considerable quantities when well cured. The small grains
which are blown out into the chaff increase its feeding val-
ue. Flax straw like the grain, though to a much less ex-
tent, tends to relax the bowels. The objection has been
raised to flax straw that because of the toughness of its
fibre, it tends to disturb digestion by forming indigestible
masses of the nattfe of impact substances, but the facts do
not sustain the objection. The feeding of flax straw does
away with the objection to burying it in the soil because of
its slow decay in climates with insufficient rainfall.
Pea straw, when of fine growth and properly harvested
and cured, ranks almost as high for feeding as clover hay,
but in moist climates it is frequently injured in the curing,
as it is easily damaged by rain. Exposure to two or three
FOOD FROM CURED FODDERS 223
showers in succession but with an interval between them,
will so lower the palatability of the straw that it becomes of
little account for feeding. The nutrients, as with clover
hay thus exposed, are also measurably lost. Pea straw has
special adaptation for being fed to sheep which are so fond
of it that previous to the lambing season good pea straw
may be the only fodder required. It may also form the bulk of
the fodder fed to cattle that are being carried through the
winter, and a part of that fed to milch cows. Horses also
are fond of it, but the dust which frequently accumulates on
the plants while growing and sometimes in curing renders it
more or less unsuitable for the prolonged feeding of horses.
Machine threshing also lowers the feeding value since it
breaks up the straw and removes many of the leaves.
Bean straw is possessed of high relative feeding value,
but the yield of straw to the acre is proportionately small.
As much of this product consists of leaves and pods, the
proportion rejected when fed is not usually large: The
straw is also more commonly well saved as in order to
insure good quality in the grain, it is necessary to harvest
promptly when mature and to protect the crop as far as pos-
sible from injury by rain. When available, bean straw
stands high in favor as a fodder for sheep, and it may also
be fed with decided benefit to cattle. The earth that some-
times adheres to the product is an objection to feeding it to
horses. The straw of the horse bean is considerably used
in feeding live stock in Scotland and some other countries,
but in England it is not so commonly fed.
Straw of good quality and well cured is more valuable
for feeding than hay, coarse and ill cured. When fodders
are scarce and dear, the harvesting of straw fodders with a
view to conserve their good feeding properties is well wor-
thy of attention. It is frequently admissible to use certain
varieties of straw as principal portion of the fodder fed in
order that hay may be sold when the price is dear. But
when straw is made to supplement hay, more grain must be
fed when grain is required.
224 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
When grasses are sown with a cereal nurse crop, it
sometimes happens as in seasons of good growth that grass
is abundantly present in the grain, and when it is, the straw
thereof is nearly as valuable as hay. But when grass is thus
abundantly present, the yield of grain may be lowered.
Timothy sown in a grain crop in the autumn, in some in-
stances furnishes a large proportion of the reaped crop and
especially when the grain crop partially fails.
Chaff from wheat and oats is more valuable than an
equal weight of straw, not only in food constituents but also
in palatability. Wheat and oat chaff are usually eaten with
avidity by farm animals, but rye and barley chaff, especially
the latter, are less valuable because of the presence of the
beards. Some feeders of barley straw aim to separate the
chaff from the straw as far as this may be practicable. Even
where the straw is used solely for bedding, the plan which
saves the chaff for feeding when practicable is to be com-
mended.
When straw is fed in the uncut form and especially
when the supply is plentiful, the amount fed should be so
liberal that the unconsumed portion may be used for litter.
This method of providing litter is to be commended, as
much of the straw thus fed is turned to higher account
than if the whole were used as litter. This method of us-
ing straw is especially to be recommended in feeding sheep,
as they are sure to pick out and consume the finer portions.
The uneaten portion is thus used to furnish fresh litter
every day.
When straw furnishes a large or principal portion of
the ration for live stock, it frequently tends to produce more
or less a dry condition of the faeces indicative of constipa-
tion. When a limited amount of field roots can be fed daily
along with the straw, this condition will be corrected. Ten
to 12 pounds of roots fed daily will suffice for a mature cat-
tle beast. Where roots are not available, oil cake will an-
swer the same end. It also adds protein, so much lacking in
nearly all kinds of straw.
CHAPTER = XI.
FOOD FROM CEREALS AND OTHER SEEDS.
_ The seeds of plants are primarily the source of all the
concentrates fed to farm animals. These are discussed in
Chapter XII from the standpoint of their feeding value, and
uses. The small cereals discussed include: (1) Wheat; (2)
oats; (3) barley; (4) rye; (5) peas; (6) buckwheat and
(7 speltz:
The seeds distinctly leguminous considered are: (1)
The common field bean; (2) soy beans; (3) the horse
bean; (4) cowpeas and (5) vetches.
Those usually primarily grown for oil production and
included are: (1) Flax; (2) cottonseed and (3) sunflower
seed,
Seeds discussed as derived from the sorghums are: (1)
Sweet sorghum seed; (2) Kafir corn seed and (3) other
non-saccharine sorghum seeds.
Those discussed as miscellaneous are: (1) Corn or
maize; (2) broom corn seed and (3) millet seed. Rice is
not discussed because of the small extent to which it is
fed to stock save in the by-products obtained from it.
Wheat.— Wheat in its many varieties is more common-
ly grown primarily to provide food for man. So important is
the place which it fills in this respect that it has been called
the “staff of life.” The increase in its growth, therefore, will
probably keep pace with increase in population in all civi-
lized communities where the conditions are favorable to
growing it. Although it furnishes an excellent food for all
kinds of domestic animals on the farm, it is generally con-
sidered too valuable for being thus fed unless when of low
grade. But its by-products, especially bran and middlings,
comprising nearly one-third by weight of the cereal, are of
great value in feeding live stock, and are always likely to be
much sought after for such a use.
205
226 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
Wheat, though a hardy grain, is not so hardy as rye,
nor can it be grown in so short a season as barley. The
macaroni varieties are among the largest yielding sorts and
have more of adaptation for being grown under hard and
dry conditions than other varieties. Vigorous and pro-
ductive varieties may frequently be grown with profit along
with oats or barley, or both, to provide food for stock. The
chief advantage from growing these grains thus consists in
the larger yields that are usually obtained. Wheat is of
two classes, winter and spring, and each has its own sphere
for most successful growth. Usually it ought to be fed in
the ground form except to sheep, otherwise a considerable
proportion of it will not be digested. Because of the sticky
and pasty character of the meal, the outcome of its high
gluten content, the aim should be to mix it with some coarse
substance as bran, when it constitutes the sole grain fed.
For calves and growing cattle, wheat furnishes an ex-
cellent food, when the price will admit of its being so fed.
To the former it may be fed alone. The addition of oats,
however, to the extent of one-half the grain part of the ra-
tion, will improve it except in the case of calves during the
first two or three weeks after they begin to take meal.
For beef cattle, ground wheat has been found about
equal pound for pound, to ground corn. When the two are
fed in conjunction, however, they make a better food than
either fed alone, especially when the wheat element prepon-
derates during the first part of the fattening period and the
corn element during the last. The bran present in ground
wheat exerts an influence more or less helpful in keeping
the bowels in tone. Some bran added, also oil meal, makes
it less sticky in character.
For cows giving milk, wheat meal fed with suitable ad-
juncts has been found fully equal to corn meal. Mixed
grains, however, of which wheat meal is a part, will doubt-
less prove superior to wheat meal fed alone for prolonged
feeding. But for milk production, the by-products of wheat
are more suitable than wheat, as they contain a higher
FOOD FROM CEREALS AND OTHER SEEDS 227
relative protein content, and usually they are considerably
cheaper. It is in order to feed a higker proportion of wheat
meal to cows giving milk than would be admissible of corn
meal, the fodder adjuncts being the same.
For sheep, wheat is superior to corn when fed to young
lambs and breeding ewes. Wheat and oats in any desired
proportions make an excellent grain food for them. It is
also superior to corn when fed alone or as a factor during
the early stages of fattening, but corn will result in some-
what quicker gains in the later stages of the same. It is ex-
cellent as a food for preparing sheep for show purposes,
as it produces flesh, plentiful and firm.
For young and growing swine, wheat is much superior
to corn. For swine that are being fattened, they are about
equal, pound for pound, in production, but the quality of
the meat made from wheat is superior. Tests have shown
that greater gains have been secured from feeding ground
wheat and corn or barley to swine that are being fattened,
than from feeding either alone. Such swine should produce
one pound of increase from rather less than five pounds of
wheat, and greater relative increase should result from feed-
ing it to pigs previous to the fattening season. It should
be fed ground and soaked in milk or water for six to 12
hours, according to the season. Skim milk and ground
wheat make an excellent food for young pigs. If wheat is
fed unground to swine it should be soaked 18 to 24 hours.
Thus prepared, it had been found nearly if not quite equal
to ground wheat when the cost of the grinding is also con-
sidered. If fed in the natural state, a large per cent will
appear in the voidings. Although swine will make a goo
growth while gleaning amid wheat stubbles where they con-
sume the fallen heads, they do not fatten readily on un-
threshed wheat, though it should be plentifully supplied to
them in the sheaf.
For feeding horses, wheat has not been much tested.
The tests made have tended to show that when wheat has
228 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
been fed as the sole grain ration to working horses, a con-
siderable proportion of the grain was voided undigested,
and in time there was a decided tendency to digestive de-
rangement. It would seem probable, however, that wheat
ground and fed with oats ground or unground, up to the ex-
tent of one-half the ration, would make an excellent grain
food for horses.
Contrasted with corn, it may be said that wheat is su-
perior: (1) As a food for young animals and for cows ia
milk, since it is richer in protein and ash; (2) as being a
safer grain food during the early stages of fattening, be-
cause it is relatively lower in its fat content, and, therefore,
does not tend so much to put animals off feed; (3) it is
equal or about equal to corn in making increase with cat-
tle, sheep and swine while being fattened, and it furnishes
meat somewhat superior to that furnished by corn, having
more muscle in it.
Corn ‘is superior to wheat: (1) In its fattening quali-
ties; (2) in that it may usually be fed without grinding and
(3) in that it may usually be obtained more cheaply. They
are about equal in palatability. Wheat is grown over a
wider area than corn and can be grown in a drier and cooler
climate. While it is probable that it will seldom be found
advisable in the future to feed wheat of good quality to
stock, because of the price, it will always be in order to
feed damaged wheat as when shrunken by rust or by frost.
Such wheat has a higher muscle-producing content than
good wheat. In some localities, it may be found that grow-
ing wheat with other grain for food for stock will be the
cheapest method of obtaining bran or its equivalent.
Oats.—Viewed from the standpoint of general adapta-
tion for feeding live stock, no cereal grown in this country
will compare with the oat. It is preeminently the grain
food for horses. In milk production, it is almost equally
valuable. It may be made to constitute a large proportion
of the ration in fattening cattle and sheep, and it is useful
as a factor in feeding swine, but not so useful relatively as
FOOD FROM CEREALS AND OTHER SEEDS 229
in feeding other classes of stock because of the relatively
large amount of hull which it possesses, ill adapted to the
digestion of swine. In suitability for young stock, it is
without a rival among concentrated foods. No other cereal
can be fed to stock with entire safety or in quantities so
large for an equally prolonged period. It is also a valuable
breakfast food for man.
The high relative value of the oat for general feeding
is the outcome of the high palatability which it possesses,
the equilibrium in the nutrients which give it balance as a
food, and the relation between the hull and kernel which
gives it a proper amount of concentration and not too much
for safe feeding. The chief obstacle in the way of its more
extensive use on the farm is the high relative value which it
usually commands on the market.
While the oat grows reasonably well in some parts of
all the states of the union, it grows much better relatively
in the northern states. All the provinces of Canada have
high adaptation for growing oats. The weight of a measured
bushel varies from 20 pounds in some varieties in the south
to 50 pounds in others in the northwestern states and prov-
inces of Canada. As the adaptation for corn production de-
creases because of low temperature, that for oat produc-
tion increases. To provide food for stock, the crop may
be grown alone, with wheat or barley or with both.
For calves and growing cattle, oats are a grand food.
In the ground form, they are excellent for young calves and
for calves more advanced in age, they are equally good. For
such feeding they may be fed alone with wheat bran, ground
barley or ground corn, according to the degree of the flesh
sought and in proportions to suit the needs of the animals.
When fed alone or with bran, the calves may be allowed to
partake of them at will, when the cost is not too great. To
young cattle that are older, about the only limitation that
may be put on the feeding of oats is that which is usually
present, resulting from the relatively high value of this
cereal.
230 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
For beef cattle, they make an excellent adjunct to corn,
barley or rye, rather than a substitute for these, when
ground and mixed with one or more of the foods named.
The hulls as in the case of bran add so much to the bulk
that the juices of the stomach more readily penetrate the
meal thus fed. When oats are not too high, they may con-
stitute from one-half to one-fourth of the entire grain fed,
more being given during the early stages of fattening and
less later.
For cows in milk, oats are at least as valuable as bran,
pound for pound. If there is a difference, ground oats 1s
probably the superior. The extent to which they may be
fed to cows in milk depends in a considerable degree on
market values. They may be made to constitute the whole
of the grain fed or any part of it. Even when oats are
somewhat more expensive than corn, it will be found profit-
able to combine them with corn in the ration. With such
fodders as clover hay and corn stover fed in conjunction,
wheat bran, ground oats and ground corn, barley, or rye,
fed in about equal parts by weight, make an excellent grain
ration.
For sheep, oats make a most excellent grain food.
There is probably no better grain food on which to start
young lambs than ground oats with the hulls sifted out.
Even unsifted, they serve the purpose reasonably well, and
later it is not necessary even to grind them. For milk-lambs
that are being fattened, oats, cracked corn and oil cake in
the nut form or as meal, in the proportions of 2, 2 and 1
parts by weight, make a suitable grain ration. To lambs
that are being fattened, oats, cracked corn and oil cake in
food, in quantity from one-fourtk of a pound upward daily,
or they may furnish the bulk of the grain given, the other
part consisting of wheat, rye, barley, corn or peas, or of a
mixture of these. To breeding ewes, they may be similarly
fed up to the amount of one pound per day, before the
lambing season, and practically without stint, subsequently,
as long as the ewes are on dry feed. To sheep that are
FOOD FROM CEREALS AND OTHER SEEDS 231
being fattened, they may constitute the sole grain ration,
under some conditions, but gains considerably higher will
result if corn is fed along with them. From the standpoint
of increase, it would probably be within bounds to say that
the proportion should vary from two-thirds oats and one-
third corn at the commencement of the fattening season to
two-thirds corn and one-third oats at its close. No grain
food has higher adaptation for sheep, while they are being
led up to full feed than oats. Other grain, as wheat, barley,
rye or peas may be substituted for corn, but except in the
case of wlieat, the results will not usually be quite so good.
For swine, and especially for young swine, the adapta-
tion is not high, unless the hulls are sifted out. When so
sifted, the reverse is true. For swine subsequent to wean-
ing, the adaptation of unsifted oats is not more than medium,
and for swine that are being fattened, ground oats are con-
siderably inferior to corn. When the price will admit of so
feeding them, they make a good food for brood sows that
are nursing pigs. They should-be ground and soaked when
fed to swine.
For horses, no substitute has been found that will equal
them, none has been found so healthful or that will give
and maintain the same degree of mettle and staying power.
Oats, therefore, usually fed unground except to young foals
or to horses whose teeth have failed, may make the sole
grain food for all animals of, this class, or they may make
a part, preferably a principal part, usually not less than two-
thirds of the same. For American feeding, when the prices
will admit of it, the other third may be corn, barley, rye or
wheat. In some countries of northwestern Europe, horse
beans are freely fed with oats. More corn may be fed in
winter, particularly to horses and mules at work, than would
be advisable in summer. The opinion that newly matured
oats should not be fed in very large quantities to horses is
held by many, but all authorities are not agreed as to
whether there is hazard in so feeding them.
232 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
Barley.—Barley, at one time a principal source of food
for the human family, is grown almost exclusively in the
United States for brewing and as food for live stock. It has
been grown successfully as far north as Alaska and as far
south as the tablelands of New Mexico. In altitudes where
the grain fails to fully mature, it is sometimes grown and fed
as hay. Westward from the eastern Rockies and southward
from Montana where corn and oats do not flourish equally
well, it is more largely fed to live stock than elsewhere in
the United States. The relatively high price paid for bright
barley for brewing tends greatly to restrict its use for feed-
ing. When stained by unpropitious weather at the harvest
season, and thus injured for malting, it is not injured, at
least to any appreciable extent, for feeding. For the latter
purpose, it is an excellent substitute for corn where corn
cannot be successfully grown.
For calves and growing cattle, barley should seldom or
never form the sole grain ration, unless when fed sparingly
with adjuncts rich in protein. It seldom constitutes more
than one-fourth to one-third of the entire meal ration fed,
the other portion being bran alone, oats alone or both with
a trace of oil cake when profitably obtainable. Other ni-
trogenous foods, as gluten meal or cotton seed, may some-
times be substituted for bran and oats.
For beef cattle, ground barley furnishes an excellent
meal adjunct. With luguminous fodders as clover and
alfalfa, it may be fed when the season is short rather than
long, so as to furnish up to three-fourths of the entire meal
ration, the other portion being preferably ground oats or
wheat bran. For prolonged feeding, corn added to the
barley in any proportion desired, somewhat improves the
ration in palatability and also for fattening.
For cows in milk, ground barley has been found about
equal to corn. It is somewhat richer in .protein than corn,
but has more crude fibre and is not quite so palatable. It
is too concentrated to furnish the exclusive grain foo: for
milch cows, but. gives excellent results when fed with
FOOD FROM CEREALS AND OTHER SEEDS 233
ground oats or wheat bran, the barley furnishing about one-
third of the grain by weight or even a larger proportion.
The mixture of oats and barley may be obtained in many
instances with greater profit by growing the two together ;
when fed freely with large quantities of field roots, it tends
to counteract undue laxity of the bowels.
For sheep, unground barley is valuable when fed in
suitable combinations. Fed as part of the grain ration to
lambs while nursing or subsequently, especially in conjunc-
tion with oats, the results are satisfactory. It may suitably
form from one-third to one-half the grain ration for breed-
ing ewes, the other portion being preferably unground oats
and a small proportion of wheat bran or oil cake. To sheep
that are being fattened, the fodder being rich in protein, it
may furnish the sole grain ration, but when not less than
one-third of the grain ration is oats or corn, according to
the advancement of the feeding, better results may be
looked for.
For swine, barley stands at the head of all cereals in
producing high quality pork, because of the firmness and
flavor which it imparts. Experiments carefully conducted
have shown that ground barley when fed to swine produced
8 per cent less increase than corn. Ground and soaked, it
has special adaptation for being fed along with skim milk
and clover, alfalfa or vetch pasture up to the fattening pe-
riod. During the fattening period, it may furnish the sole
grain food, but corn in such proportion as will suit the end
sought will add to the palatability of the food, and conse-
quently will improve the gains. Barley will probably be
much more used in the United States for feeding swine as
it is now in Canada, when the bacon idea in pork production
becomes more pronounced. The bald varieties, pound for
pound, should also be more valuable than the other varieties,
because of the less amount of hull in the former.
For horses, barley stands next to oats in suitability as
a grain food. Where the prices will admit of so doing, it
may be used as the principal or even sole grain ration, as
234 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
has been shown in the practice of Bedouin Arabs, of
certain peoples of northwestern Europe and now in Cali-
fornia, and other mountain states. It has been claimed that
barley, pound for pound, is more valuable as a food for
horses than oats, because of the much larger percentage of
hull in oats, a claim that has not been sustained by evidence
based on experiment. It is not equal to oats for colts, being
somewhat lower in protein and ash, nor is it so palatable as
oats for long continued feeding. It may, however, be prof-
itably fed with oats to working horses, either whole or in
the crushed form in any proportions that the attendant cir-
cumstances will justify. Steamed until the grain has swollen
to maximum possible distension, and fed with a little bran
or oil cake added to it as frequently as may be found nec-
essary, tends to make flesh quickly and to improve the coat,
as when preparing horses for exhibition.
Rye.—Rye is probably the hardiest of the cereals, pro-
duces the best crops on poor land and grows over the widest
area. It is much grown on lands too low in fertility to yield
good crops of wheat, oats or barley. It is grown not only to
furnish grain but also pasture and green manure. Of the two
classes, winter and spring rye, the former is grown to a far
greater extent than the latter. In Europe, especially central
Europe, it is much grown as food for man and also for live
stock, including horses. In the United States, it is grown
almost entirely to furnish food for stock. It may be grown
successfully in almost every state in the Union. While its
constituents are much the same as those of wheat in prac-
tical feeding, it has been found from 5 to 10 per cent less
valuable, owing, it is thought, to the less degree of the pala-
tability. It is fed to horses and sheep in the unground form
but is ground when fed to cattle and also to swine, except
when swine are allowed to harvest it in the field.
To calves and growing cattle, the aim should be to feed
rye in conjunction with some other grain product. What
has been said about feeding barley to these classes of ani-
mals will apply about equally to rye (see p. 232). It should
FOOD FROM CEREALS AND OTHER SEEDS ~ 235
seldom form more than one-third of the meal fed in pro-
longed feeding. °
To beef cattle, rye may be fed with much freedom,
where the necessity exists for so feeding it. This necessity
is, however, seldom present, as corn is usually cheaper,
hence the larger the proportion of the corn fed, the more
economical is the ration. It is also better relished. Wheat
bran in the proportions of say one part by weight to three
or four parts rye meal tends much to improve the ration.
It renders the meal less adhesive and adds to the protein
content. The same is measurably true of ground oats which,
however, are usually too valuable to be much used in such
feeding. Other nitrogeneous by-products as oil cake may
sometimes be fed in the place of bran, but the necessity of
adding these to the rye meal and the advantage from the
same are much dependent on the extent to which protein is
present in the fodder.
To cows giving milk, rye meal may be fed in reason-
able quantities, but if more than 3 pounds are fed per cow
daily, hazard may be present that the quality of the butter
product will be affected adversely, hence when fed, it is
common to give a less quantity than that named. Equal
parts by weight of ground rye, ground oats and wheat bran
with ordinary fodders make a very suitable grain ration,
also equal parts of rye, oat and corn meal and wheat bran
with clover or alfalfa hay. If fed with wheat bran only,
the bran should furnish not less than one-third of the meal
ration.
To lambs, rye is not commonly fed, but may be so fed
with oats even with benefit, where the latter furnish the
larger portion of the grain ration. Similarly it may be thus
fed to breeding ewes and in larger proportions, when the
roughage is rich in protein elements. To sheep that are
being fattened, it is not usual, nor would it probably be wise,
to feed rye, making it more than half the ration for pro-
longed feeding, since sheep, in common with all other do-
mestic animals, are less fond and tire of it sooner than of
236 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
some other kinds of grain. Rye, corn and oats in the pro-
portion of one, two and one parts respectively make an
excellent grain ration for sheep on full feed along with
clover or alfalfa.
To swine, rye may be fed about the same as barley (see
p. 233), except that for prolonged feeding, it should not fur-
nish the sole grain portion, since thus fed, swine tire of it
more quickly even than of barley. Corn, fed along with it
in such proportion as will furnish the quality of pork de-
sired, will add to the palatability of the food and also in
some degree to the gains. Experiments conducted in Den-
mark have shown that rye and barley are almost equal in
value in making pork, when fed with dairy by-products,
both with reference to gains and to the quality of the pork.
In the tests made in that country, it was found that corn
made pork less firm as a rule, in proportion as it was fed,
and therefore less suitable for high class bacon. In ordi-
nary fattening, however, the aim should be to add corn
freely to the rye.
To horses, rye is seldom fed in the United States and
largely for the reason probably, that it is seldom sufficiently
plentiful and cheap to admit of feeding it thus. But it is
quite suitable for being so fed, especially to horses at work
in conjunction with oats. A mixture of one-third rye and
two-thirds oats is suitable for even prolonged feeding.
Pe2s.—The peas in the United States, usually desig-
nated the Canada field pea, should be far more widely grown
than it is at the present time, because of its excellent feed-
ing qualities, and also for the reason that it is a legume,
and, therefore, leaves the land on which it grew rich in nt-
trogen. Its proteiit content is high, hence it has peculiar
adaptation as food for animals in process of development.
Being adapted to climates with only moderate summer tem-
peratures, the pea grows best in this country in the northern
states and on reasonably high plateaus of the mountain
states. Nearly all the provinces of Canada have high adap-
tation for the growing of peas. One chief obstacle to the
FOOD FROM CEREALS AND OTHER SEEDS 237
extension of their growth in the United States is the labor
involved in harvesting them, which is more relatively than
with other cereals, except corn. This may be met by growing
peas and oats together in proportions that will not preclude
the harvesting of the mixed crop with the binder. The mix-
ture thus grown furnishes an excellent grain food for many
kinds of feeding. The relatively high price of peas in this
country also stands in the way of their more general use
in feeding stock.
To calves and young cattle, peas furnish an excellent
grain food when fed as a meal adjunct. The meal is heavy
and lies compactly, hence, when fed to cattle and other ani-
mals, it should be along with bran, ground oats, corn, bar-
ley, rye or a mixture of these according to the nature of the
feeding. Ground peas and oats in equal parts by weight,
make an excellent meal ration for calves. Later the propor-
tion of oats or bran, if bran is fed, should be increased,
chiefly on the score of economy in feeding.
To beef cattle, peas may be fed in proportions varying
from 25 to 75 per cent of the meal fed, the proportion of
peas being increased with the advance of the feeding period
when fed with oats. From the standpoint of increase,
ground peas, oats and corn, barley or rye, in equal propor-
tions by weight, furnish an excellent grain food. Bran may
be substituted for oats if cheaper.
For cows in milk, a mixture of ground peas and oats
grown together, so that about two-thirds of the mixture
will be oats, furnishes an ideal grain food. Here also bran
may be substituted for oats. In northern areas, this mix-
ture may be readily grown on many farms and it has the
further value of furnishing fodder that is much relished
when well saved.
For sheep that are being fattened, a grain mixture fed
unground, and consisting of peas and oats, the peas making
from 25 to 75 per cent of the grain ration according to the
stage of the fattening, will give excellent results. For
breeding ewes on dry feed, as much as 50 per cent of the
238 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
grain fed may be peas, whether fed before or after the lamb-
ing season. The same mixture is also good for feeding
lambs, and if the lambs are being forced for the early mar-
ket, the addition of cracked corn will improve the grain ra-
tion. On certain plateaus of the Rocky mountain states, the
fattening of sheep and lambs on mature peas grazed down
by the sheep, is becoming an industry of no little impor-
tance. Enough oats are sown with the peas to sustain them.
The dry autumns in the areas named, make such feeding en-
tirely feasible and with but little waste.
For swine, peas have special adaptation. A mixture of
peas and oats ground, or peas and bran soaked from six to
12 hours according to the weather, furnish a grand food
for brood sows nursing their young. Unground or ground
they may be fed with much freedom to brood sows that are
pregnant, the other portion of the diet consisting largely of
field roots or pasture. For swine, during the growing pe-
riod, they may be made to furnish the sole grain supplement
or a part of it. When swine are grazed on alfalfa or clover
pasture, equal parts of peas and corn, both fed unground,
will furnish excellent supplemental grain food. Swine may
be fattened in the pens or in the fields where they harvest
the crop, on peas alone. The peas may be fed dry or
soaked. Peas may also be fed during the fattening period
along with corn, barley, wheat or rye, so as to form any
part of the fattening ration that may be desired. The bar-
ley and rye, however, must be ground. The few experi-
ments conducted tend to show that peas make more increase
than corn, pound for pound, when fed to swine and they
make a somewhat superior quality of pork.
When swine are fattened on peas harvested by them,
they may be admitted to the peas, when they have neared
the maturing stage. They may glean at will after the first
few days and only require a plentiful supply of water in ad-
dition.
In wet climates, peas cannot be profitably gleaned thus,
as the swine shell out many of the peas and these will sprout
FOOD FROM CEREALS AND OTHER SEEDS 239
in moist weather, which soon renders them useless for feed-
ing. In some localities, however, this method is eminently
practical. Swine not being fattened should finish the glean-
ing.
In some of the western mountain valleys, it is claimed
that swine can be made to gather their own food all the
year by growing peas, alfalfa, bald barley and artichokes.
Some peas, stacked so that they are accessible to the swine
on alfalfa, during the early summer months, furnish the
needed grain food at that season.
To horses, peas are not usually fed to any considerable
extent. But there is no reason why they should not be fed
in certain proportions to horses young and old, when suf-
ficiently plentiful. Peas and oats go well together, the pre-
ponderating factor being oats. For foals, and even for
horses, the results will be more satisfactory if the grain has
been ground.
Buckwheat.—Buckwheat may be grown in nearly all
the various states and provinces of Canada. It is not grown
to any considerable extent, however, in the southern, south-
western and western states, or inthe western provinces of
Canada. More is grown in the New England states and those
adjacent to them elsewhere. Maine leads the states in the
yields obtained, the average for the last ten years being 30
bushels an acre, whereas for the United States it has been
less than 20 bushels in the same period. It is a strong point
in favor of buckwheat that it may be grown as a catch crop
in the early summer on land that might otherwise be idle. It
may also be grown successfully on land that has been neg-
lected or low in fertility. It matures in about 75 days from
the date of sowing. It is usually fed to live stock in the
ground form, save when fed to sheep, horses and poultry. Its
highest adaptation is found in feeding poultry. Owing to the
demand for it to make flour to be used in making cakes for
the table, its use as a food for live stock is much circum-
scribed.
240 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
To cattle of any kind, buckwheat has not been much
fed, but may be so fed when it can be spared for such a
use. Being low in protein and rich in starch, it is better
adapted relatively for fattening than for milk production.
When fed for the latter use, it should be with grain or meal
rich in nitrogen, as for instance, bran. For fattening uses,
it is preferably fed with some coarse meal, as ground oats,
since as meal it is dense in character and inclined to be
clammy when moistened. It is seldom that it may be prof-
itably fed so as to make more than half the ration.
For sheep.—Although not much used for the purpose,
buckwheat may be satisfactorily used in feeding sheep kept
for breeding or that are being fattened. For a breeding
flock, the aim should be to feed the buckwheat with such
grain as oats, the oats preponderating in the ration, but in
fattening sheep the buckwheat should rather preponderate,
especially as the fattening period is advanced.
For swine, buckwheat is more used than in feeding cat-
tle, sheep and horses. To swine also it ought to be fed as
a grain factor rather than as the sole grain food. In ex-—
periments conducted at Ottawa, Canada, more rapid
growth and gains were made from feeding buckwheat as
half the ration than when wheat was similarly fed, but to
make 100 pounds of gain, called for feeding 6 per cent
more buckwheat. The other half of the ration was meal
mixed in character. The result shows a relatively high
feeding value in buckwheat for swine, but it should be re-
membered that it is rather adapted to feeding for fat than
for growth. The meal should be well soaked before feed-
ing it to swine. :
For horses, it has been fed as a conditioner rather than
for sustenance and growth. It has proved fairly satisfac-
tory for such a use, as it not only improves the flesh when
it makes any considerable proportion of the grain ration,
but it also exercises a marked influence on the glossiness of
the coat.
FOOD FROM CEREALS AND OTHER SEEDS 241
The opinion prevails that when the feeding of buck-
wheat is prolonged, and especially when it forms any con-
siderable proportion of the ration, that it tends to induce
more or less of irritation in the skin and to the extent of be-
ing a disturbing factor. This opinion would seem to rest
upon a real basis. It is also claimed that the hulls have
made trouble when buckwheat meal has been fed very freely
to swine. The hulls are not readily digested.
Speltz.—This grain is really Emmer, Triticum dicoc-
cum, rather than Triticum spelta, but it is better known by
the name speltz or spelt. It has special adaptation for areas
where the short season for growth and the lack of moisture
is such as to make the production of the common cereals
more or less precarious. It is, therefore, grown chiefly in
the semi-arid belt of the West and in the country adjacent
thereto. It is more drought resistant than either corn or
wheat, is not easily injured by rust and does not lodge read-
ily. Notwithstanding these good qualities, it is not likely
that it will ever supplant the more common cereals where
these can be grown at their best, as it is not fully equal to
these in all round feeding value and, under the conditions
named, will not prove relatively more productive. It is fed
in the unground form to sheep and poultry and may be so
fed to horses, but when fed to other live stock it should first
be ground. In composition it is somewhat similar to barley,
but the hull which constitutes about 25 per cent of the grain
is somewhat more pronounced and it has more crude fibre
than barley. The trend of experiments shows that it is not
fully equal to barley in feeding value.
For calves and cattle, during the growing period, its
adaptation is much the same as barley only a little below it.
For continued feeding to the former, a mixture of oats and
barley in the proportions of two and one respectively, by
weight, should prove satisfactory. For the latter, the pro-
portion of speltz may be larger. Along with say 33 per cent
bran by weight and 5 per cent oil meal or cake, it will
also prove very suitable.
242 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
For cattle that are being fattened it has not been much
tested in this country but should be nearly equal to barley.
It may constitute at least half the grain fed, the other half
being corn, or wheat when the prices will admit of feeding
the latter. Five to 20 per cent of wheat bran especially dur-
ing the early feeding will improve the ration.
For cows in milk, speltz has proved a useful food, but
not quite equal to barley. It would not be excessive to
make one-half the grain ration speltz, the other halt being
ground oats or bran or a mixture of the two. Even better
than the above, especially for cows in low flesh, is a mix-
ture consisting of equal parts by weight of ground speltz
and corn.
For sheep, speltz has been found a valuable adjunct,
whether fed to lambs at the weaning season, to breed-
ing flocks or for fattening purposes. For breeding ewes,
the mixture is improved by adding oats in any propor-
tion desired or by adding a small percentage of bran.
The tests in fattening sheep with speltz as the sole
grain food, have given results differing materially. It will
doubtless be found that much better results will follow when
corn, wheat or rye is added to the ration, especially the for-
mer. The proportion of the corn should increase as fatten-
ing progresses.
For swine, the same objection applies as when feeding
oats. Because of the large proportion of the hull, ground
speltz, unsifted, is too coarse a food for young pigs before
or shortly after the weaning season. It answers better for
swine that are growing and still better for brood sows nurs-
ing their young. Asa fattening food for swine, it is about
20 per cent less valuable than corn. The aim should
to add corn or wheat to the ration, especially the former.
For horses, young or old, like barley, speltz may be fed
with propriety, but as in the case of barley, the aim should
be to make oats constitute at least two parts of the ration.
3ut for foals, the speltz should be ground. In the semi-
arid belt, speltz may prove a cheaper feed than oats.
FOOD FROM CEREALS AND OTHER SEEDS 243
It has been recommended in some instances to feed
speltz with oats. The mixture may frequently be obtained
by growing the two together. The advantage in so doing
may prove very decided. Usually by growing them thus,
the yield will be increased and on lands where oats are
much liable to lodge, the speltz will aid in sustaining them.
Field beans.—The common field bean is somewhat ex-
tensively grown in certain sections of the northern states
and in various provinces of Canada. It is grown primarily
as food for man, hence, unless the beans have taken injury
during the harvesting from adverse weather or subse-
quently from heating in storage, they are too valuable to
permit of their being fed to live stock. However, since they
stain readily from rain during the harvesting and curing
process, and since the injury thus sustained greatly depre-
ciates the market value, the most profitable use that can be
made of such beans usually is to feed them to live stock. To
sheep and horses they are more commonly fed unground
but are ground for cattle and are usually cooked for swine
and poultry.:
To cattle of any kind in this country they have
been so little fed that testimony based on experience
in feeding them is almost entirely wanting. The nutrients
which they contain give them a high feeding value for pro-
ducing growth and also milk. But bean meal like pea meal,
will be improved for feeding by adding bran to lessen its
density when moistened by saliva. It may also be necessary
sometimes to introduce the meal gradually to make cattle
take kindly to it. With corn meal and ground oats or bran
in the proportions of two, one and two parts respectively,
it should make a good concentrated food for calves. For
beef cattle the mixture may be bran or ground oats and corn
in the proportions of one, one and three parts by weight.
For cows in milk, with ordinary fodders, bran meal may
form as much as 33 to 50 per cent of the ration. Equal
parts of ground beans, ground oats and ground corn, by
weight, should make a very suitable grain ration.
/
244 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
Sheep are fond of beans in the unground form and
when fed with suitable grain adjuncts, they make an excel-
lent food for them. Beans and oats go well together as
grain food for breeding ewes, but when the fodder is legu-
minous, the proportion of beans fed should be small or the
protein in the ration will be excessive. To sheep that are
being fattened, corn or barley and beans make quick and
large gains. The beans may form from 25 to 50 per cent of
the grain ration according to the conditions.
For growing swine, beans make an excellent ration,
cooked or ground and soaked, but some other grain as corn
or barley added, improves the ration. To swine that are be-
ing fattened, beans and corn in equal parts make an excel-
lent food. The claim that beans alone will fatten swine as
quickly and satisfactorily as beans and corn, has been dis-
posed of at the Michigan experiment station. At the said
station, beans and corn fed in equal proportions by weight,
gave an increase of 50 per cent higher than beans alone.
To horses, beans have been but little fed. For such a
use, along with oats, corn or barley, and especially along
with the latter, they should furnish an excellent food for
horses. What is said with reference to the value of horse
beans as a food for horses, should apply about equally to
common beans (see p. 24). Beans that have heated to the
extent of inducing mould, are very hurtful not only to
horses but to all kinds of stock. -
Soy beans.—The soy bean is now grown as a source of
protein in several of the central and southern states, espe-
cially the former. The states highest in adaptation include
Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and
Kentucky. This warm weather plant is not much grown in
the North, but even in New England it has been grown
with considerable success as a source of protein for the silo,
in the unthreshed form. In the northern states, the Canada
field pea will usually furnish protein more cheaply and
surely, and the same is true of clover and alfalfa in many
sections, but the amount of the bulk in these in relation to
FOOD FROM CEREALS AND OTHER SEEDS 245
the protein may render them insufficient of itself as a source
of protein. Soy beans yield from, say 12 to 20 bushels an
acre under average conditions in states suited to their
growth, hence it is quite feasible in these to grow them as a
source of protein. The mature grain is only fed to cattle
in the ground form, except when fed as ensilage. It is also
ground when fed to swine except when harvested by the
swine in the field, which is sometimes done, but it is not
usual to grind them for sheep or horses.
For fattening cattle, soy bean meal though not much
used, may be so used as a part of the grain ration, but only
as a moderate portion, owing to the high percentage of the
oil which it contains. For this reason it should be fed with
a prudent caution to milch cows. But it has been found
quite satisfactory as a source of protein in feeding both beef
cattle and dairy cows. When from 20 to 33 per cent of the
silage is composed of soy beans reasonably well matured,
the balance being corn also well grown, the protein in the
ration will probably be found ample for cows in milk, pro-
viding the fodder is alfalfa or clover. It would furnish an
excellent meal adjunct, at least as good as linseed meal for
calves during the milk period, whether fed in the milk or
along with other meal. Much of what is said about
the feeding of ground flax will also apply to the feeding of
soy bean eel (see p. 249).
For sheep that are being fattened, the grain should
only form a small part of Ee ration, but how much would
depend, first, on the relative value of the beans and, second,
on the protein in the fodder. In the absence of experi-
ment, it would seem safe to say that soy bean meal should
not be fed to sheep in larger quantity than oil meal (see
P. 277).
For swine the meal is expensive, too expensive in the
meantime to be fed in competition with some of the other
sources of protein. But the beans may, under some condi-
tions, be profitably harvested by swine. Before turning in
the swine, the beans should be practically mature. When
240 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
thus gleaned, corn or some other carbonaceous food should
be fed along with the beans.
To horses, soy beans have only been fed in a limited
way. But when corn is the principal grain fed, a consider-
able proportion of soy bean seed may be added. Some lo-
calities favor the growing of soy beans so much more than
others, that the wisdom of growing these as a source of
protein for any kind of feeding will be largely dependent
upon the cost of the same.
The horse bean.—The horse bean (/’icia faba), though
much grown in Great Britain and also in the more moist and
temperate areas of continental Europe, has not succeeded
well when tried in the United States and Canada, except in
comparatively limited areas. These include certain areas in
proximity to the Great lakes, especially in the more north-
erly sections where the summers are reasonably moist and
cool, and also on the Pacific coast-from Oregon to Alaska.
This plant is a great yielder of protein, hence it is to be re-
gretted that it does not succeed better where the summer
temperatures are warm. It furnishes food that is highly
prized for stock when fed in proper combinations. It is al-
ways fed in the form of meal to cattle except when fed as
ensilage, usually in the unground form to sheep, as meal or
cooked to swine, and unground, ground or boiled or
steamed to horses.
For cattle this crop when ground furnishes excel-
lent food for young cattle when fed along with such ground
food as barley, rye or corn, the beans preponderating in the
ration. For beef cattle, 33 per cent or even less will usually
prove ample in the grain ration, but for dairy cows with or-
dinary fodders fully 50 per cent of the meal ration may con-
sist of bean meal. The best method by far, however, of
feeding it to dairy cows is in the form of silage which con-
sists of say one part by weight of the entire bean crop to
two parts of the entire corn crop. For sheep, what was said
of the common bean will also apply to the horse bean (see
p. 244). When fed to swine that are being fattened, 50
FOOD FROM CEREALS AND OTHER SEEDS 247
per cent or more of the ration should be corn, barley or rye
meal. As the name would indicate, it stands high in favor
as a food for horses. It has been claimed that as a part of
the ration it puts spirit into horses subjected to violent ex-
ertion, as for instance, horses used in the chase. It has also
been used as a grain adjunct and even as the principal grain
fed in fattening horses. It has peculiar adaptation for be-
ing fed along with corn to horses when the latter is freely
fed. For fattening horses, the combination is probably un-
rivaled. Wolfe places the comparative feeding value of
corn, horse beans, also oats as 4, 4.5 and 5.
Cowpeas.—The cowpea is the great soil restorer of
the southern states. It may be grown with entire success
south of parallel 40 degrees and in many localities with
measurable success much further north. While it is likely
that it will be much grown to furnish pasture for live stock,
and also hay for the same, it would seem probable that the
amount of grain fed will continue to be more or less lim-
ited, owing first, to the tendency in the crop to ripen un-
evenly, and second, to the considerable labor in handling it
because of peculiarities of growth after it has matured.
Nevertheless, it will furnish excellent food for live stock
where it can be devoted to such a use. Generally the grain
in the threshed form is too dear to admit of its being fed
thus with profit. It is usually ground when fed to cattle,
but is fed in the unground form to sheep. To swine and
horses it is fed ground or unground. Owing to the high
protein content possessed by cowpeas, they furnish a suit-
able concentrate for young stock.
For cattle, when ground and fed along with suitable
adjuncts, they furnish excellent food. The meal, like
that of Canada field pea, is usually somewhat heavy for
being fed alone, hence, for nearly all kinds of feeding and
especially for cattle, it is improved by mixing with it
ground oats or wheat bran. Such a mixture, containing say
50 per cent of cowpea meal is excellent for calves and dairy
cows, but a percentage much less than that named will
248 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
prove very helpful. For cattle that are being fattened, cow-
peas and corn in almost any proportions will answer as the
concentrate fed, but when corn forms 50 per cent of the
grain ration, more rapid increase may usually be looked for
than if it should form a less proportion of the same.
Sheep, doubtless, may be fattened on this grain alone,
just as they may be fattened on the Canada field pea alone.
The peas may also be fed thus to breeding ewes. Never-
theless, for the latter use, the addition of oats will improve
the ration materially. But for fattening sheep, corn and
cowpeas, during the later stages of fattening, are superior
to cowpeas and oats. These three fed together in equal
proportions by weight, should furnish an excellent food for
fattening sheep.
To swine, cowpeas are more commonly fed than to
other kinds of live stock. At the Alabama experiment sta-
tion, located at Auburn, it was found that cowpeas alone
called for 481 pounds to make 100 pounds of increase, corn
alone, 487 pounds, and equal parts of each, 433 pounds.
The peas and corn may be fed unground. Rye or barley
could be substituted for corn, but not quite so satisfactorily.
The peas ground and soaked and fed with skim milk, a lim-
ited proportion of corn meal being in the ration, make
quick growth. Cowpeas and sweet potatoes also feed well
together, especially when fattening swine.
To horses, although cowpeas are not usually fed
because of relative cost, they may be so fed. As in
the case of soy beans, they go well with corn. When fed as
meal, pea meal and- ground oats in equal proportions go well
together. The oats lighten up the meal in the sense that
they render it more porous.
Vetches.—The leading varieties of vetches grown in
the United States are known as common winter or spring
vetches, also the sand vetch, which, properly speaking, is a
winter vetch. The distinction between winter and spring
vetches is not very sharply defined. The highest adaptation
FOOD FROM CEREALS AND OTHER SEEDS 249
for the common vetch is found west of the Cascade meun-
tains and northward from California to Alaska, in areas
with cool summer temperatures, especially northward from
the Great lakes, and in the maritime provinces of Canada
and some portions of the New England states. The sand
vetch is more commonly grown on light soils south of say
40 degrees.
Vetches are chiefly grown to produce pasture, soiling
food or hay, but in some instances the grain is the chief con-
sideration. In such instances they are chiefly harvested by
sheep or swine where they grew, but more especially by the
former, as then much of tke vine is consumed as well as the
grain. When sown for such harvesting by sheep, enough
oats should be sown with them to sustain the crop. Such
grazing is only adapted to conditions where dry weather
prevails during the harvest season, as for instance, where
irrigation is practised. The seed separate from the grain
has usually too high a market value for being fed in that
form. The grain has much the same feeding value as peas
(see p. 236), and may be fed in much the same way. It is
particularly valuable as a concentrate for young stock, ow-
ing to its high protein content.
Flax.—In limited quantities, flax may be grown with a
reasonable measure of success in almost every state in the
Union, but in the northwestern states and provinces of Can-
ada the relative adaptation is higher for it than elsewhere,
and in these areas the greater portion of the American crop
is grown. Because of the abundance of the oil which it pre-
duces, and the high commercial value of the same, flax is
more commonly fed as cake or meal after the oil has been
extracted, and for the further reason that the high content
of the oil makes it too rich a food for prolonged feeding in
large quantities. Nevertheless, there are conditions in
which the grain may be fed with advantage and profit, in
limited quantities, whether fed directly or indirectly, as by
grinding it with other foods,
250 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
By sowing the flax with the grain or grains with which
it is to be fed, it may be obtained virtually without cost
other than the seed sown. More than 5 to 10 per cent
of flax in the grain fed would usually be unnecessary, and
to ascertain how much seed to sow to furnish this amount,
can only be found through actual experience in any given
locality. When flax seed is thus grown, it precludes the
necessity for purchasing oil cake. The favorable influence
on digestion of a small quantity of flax seed in the ration,
is the strong argument in favor of feeding it thus. But it
can only be fed in limited quantities, otherwise the appetite
will be gradually lessened
To cattle, when thus grown, the grain, with the flax in
it, is ground and fed for fattening. When present only in
limited quantities, the presence of the flax in the grain does
not seriously interfere with successful grinding in home
farm mills as would be the case with flax alone because of
its oily character.
Meal similarly prepared may also be fed to milch cows.
When thus fed, the flax adds protein to the ration and aids
digestion, and is not present in sufficient quantities to af-
fect adversely the quality of the butter.
Flax seed in the unground form has been used more
for feeding young calves during the milk period when fed
skim milk than for any other class of cattle. It is pre-
pared by making it into a gruel by soaking and boiling and
adding to the skim milk while hot. The object of heating
is to raise the temperature of the milk. Though excellent
for such a use, it is not so necessary to add heat to the milk,
now that newly separated milk is coming to be much used
for feeding calves. The seed in the ground form, usually
spoken of as linseed and fed with the milk or otherwise,
serves the purpose equally well except in instances in which
the temperature of the milk will be improved by raising it.
The quantity fed, a very small amount at first, may he
gauged by the condition of the voidings. [ed in excess,
the bowels become too lax.
FOOD FROM CEREALS AND OTHER SEEDS 251
For sheep, flax when grown with oats in suitable quan-
tity, makes an excellent food for breeding ewes, in the un-
ground form, the amount of grain fed being not more than
one pound daily until after lambing. Grown with oats and
barley, or oats, barley and wheat, an excellent mixture is
furnished for fattening sheep, without adding any ‘other
grain. The gruel mixture and the linseed also are particu-
larly excellent for lambs that are hand-fed as they can prob-
ably utilize much fat in the ration.
For swine, a small amount ground with a suitable grain
mixture, will improve the ration but the amount should be
very small or the appetite will be lessened.
For horses, a small quantity of the ground flax may be
added to the food to prevent constipation but wheat bran is
usually preferred for such a purpose. In limited quantity,
it may also be thus used in feeding young horses and brood
mares but oil cake is more suitable.
Cotton seed.—Nearly all the cotton grown in the
United States is produced in the Gulf states and in the
states adjacent to them. It is by far the most valuable crop
grown in the South. Subsequently to its introduction into
the United States, cotton was grown for several decades
for the sole purpose of producing fibre to be used in making
clotk. Previously to 1860, it is said that nearly all the seed
was wasted. It was an enormous waste, as the cotton plant
produces about two pounds of seed for each pound of fibre.
Since the great value of the seed in furnishing food for live
stock and for fertilization have come to be known and ap-
preciated, virtually all the seed grown is fed to live stock,
chiefly in the form of meal or cake after the oil has been
extracted, but it is also fed to some extent while yet un-
ground, in the natural condition or steamed, boiled
roasted.
For cattle, cotton seed furnishes an excellent concen-
trate. In the production of beef, no grain grown in the
United States is equal to cotton seed, pound for pound, in
producing value. When fed in the raw or natural form to
252 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
cattle that are being fattened along with Bermuda hay, it
has produced meat even more cheaply than when fed as
meal, but larger gains have been obtained from feeding it
steamed, and also from feeding in some combinations along
with other concentrates. The comparative profit, however,
from feeding cotton seed as compared with cottonseed
meal, will depend on the relative prices of the two. Being
an exceedingly concentrated food, ordinarily not more than
four to five pounds of the daily ration are composed of cot-
ton seed, the other portion of the grain or meal being made
up from some other concentrate, but in some instances, in
the cotton states, more than 10 pounds of the seed are fed
daily. Cattle have been successfully fattened on cotton seed
and cotton seed hulls without hay. Excellent results follow
the feeding of raw cotton seed, a moderate amount of corn,
corn silage and Bermuda hay.
For cows in milk, cotton seed has been found even
more profitable than when fed for meat, owing, doubtless to.
its high protein content. It is more commonly fed to dairy
cows in the form of meal, but in instances not a few, is fed
raw or steamed. At the Mississippi experiment station,
butter made by feeding boiled cotton seed, Bermuda hay
and silage stood first in cheapness of production, that from
raw cotton seed and the same adjuncts came second and
that made from cottonseed meal and these adjuncts was
third. Here also, relative profit from feeding the seed and
meal will depend upon relative values. The claim has been
made, and it is probably correct, that no cheaper feed for
producing milk can be fed in the southern states. For milk
production as much as 10 pounds per day per cow have in
some instances been fed, but the aim should be rather to
feed not more than half the quantity named in prolonged
feeding and to add some other concentrate, preferably one
grown in the South. It would seem probable that in the fu-
ture, cotton seed will be more and more fed as meal rather
than as seed, as the value of the oil pressed from seed is
greater for some other uses than as food for stock,
FOOD FROM CEREALS AND OTHER SEEDS 253
For calves, cotton seed is usually fed in the form of
meal. As they become more advanced in age, however, it
may be fed to them raw or steamed, and thus also it may be
used with advantage as a source of protein in growing
young cattle, more especially when the fodder is made up
largely of corn stalks and the non-saccharine sorghums.
To sheep, cotton seed in the raw form is fed freely
when fattening them in proximity to the mills, and is a
good fattening food fed along with Bermuda or other hay,
or even along with the hulls in lieu of roughage feeding
three to four pounds of hulls to one pound of the seed. It
has not been much fed to breeding ewes, but doubtless it
would be perfectly legitimate to feed it to them in moderate
quantities.
To swine, it is not common to feed cotton seed in any
form, but when so fed it is usually in the form of meal. Jn
the unground form it is not well suited to the digestion of
swine, even though it should not injure them, as the meal
does in prolonged feeding (see p. 278). At the Texas ex-
periment station, even when fed boiled, the mortality of the
animals eating it was 25 per cent.
To horses, neither cotton seed nor cottonseed meal
have been much fed. The meal has been fed with safety
to working horses to the extent of one to two pounds a day,
and it would seem reasonable to suppose that at least as
large amounts of the raw seed could be fed without hazard.
Sunflower seed.—The sunflower calls for a climate
somewhat similar to that required by corn. This means
that it can be grown successfully in nearly all parts of the
United States that are tillable, and also in several of the
provinces of Canada. The yields from reasonably good
crops are about 2,000 pounds per acre. The growing of the
plant calls for about the same amount of labor as the grow-
ing of a crop of corn, and the yield of the grain is not far
different. The seed is also possessed of high feeding value.
Notwithstanding, the growing of sunflowers as food for
254 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
farm animals, unless it be for poultry, is not likely to be-
come popular in the near future, owing, first, to the hand la-
bor required in harvesting the crop, and second, to the little
food value possessed by the stalks.
Sunflower seed may be fed in the unground form to
sheep, swine, horses and poultry. When fed to cattle
they are commonly ground, except when fed as ensilage.
This is probably the most popular way of feeding them to
cattle. When so fed, it is common to ensile only the heads
and a small portion of the stalk which supports them.
When thus ensiled with corn and horse beans, an excellent
ration is obtained for feeding milch cows. When fed to
cattle, sheep, swine and horses, only a limited percentage of
the grain ration should be sunflower seed, because of the
high content of oil which they contain. Even when fed to
fowls, it should be along with other grain. Cake made from
sunflowers is about as valuable as oil cake.
Sweet sorghum seed.—Sorghum may be grown for
pasture, soiling food, fodder, or for making syrup, in nearly
all localities where corn will mature paying crops of the
grain. Sorghum syrup has been made in considerable quan-
tities as far north as southern Minnesota. This crop is sel-
dom grown primarily for the seed obtained from it, but
when grown to furnish syrup, the seed also is an important
consideration. Yields approximating 30 bushels per acre
are frequently obtained and in some instances considerably
more than the quantity named. As with Kafir corn and in-
deed with all the seeds of the sorghuin family, much care is
necessary to prevent them from heating to their injury as
food when stored.
Nearly all of what is said with reference to the feeding
of Kafir corn seed will also apply to the feeding of sor-
chum seed (see p. 255). The composition of the two is very
similar. This means that sorghum seed may, under certain
conditions, be fed with advantage to beef and dairy cattle,
to sheep, swine, horses and poultry. For cattle and swine
it is decidedly preferable to feed the seed as meal, but to
FOOD FROM CEREALS AND OTHER SEEDS 255
sheep and horses there is probably no better way of feeding
it than by simply chopping off the heads from the sheaves
and feeding them unthreshed. In this form, under proper
conditions of storage, this seed is but little liable to ferment.
Well preserved seed when threshed, will usually command
so high a price for planting that it cannot be profitably used
for feeding in a large way to live stock.
Kafir corn seed.—Kafir corn will successfully with-
stand much more drought than corn and considerably more
than sorghum, but it cannot withstand temperatures so low
as some varieties of these plants. It has special adaptation, -
therefore, for certain areas of the semi-arid belt from say
parallel 40 degrees southward. In these it produces more
grain and fodder per acre than either corn or sorghum. At
the Kansas experiment station located at Manhattan, it has
produced about 25 per cent more grain than corn. Where,
however, the yields of corn are equal to or greater than
those of Kafir corn seed, the former should be grown in
preference, as it is not only somewhat better relished but
has a higher feeding value. Except when fed to sheep and
fowls, Kafir corn is usually ground before feeding it.
For cattle, Kafir corn has not been found quite equal to
corn. For fattening cattle, the feeding of corn is about 6
per cent greater. The difference in favor of corn for milk
production is probably even more. Cattle tire more quickly
of Kafir corn than of corn.
Twenty to 30 per cent of soy bean meal greatly im-
proves the Kafir corn for making beef and a still larger per-
centage further improves it for milk production when the
fodder is carbonaceous in character. Wheat bran also is
well suited for being fed to cattle with this meal, as it not
only increases the protein content, but adds to the bulk. It
should be fed somewhat sparingly to calves except when
they are being fattened, and to young cattle in process of
development.
For fattening sheep, Kafir corn has proved at least
fairly satisfactory It is fed to them in the unground form
2560 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
and very frequently without separating the seed from the
heads. These are removed from the stems and run through
a cutting box which prepares them for being fed in a very
suitable form. In other instances the seed is fed directly
and unmixed, but a small percentage of oats a led im-
proves the grain ration. When fed to breediny ewes, the
percentage of oats should be large, even when the fodder
consists of alfalfa.
For swine, Kafir corn, finely ground and soaked, has
proved fairly satisfactory when fed to swine that were being
fattened. It was not equal to corn, however. Swine tire
of it more quickly and it has more of a tendency to produce
constipation. When from 20 to 33 per cent of the grain
mixture is soy bean meal, Kafir corn is not much behind
corn similarly fed in fattening swine. When fed to sows
suckling their young, from 30 to 50 per cent of soy bean
meal will furnish a suitable ration. The same is true when
not less than 50 per cent of the meal is composed of shorts.
When fed along with skim milk to young swine before or
after the weaning period, the development should be satis-
factory, but it will be even more so if wheat middlings are
added.
To horses, the few trials made in feeding Kafir corn
have shown that it may be so fed with safety and profit
under certain conditions, especially to horses at work.
It is frequently fed while yet unthreshed, by simply cutting
off the heads of the sheaves and feeding the heads. It is
believed, however, that better results will be obtained from
first grinding the seed. What has been said about feeding
corn in conjunction-with other grains, will also apply in the
main to Kafir corn seed. It is relished at least fairly well
by horses.
Other non-saccharine sorghum seeds.—Besides Kafir
corn (see p. 255), the non-saccharine sorghums known as
Jerusalem corn, Milo maize and Durra, are grown to some
extent and in some instances largely if not chiefly for the
grain obtained from them. They are grown sectionally as
FOOD FROM CEREALS AND OTHER SEEDS 257
it were, and mainly in limited areas and in states more or
less centrally located west of the Mississippi river. As a
rule these have not proved equal to Kafir corn in yields of
seed, but to this there are some exceptions. Nor has the
fodder as a rule proved equal to that obtained from
Kafir corn or sorghum. Where corn grows in fine form,
it would seem safe to say that it can be more profitably
grown to furnish food for live stock than any of these.
The seed of each of the non-saccharine sorghums has
about the same feeding value as that of Kafir corn. This
means that none of them are quite equal to corn for general
feeding, although they may exceed it in some special line or
lines of the same. It means also that they are better
adapted relatively for fattening than for promoting growth
in young animals. As in the case of Kafir corn, these
should ordinarily be ground when fed to cattle and swine,
but may usually be fed with more advantage to sheep,
liorses and fowls by feeding them while yet on the un-
threshed heads, or at least in the unground form.
Corn or maize.—Indian corn or maize is unquestion-
ably the most important single food plant grown in the
United States to provide sustenance for domestic animals.
In localities where it can be successfully grown, it usually
furnishes more nutrients per acre than can be obtained from
any other plant for the labor involved, and this holds true
of it even in many instances where it is not considered prof-
itable to grow it primarily to produce grain. It is not so
exhaustive to the soil as many other plants and no other
crop can be used to better purpose as an aid tn cleaning the
land, when the labor involved is considered.
While corn can be grown with more or less profit in
every state in the Union, the greatest corn growing states
are those embraced in the Mississippi basin. Although in
some of its varieties it may be matured in go days from the
date of planting, it is not usually grown to a very large ex-
tent primarily for the grain, unless in areas that are free
258 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
from frost for 120 days. As a fodder crop, its growth has
been pushed far northward during recent years.
Corn fed as grain is preeminently a fattening food for
all kinds of domestic animals. In this respect, it is without
a rival. As shown in the table, it is essentially a carbo-
naceous food, its leading characteristic being the large
amount of starchy matter which it contains. It is low in
protein and quite low in ash. It is a heat-producing food
and quite low in those materials that furnish muscle and
bone. It should always be fed, therefore, with a prudent
moderation to young animals, to animals at work and to
those producing milk, and in conjunction with foods rich in
protein. It is nearly all digestible, is much relished by an-
imals, and is one of the most healthful of cereals, even for
prolonged feeding, providing it is fed with judgment.
The number of varieties-of corn is in a sense without
limit. These are divided into the two classes known as
common and sweet. The sweet varieties are richer in al-
buminoids and fat, but they do not usually yield as much,
as a rule, as the common varieties. The latter are sub-
divided into what are termed flint and dent varieties. The
flint varieties are characterized by the flinty hardness of the
grain and the dent varieties by an indentation on the outer
end of the kernels. The flint varieties are smaller and hard-
ier, and are, therefore, better adapted relatively to condt-
tions with seasons too short for producing the dent vari-
eties with equal profit. There is no marked difference in
the chemical analysis of the common sorts of corn based on
the terms flint and dent. The nutrients do not seem to be
materially influenced_by color nor by latitude and longitude.
Corn is fed as grain in various ways. More commonly
it is fed after removal from the cob when it is spoken of as
“shelled” corn or simply corn, but frequently it is fed on the
cob after the husk has been removed when it is known as
“ear”? corn. Sometimes the whole crop is put into the silo
and fed as “silage,” at other times it is fed unhusked from
the shock when it is known as “shock” or “fodder” corn.
FOOD FROM CEREALS AND OTHER SEEDS 259 :
In some instances the ears are broken off and fed without
husking when it is designated “snapped” corn. The stalks,
with the ears removed, are known as “‘stover.’”’ When these
are torn into strips by a suitable machine, the product is
called “shredded” corn. The discussion at this time relates
primarily to the grain.
To young animals, corn is usually fed cracked or
ground. By “cracked” is meant broken up into coarse
particles that they may masticate it more easily. In some
instances, the corn and cob are ground together before be-
ing fed, the product being spoken of as corn and cob meal.
When prepared thus, it should be finely ground, as when the
particles are coarse, they are not easily digested. When
properly prepared, corn and cob meal has about the same
feeding value as corn meal, notwithstanding the small
amount of nutrients in the cob. The result is owing prob-
ably to the more easily penetrable character of the mass in
the stomach when fed directly. When fed to cattle that are
being fattened, corn is given ground or unground, soaked
or unsoaked, as snapped corn and also as shock corn. It is
usually given to cows in the form of meal. It is more com-
monly fed to sheep shelled and unground, but may be fed,
in part at least, as ear corn or as shock corn. It is usually
fed to swine in the shelled or ear form and unground. In
some instances it is first soaked. For young swine and
sows that are nursing their young, it is made into meal and
the meal is soaked. To horses it is more commonly fed in
the shelled form.
The degree of the moisture in corn has a material in-
fluence on its feeding value. In new corn the moisture con-
tent varies from 20 to 25 per cent. In old corn, thoroughly
air dried, it is about 12 per cent. It loses moisture slowly,
hence the necessity for great care in storing, or it will
mould. In such a condition its value as food is greatly im-
paired. If fed in large or even in moderate quantities it is
positively dangerous.
260 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
To calves and young cattle, corn must be fed with some
reserve, Owing to its carbonaceous character, unless when
they are to be fattened. It may then be made the principal,
almost the sole grain food fed, otherwise it should not as a
rule form more than one-third to one-half the grain fed, the
balance being preferably oats and bran. The latter quan-
tity is only admissible when fed along with legumes or
what is better, with these and field roots.
For cattle that are being fattened, corn is par excel-
lence the food. It is not only much relished but it is much
laden with starch, well calculated to fill the tissues of the
body with fat. It may be used as the sole grain food or as
any part of it, according to the nature of the other food fac-
tors. In the corn belt, it has been much used as the sole ra-
tion, the stalks supplying the roughage, but this method is
only admissible when the prices of grain rule low, as it is
not a balanced food. It is fed to such cattle as corn meal,
corn and cob meal, the ears snapped, as shock corn and
sometimes soaked. When fed with clover or alfalfa, corn
may legitimately form 75 to 90 per cent of the concentrated
food, the balance being some food rich in protein, as cotton-
seed meal, oil cake, bran or gluten meal. When the grain is
fed whole, swine are made to glean amid the droppings to
consume the corn that has escaped being digested.
For cows in milk, corn will easily maintain its position
as the basic ration, in localities where it grows readily. It
~ ¢an be produced cheaply, and in the form of silage furnishes
the necessary succulence. More commonly the grain is fed
to cows in the form of corn meal or corn and cob meal, but
sometimes it is fed-as shock corn, more especially when the
fodder is not coarse. When thus fed, it is usually necessary
to add more grain, as in the case of feeding silage. It is sel-
dom wise to make corn comprise more than 50 per cent of
the grain fed, even when a legume is used as fodder.
For sheep that are being fattened, corn is equally as
good as for fattening cattle. For winter lambs, fed as meal
or cracked, along with 20 per cent of oil meal, the gains
FOOD FROM CEREALS AND OTHER SEEDS 201
should be satisfactory when the milk supply from the dams
is also liberal. For weaned lambs and mature sheep that
are being fattened, it may be fed unground as the sole grain
ration for short periods of feeding, the fodder being legu-
minous, but when from Io to 25 per cent of the grain is a
protein food, the results are usually more satisfactory. For
breeding ewes, the corn should not be more than 50 per cent
of the concentrate fed, and usually not more than 25 per
cent.
For swine that are being fattened, corn alone answers
well. It is about as profitable fed as shelled or in the cob,
as in the form of meal. If so hard as to injure the mouths
of the animals, it should be soaked for 18 to 24 hours. For
brood sows, it may profitably form 33 to 50 per cent of the
grain fed, the other meal having more of protein in it. Ia
such instances, it is fed as meal, after having been soaked,
and is thus prepared also for unweaned pigs. To these it
should seldom form more than 33 per cent of the meal, the
other portion being preferably wheat middlings. To grow-
ing pigs on clover or alfalfa pasture, it may furnish 50 to
100 per cent of the grain fed.
For horses, corn is not so good a food as oats, when
fed as the sole food. It is not so good for building muscu-
lar tissue or in making bone in young horses, or in sustain-
ing muscular energy in horses at work. It fattens the ani-
mals more than oats, as one result of which they sweat more
readily, and yet corn may be fed as a considerable propor-
tion of the grain ration, especially to horses at work, with
both economy and profit. To these it may be fed so as to
form from 25 to 50 per cent of the grain, according to the
season and to the protein in the other food. Oats go well
with corn. A little wheat bran added to corn meal is a ma-
terial aid to the digesting of corn. Corn and cob meal is
better than corn meal fed without admixture. Corn should
seldom form more than 33 per cent of the grain food fed to
262 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
foals, young horses or brood mares that are pregnant or
while nursing their foals, because of its low protein and ash
content.
Broom corn seed.—The seed of broom corn has fre-
quently been wasted under the impression that it was not
possessed of any considerable feeding value. This view
may rest upon the fact that broom corn may be most proi-
itably harvested when a little short of maturity. Neverthe-
less, under such conditions, the value of the seed is consid-
erable, since it is usually allowed to reach the dough stage
before it is harvested, and in some instances to go beyond it.
Its feeding value is, of course, much affected by the degree
of the maturity when harvested, but under almost any con-
ditions, the value of the seed for feeding is much more than
the cost involved in it. Where the seed is allowed to mature
before the brush is cut, as much as a ton is frequently ob-
tained per acre. As the feeding value is much the same as
that of Kafir corn, food from such a source should not be
underrated.
In some instances it has been reported that the seed not
fully matured has been drawn into a pasture as soon as ob-
tained, where horses, cattle, sheep and swine were allowed
to eat of it at will, except that for a few days at the first,
they were accustomed to it gradually by allowing them to
take increasing quantities from day to day. The wisdom of
feeding it thus is to be questioned, as under such condi-
tions, unnecessarily large quantities will be consumed. It
may be fed much the same as Kafir corn (see p. 255), re-
membering that, as the immaturity in the seed is increased,
the relative quantity fed should also be increased. There is
probably no way in which immature seed may be fed more
profitably than by feeding it to sheep or fowls in the un-
ground form. Much broom corn seed is lost by throwing it
in heaps and allowing it to ferment, a result that will
quickly follow when it is treated thus.
Millet seed.—Millet may be grown in many states and
provinces of Canada, but the prairie states of the northwest
FOOD FROM CEREALS AND OTHER SEEDS ~* 203
in this country, and of the west in Canada, have highest
adaptation for it. In these areas, it may frequently be
grown with much appropriateness to furnish not only hay
but also grain for live stock in the seed which it matures.
Since it grows best in warm weather and will mature in
about 75 days, according to the variety, it may furnish a
crop of seed on land where crops sown earlier may have
failed, or where early spring sowing was not practicable be-
cause of excessive moisture. Yields of not less than 30
bushels of seed per acre and weighing 48 to 56 pounds per
bushel are easily obtainable from such lands. As the com-
position of millet is much like that of oats, and as it has but
little hull, its feeding value for live stock, especially where
corn is not successfully grown for the grain, will be at once
apparent. Owing to the hardness of the grain, it is fed oniy
in the ground form, except when fed to sheep and fowls.
For calves and young cattle, ground millet furnishes a
suitable concentrate. More especially when fed in conjunc-
tion with oats, millet meal should be quite suitable for
young calves, since the proportion of hull is small. Along
with oats, say in equal parts by weight, calves may be given
about all of the mixture that they will take during the milk
For cattle being fattened, ground millet is a useful
food when it forms from 33 to 50 per cent, according to the
stage of the fattening, less being fed as the season advances.
The other factor is preferably corn, but may be barley. Mil-
let and wheat may also be similarly fed.
For cows in milk, ground millet may profitably form
any portion of the grain ration up to 50 per cent of the
grain fed, should occasion require it. Ground oats and
wheat, barley, rye or corn, in equal parts by weight, may ap-
propriately furnish the other portion.
To sheep, millet seed furnishes suitable food. More
commonly it is fed to them unground. It may be fed alone,
but oats mixed with it, add to the bulk and porosity of the
204 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
mass, and so far as they do, improve it for ordinary fatten-
ing. For fattening sheep, it blends well with corn, about
equal parts being used, but may also be fed with other ce-
reals, as wheat, barley or rye.
For swine, ground millet is a better food than ground
oats, especially for young swine, a large proportion being
digestible. Alone it furnishes good food for sows nursing
their young, but is, of course, improved by feeding with
various other grains. In tests made at the South Dakota
station, millet alone did not prove equal to wheat or barley,
pound for pound. In fattening swine, ground millet may be
fed with corn, in any proportions desired, but the aim
should be to have more than 50 per cent of corn in the ra-
tion.
To horses, ground millet may be fed with appropriate-
ness. Fed to foals and young horses, as when oats are fed,
it produces muscular development, and fed to horses at
work, it promotes muscular strength. The ration is im-
proved by adding oats, but in the absence of oats, it may be
made to take their place in a mixed ration. For exclusive
feeding, it is not equal to oats, being a somewhat heavier
feed.
CHAPTER. XIIT,
FOOD FROM BY-PRODUCTS.
By-products are residues from the manufacture of
products primarily grown for some more important use.
The by-products of food stuffs are the residues left from
the manufacture of these various products for which they
are more commonly grown. Thus bran is a by-product of
wheat manufactured into flour. Cottonseed meal is a by-
product of cotton seed from which the oil has been ex-
tracted. Skim milk is a by-product of whole milk from
which the cream has been removed for béing made into but-
ter. These by-products are usually fed to live stock, and in
the aggregate they are of immense value. The three most
valuable by-products in furnishing food for animals are,
wheat bran, oil meal, and cottonseed meal, but many others
are also highly valuable.
The more important of the by-products discussed in
Chapter XIII, obtained from the cereals, are the by-products
from: (1) Wheat, (2) barley, (3) flax and (4) corn. The
discussion of the by-products of other cereals follows.
These are of minor importance and include the by-products:
(1) Of rye, (2) of oats, (3) of peas, (4) of buckwheat and
(5) of rice. The by-products obtained from certain food
products other than cereals are then discussed, and they in-
clude residues from: (1) Cotton seed, (2) sugar beets, (3)
milk and (4) the by-product molasses obtained in the man-
ufacture of sugar. Lastly, miscellaneous by-products are
discussed. They include the following: (1) Tankage, (2)
dried blood, (3) dried flesh meal and meat scrap and (4)
fish scrap, also various kinds of cake other than oil cake and
cottonseed cake.
Several of these by-products are exceedingly rich in
the elements of plant growth, as well as in food nutrients.
265
266 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
Prominent among these are cottonseed meal, oil meal and
wheat bran, rich in the order named. As but a small por-
tion of these elements are appropriated by the animals to
which they are fed, when the voidings are carefully saved
and promptly applied, they furnish fertilizer of much value.
So important is the value of this residue, that it should
never be lost sight of in determining the foods that shall be
fed. The wholesale exportation of these food products,
therefore, from this country, is to be deplored. It means
that these resources of production are fast being sent away
to other lands.
Wheat by-products.—Wheat furnishes by-products of
great value in feeding live stock. The chief of these are
bran, shorts and middlings, but in some instances a low
grade of flour is also fed. It would also seem correct to
speak of frosted wheat, much shrunken wheat and screen-
ings, as by-products. Bran consists of the three outer mem-
branous coats of the kernel and also the rich protein layer
just underneath them. Shorts is simply reground bran.
Middlings contain the finer bran particles and more flour
than shorts. The distinction between these is not clearly
drawn in all instances either in the composition of the two
products or in the more or less interchangeable way of re-
ferring to them. The low grade of flour fed is commonly
referred to as “red dog” and in some instances as “dark
feeding flour.” Frozen or frosted wheat is wheat that has
been injured by frost before maturity. It may be perfectly
pure but lacks in plumpness and hardness, according to the
stage of the growth at which it was frozen. Shrunken
wheat is that which-is small and shrivelled, though hard in
the berry, owing to some injury sustained by the stalk and
leaves, before the completion of the ripening of the grain,
as when stricken by the black rust. Such grain may make
good flour though low in quantity, hence it is heavily dis-
counted by buyers. Screenings consist of small and light or
broken kernels and the seeds of weeds that may have
ripened in the grain, also in some instances minute pieces
FOODS FROM BY-PRODUCTS 267
of broken straw. From 25 to 33 per cent of wheat is made
into by-products, of course not including the frosted or
shrunken grain or the screenings.
Wheat bran is probably more extensively used in feed-
ing live stock than any single by-product of any kind of
grain. There are but few instances in which it may not be
fed to live stock with decided benefit. It is richer in protein
than the whole grain which gives it high adaptation to the
needs of growing animals and to milk production. It con-
tains a large proportion of the mineral matter and a con-
siderable proportion of the gluten which makes it good bone
making food. It has the requisite bulkiness necessary to
make it feed well with highly concentrated foods such as
corn.
The germ remnants in it to some extent promote diges-
tion. It is also a mild laxative. The feeding value of bran,
except perhaps for young swine, is higher than chemical
analyses would indicate. Moreover, the fertilizer from
feeding it is rich in plant food. The best interests of agri-
culture, therefore, demand that this by-product shall be re-
tained and fed in the country to the greatest extent possible.
For calves, bran is excellent from the time that they be-
gin to take food other than milk. It is specially helpful
when feeding some concentrated food as corn or rye meal,
but is not so necessary when feeding ground oats. For
growing calves, the bran should usually form not less than
two-thirds of the meal when fed along with corn, rye or
barley meal, but for calves that are being fattened, it should
not form a large proportion of the meal ration and in some
instances none at all. For young cattle that are being win-
tered on dry fodder other than clover hay, two or three
pounds of bran fed daily, or even a less quantity with other
meal, will produce excellent results. There is perhaps no
kind of meal that will not be improved as food by its pres-
ence, and the more dense and concentrated the meal, the
more beneficial it is to mix bran with it and the larger is the
quantity of bran that may be mixed into it.
268 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
For cattle being fattened, bran may be fed with much
benefit as a part of the ration from the beginning to the end
of the feeding period when it is not too costly, but it should
be used in very gradually decreasing proportions. When
sufficiently cheap, it may form as much as one-half the grain
ration by weight, in the first stages of fattening. By the
middle of the period, it should seldom form more than one-
third of the ration and even a less proportion is preferable.
By the end of the fattening period, only a small amount is
needed, and when oil meal is fed, none at all. In forced feed-
ing with strong concentrates as corn, bran so lightens the
mass in the stomach that digestive disturbances are warded
off, but when oats form a considerable proportion of the
food fed, it is not needed except in so far as it exerts a
wholesome influence on the digestive tract. Bran has been
used with considerable success in fattening animals along
with good prairie hay when the bran was low in price.
For cows in milk, wheat bran is specially well adapted
since it furnishes abundantly protein and ash and also a
fair amount of starchy matter. Moreover, its bulky char-
acter, as in fattening cattle, tends to make more porous the
mass of the heavy concentrates when mixed with them.
Even cottonseed meal is improved by such admixture, al-
though the nutritive constituents are approximately the
same. Bran may form any part of the meal ration or the
whole of it, according to the relative cost. When fed alone,
from eight to ten pounds may be given to a cow daily. Fed
along with such concentrates as corn, rye and barley, the
fodder being carbonaceous in character, as corn, sorghum
or any of the grasses, one-half the meal fed by weight may
consist of bran, but should the fodder be leguminous, as
clover hay, it will suffice if bran forms say one-third of the
mixture. Usually not more than nine pounds of such a mix-
ture are needed daily. Bran, ground oats and ground corn, in
equal parts by weight, furnish a grand concentrate for dairy
cows. No other by-product is so much used in feeding for
milk in this country as bran.
FOODS FROM BY-PRODUCTS 269
For sheep, bran serves a good purpose and for breed-
ing ewes when fed as a part of the grain ration, but it is
rather coarse for being fed to very young lambs. It is par-
ticularly helpful to breeding ewes when the fodder consists
largely of corn or the grasses. With such roughage, as
much as one-half the grain ration may be composed of bran,
when such grain as corn, barley, or rye are being fed, but
usually a less proportion will suffice. A mixture which is
two parts oats and one bran by weight is very valuable for
such feeding. When fed along with leguminous fodders,
but little bran is needed. Subsequently to the lambing pe-
riod, the free feeding of bran will be found highly conducive
to milk production. The feeding value of bran is not so
high relatively for sheep that are being fattened. Sheep
are not so fond of bran as of some other kinds of meal or
grain, hence care should be taken not to feed it to them in
excess while fattening or the gains will not be entirely
satisfactory. And yet, in the absence of oil cake or field
roots, a small proportion of bran will be found beneficial.
Along with heavy corn feeding it is really essential.
For swine, bran has not so high adaptation as for feed-
ing cattle, horses or sheep and yet may frequently be
used with profit in the judicious feeding of swine. For
young swine it is too coarse and bulky and has in it too
large a proportion of crude fibre. Nor is it the best food
that can be given to swine during the growing period, but
with advance in age it becomes increasingly suitable for
them. It is seldom fed, even as a part of a ration, to swine
that are being fattened. It may, however, be fed as a factor
of the meal ration along with concentrated grains to brood
sows before or after farrowing and to the extent of forming
when necessary at least 50 per cent of the meal fed.
For horses, bran is frequently given a place in the
diet of animals, young and old, but the amount fed daily is
usually quite small. In other instances it is fed not more
frequently than once or twice a week, when it is scalded and
270 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
fed as a mash with a view probably to render it more laxa-
tive. In other instances it is not fed at all. A small quan-
tity fed daily exercises a salutary influence on the digestion
of horses of all classes when on dry feed and not worked
severely, including weanling foals, yard horses, brood
mares, stallions and horses at moderate work. It is too laxa-
tive and not sufficiently nutritive for horses that are worked
severely, but in some instances they have been worked some-
what severely for a considerable period on bran as the sole
concentrate.
Bran is rather preferred to middlings when feeding an-
imals that are being fattened, whether cattle or sheep, as it
makes a more desirable blend with fine meals as corn and
cottonseed meal and is less pasty when being masticated.
Bran and shorts have been found about equal for milk pro-
duction when fed to cows, but as a food for swine, bran is
far below middlings. Bran is not quite equal to oats pound
for pound for producing milk, or to a mixture of ground
oats and barley, but the difference is slight. Swine fed
chiefly on bran will not thrive so well nor keep healthy so
long as swine fed chiefly on ground barley or rye. It should
not be much used in fattening cattle when the relative value
per pound is more than one-half that of oil meal and kindred
feeds. Bran, when fed daily to horses, is commonly fed dry,
but when fed occasionally, as mash. It is also fed in the dry
form to cattle and sheep but is soaked before being fed to
swine.
Middlings and shorts are so nearly alike in their com-
position and feeding qualities, notwithstanding some differ-
ences, that it will be in order to discuss them together.
They have more starchy matter and less crude fibre than
bran and are therefore better adapted relatively to animals
whose digestive capacity unfits them for taking large quan-
tities of bulky food. Although it is considerably more con-
centrated than bran, it is no richer in protein and is even
less rich in mineral matter. Middlings have never stood so
high relatively for feeding cattle and sheep as bran, but they
FOODS FROM BY-PRODUCTS 271
may be so fed in due admixture with considerable benefit.
They are less satisfactory as a diluent of the heavier kinds
of meal and when fed, the quantity given is less than in the
case of bran. The results frcm feeding middlings and corn
to cows has proved quite satisfactory, the quantity re-
quired being about 25 per cent less than when feeding bran.
Middlings are preeminently adapted for feeding to swine.
No kind of meal is better for swine of all ages when due re-
gard is had to the quantity fed. When the prices admit of
such feeding, they may be made the sole meal ration for
pigs before weaning; a large proportion of the same dur-
ing the growing period, and 50 to 75 per cent of the ration
of brood sows suckling their young. Even when pigs are
being fattened they are sometimes fed so as to form from
25 to 50 per cent of the ration. Shorts and corn have been
found to make increase about 25 per cent greater than corn
alone and considerably greater than shorts alone. When
fed alone during the finishing period, they produce pork
somewhat soft. Middlings and skim milk are two of the
standard foods in areas where bacon pork of prime quality
is produced. Because of the high adaptation of middlings
to pork production, under some conditions, it is in order to
purchase them in large quantities for feeding swine. When
fed to horses, unless duly admixed with other concentrates,
it is said that they tend to induce colic.
Red dog flour is rich in protein and fat. It contains
much of the germs of the wheat and because of its compo-
sition and fineness is preeminently adapted for feeding to
growing swine. In limited quantities it has also been found
quite useful for feeding to horses that are worked hard and
to milch cows.
Frosted wheat has much the same feeding qualities as
matured wheat, unless the freezing takes place several days
before the wheat is matured, and is probably quite as useful
pound for pound for feeding purposes. The same is true
of shrunken wheat. It is even richer in protein than wheat
not shrunken, and because of this and of the higher bran
272 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
element it contains, it is more valuable relatively for some
kinds of feeding than plump wheat. These facts are im-
portant to the grower of wheat since frosted and shrunken
wheat are much discounted in the market. These may be
fed in the same way as matured wheat (see p. 225).
Wheat screenings is a sort of indeterminable quantity,
owing to the great difference in the composition of the vari-
ous grades. Screenings that consist largely of broken ker-
nels and small and shrivelled grains, are usually as valuable
for feeding as pure wheat, whereas screenings that are
light and chaffy in character may prove of out little use for
any kind of feeding. Sceenings in the ungrouna form are
usually fed to sheep that are being fattened alone or in con-
junction with other kinds of grain. They have been found
eminently suited to such feeding, as they are a safe and
healthful food. Moreover, they usually contain a variety
of weed seeds that are rich in fattening properties, and that
are much relished by sheep. They may be fed in restricted
quantities or in self feeders, and in some instances but little
fodder is fed along with them. They may be fed in con-
junction with any of the cereals and in any quantity de-
sired. Sometimes they are fed along with wheat shorts.
They are also fed with good results to cattle and swine in
the ground form and soaked when fed to the latter.
Barley by-products.—Barley is extensively used in the
manufacture of beer and other spirituous liquors. Conse-
quently the by-products obtained from it are large in vol-
ume. Chief among these are brewers’ grains, distillers’
grains and malt sprouts. Brewers’ grains are the residue
left after the soluble dextrin and sugar have been extracted
from the malt. Barley is valuable for malting in proportion
as it is rich in starch and bright in color, hence barley, rich
in protein, and, therefore, of high value for feeding, may
grade low for malting, as the starch is the valuable element
for making beer. Nearly all the protein is left in the grain.
The residue, therefore, is richer relatively in nitrogen than
the original barley, although in the wet form it is very much
FOODS FROM BY-PRODUCTS 273
more bulky. Lawes and Gilbert have shown, however, that
barley is worth more for feeding uses than the malt and malt
sprouts obtained from it. Brewers’ grains are fed in the
wet form when fed within a reasonable distance of the
brewery, otherwise they are dried before feeding them. If
not soon fed in the wet form, they will spoil, but in the dried
form they may be kept indefinitely. Distillers’ grains are
the residue left after the alcohol has been separated from
the grain by distillation, following the fermentive processes.
They have much the same composition as brewers’ grains,
but are more watery. They contain only eight or nine per
cent of dry matter, whereas brewers’ grains contain about
24 per cent. Malt sprouts are essentially very young barley
sprouts, about two-thirds as long as the grain. They are
obtained by sprouting barley when preparing malt. Fur-
ther sprouting is stopped by drying the malt when the
sprouts fall off or are separated by a winnowing process.
As shown in the table they are very rich in protein.
For cattle of all ages, brewers’ grains are much rel-
ished and as a source of protein they rank high. They
are generally fed to cows with a view to milk produc-
tion, but may also be fed to other cattle when the price will
admit of so feeding them. In the dry form they rank along
with such foods as bran and oil meal for dairy cows and are
no more perishable than either. They are most extensively
used in New England dairies and much is also exported to
Germany. Four to five pounds may be fed daily to a ma-
ture cow, and in the wet form five to six times these
amounts. They should be fed along with, say two to four
pounds of such concentrates as corn or corn meal per day,
dependent somewhat on the fodder. When fed in the wet
form every care should be taken to keep the mangers and
feed boxes in a clean condition, especially in warm weather,
or offensive odors may arise which will affect adversely the
quality of the milk.
Inattention to these particulars has in some instances
led to the prohibition of the sale of such milk by boards of
274 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
health. Brewers’ grains may sometimes be fed with de-
cided profit to calves and young cattle, but usually other
foods may be obtained more cheaply for fattening, unless in
the immediate vicinity of the brewery.
For feeding sheep, brewers’ grains are not considered
so suitable as for feeding cattle, especially in the wet form.
Sheep do not take so kindly to sloppy food as swine or even
cows. But where the cost will admit of such feeding, dry
brewers’ grains should answer well as a part of the ration
for breeding ewes.
To swine, brewers’ grains are not much fed at any con-
siderable distance from the place of their production, but
feeding them to young swine will tend much to promote
growth, and for sows nursing their young, they should be
quite as good as for cows nursing theirs. But, as a source
of protein, they will probably be found too costly for feed-
ing swine.
To horses, trials made on brewers grains, even when
at work, have proved satisfactory. The general condition
and also the energy were pronounced as good as when oats
were fed. At the New Jersey station it was found econom-
ical to feed them to street car horses, but the outcome from
such feeding is largely dependent on relative values. As a
food for foals, young horses and brood mares, the results
should be satisfactory from the judicious feeding of brew-
ers’ grains. .
Distillers’ grains, being a very watery food when fed
in the wet form, are best adapted for being fed to cattle for
milk or for beef. The stables in which the animals are fat-
tened are usually not far distant from the place of distilla-
tion. For both uses these grains have high adaptation when
fed with suitable adjuncts. They are not so well adapted
for being fed to sheep, swine and horses, but under certain
conditions may answer well for swine.
Malt sprouts are commonly fed to cows for milk pro-
duction. They are highly adapted for such a use, since they
contain about 20 per cent of digestible protein. Moreover,
FOODS FROM BY-PRODUCTS 275
when properly prepared for feeding, they are a succuient
food. But they may also be used in feeding various other
domestic animals by adding them to the ration in moderate
quantities, to increase the protein in the same. Live stock
are not usually so fond of malt sprouts as of brewers’
grains, hence they must needs be fed with more moderation.
From two to three pounds will usually answer daily in the
ration for milch cows. As they absorb much water, they
are usually soaked several hours before feeding them.
Flax by-products.—The principal by-product of flax
seed is oil cake, more commonly spoken of as oil meal. It
is used as food for live stock. Oil cake is the residue left
after the oil has been removed. When removed by hy-
draulic pressure only, it is known as old process oil cake.
When chemicals are used in extracting the oil, it is known
as new process. It is sold as oil cake or as oil meal, both
terms being applied to it in a somewhat loose sense. Oil
cake, properly speaking, is the residue presséd into large
flat cakes after the oil has been removed from the seed and
the moisture from the residue. Oil meal is the cake finely
ground. Adulterants are sometimes mixed with the meal.
The cake cannot be thus readily adulterated, hence the
‘preference for it in foreign markets. For a similar reason,
many feeders prefer to feed it in the “nut” form, that is, in
the form that is broken up into small pieces about the size
of mixed nuts as ordinarily found in the market. The meal
is usually fed to animals that are quite young. It is not well
suited to outdoor feeding as it may be lifted by the wind.
The old process meal contains a little more oil than the new
and a little less relatively of total protein. But it has a
higher per cent of digestible protein, as cooking the meal in
the new process reduces somewhat the digestibility of the
protein. The two kinds of meal may be distinguished by
placing a small quantity of each in separate glasses and
pouring on a small quantity of hot water. The old process
meal thus treated will form a jelly-like mass, and, since the
new process meal has been already cooked, it does not jelly
276 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
again. In feeding value, the old and new process meals do
not differ greatly. The former has probably a higher feed-
ing value for young calves and lambs, owing to its higher
content of oil or fat.
Oil cake is one of the most valuable and useful, if not
the most generally valuable and useful of all the by-prod-
ucts of the farm. It is not only rich in protein, but it is
preeminently a safe food. When fed judiciously, there is
no class of animals kept upon the farm to which it may not
be fed with profit for a longer or shorter period. It is
much relished by all classes of domestic animals, and it is
to some extent an appetizer as well as a food. It is mildly
laxative and exercises a salutary influence on the digestive
tract. There is no kind of meal with which it may not be
fed satisfactorily should occasion call for such feeding. As
stated elsewhere, its real feeding value is considerably high-
er than chemical analysis would assign to it. It also gives
to the hair a glossy appearance indicative of thrift on the
part of the animal possessing it.
For cattle of all ages and of all classes, oil cake fur-
nishes an admirable food. Its value for feeding calves dur-
ing the milk period has already been referred to (see
p. 250). To all classes of growing animals, it may be fed ©
with much benefit in the winter season along with grain or
meal, when not too dear for such feeding. It may form as
much as 10 per cent of the concentrate fed. Its use is
equally helpful in the winter grain ration for cattle that are
to be finished on pasture. But it is not so necessary to feed
it, nor will the benefits be so great relatively, when field
roots are being fed-at the same time. In fattening cattle,
it is a favorite food, but rather as an adjunct to the meal ra-
tion than as a principal portion of the same. In other words
the benefits are relatively greater when the oil cake is fed in
moderate quantities of say one to three pounds rather than
as a principal factor in the same. But should the cost jus-
tify it, oil cake may be fed to the extent of forming half
the meal ration, the other portion being some carbonaceous
FOODS FROM BY-PRODUCTS 277
food as corn. From such feeding, rapid gains are secured.
It is more common to feed oil cake in small quantities and
toward the close of the fattening season, as then the sooth-
ing effects of this food are more needed than at other times.
When feeding for show purposes, it is almost considered in
a sense a necessity, because of the favorable influence which
it exerts on digestion under forced feeding, and also be-
cause of the fine, glossy coat which results from feeding it.
As a food for cows in milk, oil cake up to a certain limit is
most satisfactory. Beyond that limit it is thought to affect
the quality of butter adversely, both in regard to firmness
and keeping properties. The limit may be fixed at, say
three pounds per animal per day. Carefully conducted tests
have shown that the increase in milk production did not
keep pace with increase in amount of oil cake fed, when fed
in large quantities. In tests at the Pennsylvania experiment
station, it was found that rather more milk resulted froin
feeding cotton seed meal, but that a little more butter re-
sulted from feeding oil meal, pound for pound. As a regu-
lator of digestion, oil meal is, of course, as helpful with
dairy cows as with animals that are being fattened. The
necessity for feeding it decreases with decrease in the
amount of carbohydrates fed, and also in the forcing char-
acter of the ration, and with increase in the amount of bran,
field roots or other succulent food fed
For sheep, oil cake is quite as satisfactory as for feed-
ing cattle. It furnishes an excellent food for feeding to
lambs, even at an early age or as a part of the grain ration
subsequently to the weaning season. A limited amount is
excellent for sheep that are being wintered on dry food and
for breeding ewes. When fattening lambs and mature sheep
on dry food, it is equally beneficial, and may be fed to them
in larger quantities, proportionate to the forced character
of the feeding. More commonly it is not fed to form more
than 10 per cent of the meal ration, but may be in a much
larger proportion when the price will justify such feeding.
278 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
For swine, oil cake is probably not so valuable fela-
tively as for feeding cattle and sheep, especially when fed
in relatively large quantities, as when thus fed it seems to
affect adversely the appetite. But when fed to form not
more than 5 per cent of the meal portion, the results will
be beneficial. Small amounts may be fed with profit to swine
under all conditions, except when they are being given an
abundance of succulent food.
In feeding horses, oil cake is quite as helpful as in feed-
ing cattle and swine. Under all conditions, moderate quan-
tities may be fed with benefit to horses of all classes and of
all ages, except when they are on pasture or are being given
other succulent food as field roots. The grain ration given
to foals, to horses not yet mature and to brood mares, will
be improved by adding to it say 5 per cent of oil meal.
Work horses may be fed say one-fourth of a-pound per day
under average conditions. Quantities considerably larger
should be given to horses that are being prepared for spring
work. Under almost all conditions this food tends to give
a gloss to the coat which materially improves the appear-
ance.
Corn by-products.—Chief among the products of cora
are starch, sugar, glucose, alcohol and beer. These are not
_ used as food for live stock. In their manufacture, however,
certain residues are left which are of much value in feeding
certain classes of live stock. Prominent among them are
gluten meal and gluten feed. The minor by-products fed to
stock include corn bran, corn germ and corn oil meal. Glu-
ten meal is a residue from the manufacture of starch and
glucose. It is what remains after the hull, starch and germ
lave been removed. It is separated from the starch by the
action of water. As the analysis indicates, it is rich in pro-
tein and has a feeding value equal to that of oil cake. Glu-
ten feed is virtually what is left of the corn germ after the
starch has been removed. It, therefore, contains both the
hull and the germ and as a result is lower in protein and
higher in crude fibre than gluten meal. Gluten meal and
FOODS FROM BY-PRODUCTS 279
gluten feed, because of their concentration, are usually fed
in conjunction with foods less concentrated, as wheat bran.
Corn bran is composed of hulls removed from the kernels.
From 5 to 6 per cent of the grain consists of hull or
bran. Corn bran contains practically all the crude fibre
found in the grain. Its feeding value is low, but it may be
used with advantage in diluting concentrated foods by mix-
ing it witk them. Corn germs are very rich in protein,
ether extract and in mineral matters, hence their adaptation
for being fed with caution to young animals. They com-
prise about 10 per cent of the kernel. Corn oil meal is the
residue of the germ that is left after the oil has been ex-
tracted from it. It may be fed in considerable quantities to
young animals. For such feeding it is valuable. When the
products of the factories are disposed of in a wet condition,
they are known as wet starch or wet glucose feeds.
To cattle of all classes and ages, gluten meal has been
found not only a safe food, but also one that is relatively
economical. It is palatable also as well as safe. It may be
fed with much freedom to calves during the milk period and
subsequently, and also to growing animals to which concen-
trates are fed. The other foods to be fed with it will de-
pend on the object sought in feeding. When growth only is
sought, the complement of the gluten should be such food
as oats. When fattening also is sought it should be such
food as corn. As a food adjunct in fattening cattle at the
Ohio experiment station, it was found fully equal to oil
meal in making increase on the basis of relative cost when
the price paid for oil meal pound for pound was twice that
of gluten meal. For feeding cows it has been found fully
equal to cottonseed meal when fed so that the nutrients are
equal. When feeding giuten meal to cattle the aim should
be to feed it with some more bulky concentrate unless when
it is being fed to young calves.
For sheep, giuten meal has not been much used as
concentrate. It should, however, because of its reasonably
fine character and high protein content, make an excellent
280 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
food for young milk lambs. It should also feed well with
such foods as corn in fattening sheep when a little.bran also
is fed to increase the bulk and to prevent constipation.
For young swine, gluten meal furnishes an excellent
food. When thus fed, its concentration and fineness are
beneficial rather than otherwise. For such feeding it may
take the place of wkeat middlings when the cost is not too
much. For growing swine of all ages it is also excellent.
In trials made at the Vermont experiment station, gluten
meal fed along with corn was found to be 7 per cent
more valuable than wheat.
To horses, gluten meal is not much fed for the reason
probably that it is thought to be more valuable relatively for
growing animals and for milk production. Nevertheless,
it may be fed with much propriety as a part of the ration
for foals, when the price will admit of it. It will also go
well along with corn when the latter furnishes the bulk of
the ration for work horses.
To young animals, when gluten meal is fed, a small
amount of oil meal should improve the ration, as the for-
mer does not contain the mildly laxative principle found in
the latter. For a similar reason, a small proportion of
wheat bran will be found helpful when gluten meal is fed to
animals going on toward maturity or matured. If field
roots are being fed, the advantages from feeding oil cake
or wheat bran will be less apparent if at all in evidence.
Much that has been said about gluten meal will apply
nearly as well to gluten feed, the proportion of protein be-
ing less and of crude fibre more than in gluten meal. Glu-
ten feed is not quite so suitable for young animals. On the
other hand, its somewhat greater bulk makes the addition
of some such food as bran less necessary when it is fed to
animals well grown. The use of gluten meal and gluten
feed will certainly increase much in the future since much
increase in the manufacture of by-products from corn is
assured.
FOODS FROM BY-PRODUCTS 281
Other cereal by-products.—The by-products of rye,
oats, peas, buckwheat and rice, are possessed of some feed-
ing value, but they are not so valuable relatively as the by-
products of wheat, barley, corn and flax.
Rye.—Rye by-products; viz., rye bran and rye shozts,
are chemically not far different from those of wheat. In
some of the countries of northwestern Europe, they are usec
to a considerable degree in feeding stock. In America, rye is
not extensively manufactured into bread, consequently its
by-products are not to be had in large amounts for feeding.
Rye, bran and shorts are sometimes fed for milk produc-
tion, but they are not so highly prized for such a use as the
by-products of wheat. It is said that when these products
are thus fed in large quantities, they affect adversely the
flavor of both milk and butter. Rye shorts have not proved
equal to rye or barley for making pork, viewed from the
standpoint of production. The pork also made from rye
shorts has been pronounced inferior in quality, being softer
and also shrinking more than pork made from ground rye
or barley.
Oats.—The principal by-products of oats are known as
oat feed and oat dust. These are variable in their compo-
sition, but not infrequently the former is composed of oat
chaff and the latter of minute hairs found at one end of the
kernel. Broken grains add to the value of such food.
When composed entirely of hulls, it is not worth much
more than an equal weight of oat chaff. It is not infre-
quently used to adulterate mill feed, the presence of the
hulls being intended to show. that the mixture contains
ground oats. Oat meal, such as is used for porridge, i ai
excellent food on which to start young animals when 4e-
ginning to take food other than milk.
Peas.—The chief by-product of peas comes from c3-
tablishments where they are commercially prepared as hu-
man food. It is frequently referred to as split peas. It
consists of broken and defective kernels and any foreign
282 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
food substances found in the grain as it comes to the fac-
tories. Such food in the unground form is excellent for
feeding sheep and in the ground form for feeding cattle and
sheep.
Buckwheat.——The principal by-product of buckwheat
is the hulls. They are of low feeding value, so low as to be
of questionable utility for ordinary feeding. Unscrupulous
dealers sometimes use them in a finely ground form for
adulterating mill feed. When used thus in considerable
quantities, they give a brownish or dark tint to the food.
Rice——The chief by-products of rice are known as rice
hulls, rice grain, rice polish and rice meal. Rice hulls are
very woody and are possessed of but little feeding value
when used alone, but they may serve a useful purpose by
mixing them with certain kinds of meal to increase their
porosity. Rice grain is composed of the outer portions of
the kernel and a part of the germ. As a food for cows and
pigs it is possessed of considerable value. Rice polish,
which is a dust-like powder, is rich in the elements of nutri-
tion, and has proved valuable in feeding cows and pigs.
Rice meal is said to be excellent for milk production, and
for such a use may be freely fed with safety.
Cotton seed by-products.—Cotton seed as it comes
from the gin consists of hull, kernel and fibre. The hull is
the hard, tough, leathery covering. The kernel is the soft
part of the seed within, of a yellowish color and of oily con-
sistency. The lint, more commonly known as “linters,”
consists of short fibres not removed by the gin. The by-
products of cotton seed are meal, hulls, oil and lint. <Ac-
cording to the tenth census of the United States, 35 per
cent of the seed consists of meal, 48.9 per cent of hull, 12.5
per cent of oil and 1.1 per cent of lint. Other authorities
give the percentage of oil as being somewhat greater. The
meal and hulls only of these by-products are used for feed-
ing live stock. Until within a comparatively recent period
the hulls were used as fuel by the oil mills.
FOODS FROM BY-PRODUCTS 283
Cottonseed meal is the finely ground residue of the
kernel after the oil has been removed from it. In color it
should be a light yellow. A dark color in the meal indicates
the presence of ground hulls. This may be definitely ascer-
tained by putting a small quantity of the meal in a glass,
pouring over it hot water accompanied or followed by stir-
ring, allowing it to settle for but a few seconds and then
pouring off the unsettled portion. If the residue is darker
in color than the untreated meal, ground hulls are present,
and if successive treatments intensify the dark color of the
sediment, the adulteration is proportionate. Cottonseed
meal is probably the richest protein food in the market. It
contains about 37 per cent of digestible protein. When fed
in reasonable quantities and in proper combination with
other food stuffs, it furnishes a satisfactory food for ail
classes of farm animals except swine, and in some instances
calves. When damaged by mould or wet, or by undue heat-
ing, it should not be fed.
For cattle, cottonseed meal has been found of great
value except in feeding calves. While in some instances
calves do well on it, in other instances death has resulted
from feeding it even in small quantities over prolonged
periods. The difference in the methods of feeding the meal
and in the combinations in which it is fed, may account
for the difference in the results referred to. Two or three
pounds daily fed to young cattle when not on pasture, wi'l
prove very helpful in promoting growth. When the accom-
panying fodders are leguminous, not less than 50 per cent of
the meal should consist of corn, barley or rye. A small
amount of wheat bran or oats fed along with it lightens up
the ration.
This meal is excellent for fattening cattle. The
proportion of the cottonseed meal and corn to be fed
will depend upon the stage of the fattening and the charac-
ter of the fodder. The proportion of the corn should in-
crease with the advancement of the feeding period and with
increase in the carbonaceous character of the fodder and vice
284 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
versa. Usually not more than 4 or 5 pounds per ani-
mal are fed daily at any stage of the fattening to a mature
cattle beast. In some instances in the South, large numbers
of cattle are fattened at the mills on cotton seed and hulls.
At first, they are not fed more than 3 or 4 pounds of
the meal daily, which is gradually increased to 6 to Io
pounds according to the capacity of the animals. They are
given in addition all the hulls that they will consume, and
in go to 120 days are ready for the shambles.
Cottonseed meal has proved a very satisfactory food
for dairy cows. In certain trials made, it has been found
superior even to wheat bran, pound for pound, in sustaining
the milk flow, at least for a limited period. As much as 6
pounds per day may be fed for short periods of feeding,
but not more than 4 pounds per day should be given in
prolonged feeding for milk or butter production, and 3
pounds would probably be a safer amount. It is a strong
concentrate, and if fed in excess, deranged digestion will
certainly follow. It has been claimed that cottonseed meal
should be fed with a prudent caution to cows within two or
three months of calving, and for three or four weeks sub-
sequently. It feeds well along with ground oats, as the
oats furnish the necessary bulk. From tke standpoint of
nutrients, cottonseed meal and corn make an excellent com-
bination, and cotton seed and rye or barley are suitable, but
the addition of some bran to add to the bulk will improve
the ration. Cottonseed meal adds to the firmness of butter,
a fact of no little importance in warm climates.
For sheep, cottonseed meal judiciously used is quite
helpful. Fed along with oats it makes a good concentrate
for breeding ewes, more especially when the fodder is car-
bonaceous. One part of cottonseed meal and three parts of
oats, or one and two parts of each when a small amount is
fed, should prove satisfactory. At all times, however, it
should be fed with a prudent caution to pregnant ewes,
lest it should cause abortion. If the roughage were
leguminous, corn could be fed instead of oats. For sheep
FOODS FROM BY-PRODUCTS 285
and lambs that are being fattened, cottonseed meal and
corn have been found to answer well in the South, when
oats are fed instead of corn in whole or in part until
the animals are on full feed. The safer plan is to start
them on oats and then to add corn gradually. After about
three weeks of feeding, add say 14 pound of cottonseed
meal per day, and gradually increase the amount until the
meal ration consists of one part cottonseed meal and two
parts corn by weight.
For swine, cottonseed meal is not an entirely safe
food when fed to them in any considerable quanti-
ties, and for a prolonged period, would seem to be a
conclusion justified by the results of experience and also
by those of experiment. It has been noticed that swine to
which cottonseed meal is fed for prolonged periods eventu-
ally begin to show lack of thrift, and finally a large pro-
portion of them sicken and die, unless the feeding of the
meal should be discontinued when the first symptoms of
sickness appear. These results sometimes follow, but not
in all instances, when the meal is obtained through the
medium of the droppings of cattle when cottonseed meal
forms a considerable proportion of the concentrate fed to
them. When only a small amount is fed, the injurious in-
fluences to the swine are seldom if ever manifested. The
sickness in swine to which meal is fed directly, usually be-
gins in 30 to 50 days, according to the inherent vigor of the
animals, the amount fed, and the losses increase with the
prolongation of the feeding. If swine thus affected are re-
moved from cattle yards and fed on other food for a
few weeks, they may again be allowed to glean for a time
in the cattle yards without hazard. The symtoms of the
sickness include moping and sluggishness in the victims, a
tendency to lie apart and loss of appetite. There is labored
breathing and weak heart action. Post mortems have
shown that the digestive tract has been highly inflamed.
These results follow when not more than 25 per cent of the
regular ration is composed of cottonseed meal. Roasted
286 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
seed has been found about equally harmful, but boiling the
seed very greatly reduces the danger. The ill effects have
been ascribed to the lint, to-moulds, and to changes in the
composition of the meal through exposure. Others think
they are due to the presence of some principle in the meal
itself that is poisonous to swine, and cumulative in its
action Notwithstanding, some feeders affirm that cotton-
seed meal may be fed to swine with safety when it is fed in
the form of a thin slop, about the consistency of buttermilk.
This they clam will prevent injury from the lint which
they believe to be the source of the danger.
For horses, as a concentrate, cottonseed mea: should
be fed only as a small part of the ration. In trials
made, as much as 2 pounds per animal per day have
been fed with safety, but when the amount fed was in-
creased much beyond 2 pounds per day, the outcome was
not entirely satisfactory. Experience in feeding it up to
the present would indicate that it should only be fed in lim-
ited quantities to horses and mules.
Cotton seed hulls, in the ground form, are fed with
much freedom to cattle and sheep that are being fattened,
also to cows giving milk (see p. 425). To cows in milk
as much as 14 or 15 pounds per day have been fed for each
1000 pounds of live weight in the cows, without produc-
ing harmful results. Feeding large amounts has resulted
in deranged digestion, evidencd in some instances in a
lax condition of the bowels, and in others in a constipated
condition of the same. When fattening cattle and sheep
in proximity to the mills, they are frequently given hulls
to take the place of roughage and are allowed to consume
virtually all that they will eat up clean.
While cottonseed meal is possessed of great value for
feeding live stock, from what has been said, it will be evi-
dent that there are restrictions which must be observed in
feeding it. Its highest value is found in fattening cattle
and in feeding cows for milk. It should only be fed in
small quantities to horses, while the wisdom of feeding it
FOODS FROM BY-PRODUCTS 287
to calves quite young and to swine, is at least problematical.
These restrictions upon feeding this by-product lower its
value somewhat relatively, when comparing it with such
foods as oil cake and gluten meal.
Sugar beet by-product.—Sugar beet pulp is the resi-
due left from sugar beets after the sugar has been ex-
tracted. It is fed in the fresh form as taken from the fac-
tory, as ensilage and also in the dried form. It is probable
that it will be a food product of much importance relatively
in this country, as the sugar beet industry promises to be-
come one of much magnitude in the near future. Owing
to the bulky nature of the pulp in the fresh form and to the
large amount of water that it contains, it should be fed at or
near the factories, but in the dried form it is not more
costly to transport than concentrated foods. Farmers who
live near the factory may feed the fresh pulp with profit
during a limited portion of the year. Feeders who save it
by ensiling at the factory, may feed it with advantage dur-
ing the major portion of the same, as it is not difficult to
preserve it. It may be ensiled in the same way as corn and
other green fodders, but it may also be preserved by putting
it into large, basin-like pits excavated in the ground, into
which it is dumped to the depth of several feet and allowed
to remain until it is fed. Decay follows to the depth of a
few inches from the surface. Underneath this decayed
mass, the pulp will keep indefinitely. In proximity to the
factories it is fed from these pits or silos to large numbers
of cattle and sheep that are being finished for the market.
The undried pulp is not only too costly to transport,
but it soon ferments when exposed. About 90 per cent of
the pulp is water. But little of the protein is removed in
the juice, hence, the pulp is particularly valuable as a food
for young animals, and for producing milk. As it exercises
a salutary influence on digestion, the pulp has a feeding
value in excess of the nutrients which it contains, when ju-
diciously fed and along with dry food. This physiological
value, so to speak, decreases with increase in the quantity
288 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
fed, and may be lost entirely by excessive feeding. When
fed heavily, it induces a lax condition of the bowels, hence
the wisdom of feeding dry fodders along with it. Wheat
bran, clover and alfalfa make very suitable complementary
foods. The pulp is not equal to the beets in feeding value,
and for fattening its value is considerably lower.
For cattle, sugar beet pulp, like sugar beets, is excel-
lent and for all classes of cattle. It is particularly valuable as
a food for young animals, and it may be fed to them with
much freedom, that is, from say five to 20 pounds a day, ac-
cording to size and the other food fed. To cattle that are
finished, as much as 75 pounds per day may be fed to ma-
ture animals under some conditions. Good, tender and
juicy meat may be made from sugar beet pulp and alfalfa
hay only, but usually some grain may be profitably fed in
addition. The pulp is particularly valuable for dairy cows.
As much as 50 pounds per day may be fed for long periods,
and for short periods much more than that amount. The
cost of the pulp should, of course, have an important bear-
ing on the amount fed, and when fed, the usual meal ration
may be proportionately reduced. In the dried form, as
much as 3 to 5 pounds per day may be fed along with say 30
pounds of corn ensilage.
For feeding sheep, beet pulp is excellent, whether kept
for breeding uses or in fattening them. A very fair qual-
itv of mutton may be made from pulp and clover or al-
falfa without grain, but under average conditions, a
limited amount of grain will tend to cheapen the ration.
It will be seldom_found profitable to feed sheep more
than 10 pounds daily, and usually a less amount will be
more profitable.
For swine, sugar beet ptup is useful especially during
the growing period and for sows when not on pasture.
Young and growing swine may be allowed to partake of the
pulp with much freedom. Brood sows may be wintered on
the same with the addition of a moderate amount of grain.
FOODS FROM BY-PRODUCTS 289
It should not, however, be fed to pigs that are being fat-
tened in any considerable quantities, owing to its bulk-
iness.
For horses, sugar beet pulp in the undried form is
not so valuable relatively as for feeding cattle or sheep,
but a few pounds daily may be fed with considerable
benefit to young animals and brood mares on dry feed.
li fed in any considerable quantities to horses hard at
work, it induces too lax a condition of the bowels.
Milk by-products.—The chief of the by-products of
milk that are used in feeding live stock, are skim milk,
buttermilk and whey. Skim milk is the residue left after
the cream has been removed from the whole milk. But-
termilk is the residue left from churning the cream after
the butter has been removed. Whey is the residue left
in making cheese after the curd has been removed. Skim
milk is chiefly fed to calves and swine, but is not infre-
quently fed to foals, and may also be fed to lambs. But-
termilk is chiefly used in feeding swine but may also be
fed to calves. Whey is chiefly used in feeding swine, but
is not infrequently used also in feeding calves. The
value of these by-products, more especially the first, as
a source of food for live stock, is very great.
Skim milk is obtained by two processes; viz., by
hand skimming and by removal through the aid of cen-
trifugal machines. By the first process, the whole milk,
as soon as obtained, is strained and left in shallow pans
or dishes, or in deep cans set in water, until the fat glob-
ules rise to the top of the milk, when they are removed
by pouring off the cream. By the second process, the
milk runs through a centrifugal machine termed a sepa-
rator, which is driven at a speed so high that the fat
globules are quickly separated and drawn off as cream.
By the process of hand skimming, about twice as much
butter fat remains in the skim milk as when removed by
the centrifugal process, but even with hand skimming, it
is seldom that more than .7 of one per cent of the fat is
290 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
left in the milk and by the other process, more than one-
half of that amount. This preponderance in its fat con-
tent gives skim milk obtained by the gravity process,
some superiority for feeding to stock, but it is probably
more than offset by the fresh and warm condition in
which separator skim milk is usually fed.
For calves, skim milk is virtually the standard food
during the first months of their existence, when they
are not allowed to suck the dams, and it will become so
more and more as the conditions of farming intensify.
The market value of whole milk is such that under many
conditions of feeding, it will not be profitable to feed it
to any class of animals on the farm except when of ten-
der age. The exceptions are, when range or semi-range
conditions prevail, where high class beef producers are
grown to provide baby beef (see p. 402), and where
young animals of beef types are being prepared for the
show ring. It would be approximately correct to say, that
during the first three months of the life of a calf, from
g to 10 pounds of milk would be required to make
one pound of increase. During the first weeks, such in-
crease should be made from half the amount named, but
the gains which accrue from such feeding, will be much
influenced by the individuality of the calves. Notwith-
standing the high value relatively of whole milk, even
when calves are grown substantially on skim milk, it is
greatly advantageous to feed whole milk for a time, be-
ginning, of course, with the birth of the young animal
as no substitute has been found for whole milk that so
completely meets the needs of young anithals.
The duration of the period for feeding whole milk
will depend first, on the use that is to be made of the calf,
and second, on its inherent vigor. When the calf is to
be sold for veal, the greatest profit will result probably
from feeding it all the whole milk that it can profitably
take, and selling it at the earliest age at which it will
take the market. When it is to be sold between the ages,
FOODS FROM BY-PRODUCTS 291
say of 6 and 15 months, the whole milk ration may con-
tinue for say two or three weeks longer. It may then be
gradually changed to skim milk, taking two to three
weeks to make the transition. It is made by withholding
new milk in gradually increasing quantities until none
is given, and by increasing the quantity of skim milk fed
in due proportion. When the animals are reared for
producing dairy products, whole milk is sometimes fed
for a period not to exceed one week before beginning
to feed skim milk, and frequently not more than one
week is occupied in making the change from all new milk
to all skim milk. In more instances, however, the period
of transition covers two weeks. When the animals are
to be grown for meat and finished when approaching ma-
turity, it may frequently be profitable to feed all new
milk for say three weeks, and to make the period of
change to extend over two or three weeks more. Habit
in digestion is usually influenced at an early age.
The earlier the animal is to be disposed of when
reared chiefly on skim milk during the milk period, the
more should the habit of fat production be encouraged
by feeding new milk and vice versa. When grown for
the dairy, muscular development is sought rather than
fat, hence no more whole milk should be fed than is nec-
essary to start the calves aright in the way of correct de-
velopment.
The duration for feeding whole milk should be de-
termined largely by the inherent stamina of the animal.
It is greatly important in the development of both ani-
mals and plants, that growth at the first shall start vig-
orously. Should the digestion become impaired at an
early age, satisfactory development subsequently sel-
dom follows. Whole milk, therefore, should be fed for a
period sufficiently long and enough of it should be fed to
insure to the young animal a vigorous start.
The amount to feed will depend on the capacity of
the animal to take the food, on its age, and on the extent
292 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
to which the milk is supplemented by other food. When
milk can be spared, it may be fed up to the limit of the
capacity of the calf to take it without deranging the di-
gestion, one of the first indications of which is a lax con-
dition of the bowels. Usually 8 to 10 ‘pounds per
day will prove ample during the first week of feeding
skim milk, that is to say, about the third week of the life
of the calf. This quantity may be increased at the rate
of, say 42 pound per week up to the age of say 15 or 16
weeks, or as long as the milk period continues. When
desired, however, the skim milk may be so supplemented
by other foods, that amounts considerably less than those
named may be fed without serious detriment to the
calves.
The duration of the milk feeding period may be in-
fluenced by such conditions as the milk supply, the needs
of the animals, and the extent to which cheaper foods are
substituted. Usually calves may be more cheaply reared
on small or moderate amounts of milk than on larger
amounts of the same, but such feeding calls for an intelli-
gent selection and use of supplemental foods. When
skim milk is abundant, it may be fed to calves for many
months. Some feeders have fed it to yearlings when seek-
ing much growth while preparing them for exhibition.
The nature of the supplementary foods to be given
with the skim milk will vary somewhat with the purpose
for which the calves are reared. But, whatever that end
may be, it will be found advantageous to add ground
flax seed, oil meal or flax seed gruel to the milk, as soon
as the change from whole milk to skim milk begins. In
this way, fat may be supplied from a cheap source in lieu
of that removed from the skim milk that is fed. The
amount of the meal required at the first may not ex-
ceed a heaped teaspoonful, but this should be increased
as the calves are able to take it, but not to the extent of
inducing too lax a condition of the bowels. The gruel is
FOODS FROM BY-PRODUCTS 293
made by soaking flax seed for several hours in a plenti-
ful supply of water, and then boiling it for one hour. It
is then fed to the calves in the milk and when the milk
is cold it will be advantageous to add the gruel while it is
yet warm. When the calves are grown for veal or baby
beef, no meal given in addition is more suitable than
ground corn. Ground corn and ground barley are ex-
cellent. In such instances the calves may be fed grain
to the limit of their capacity to consume it as long as
they are fed milk, and in some instances for a period con-
siderably longer.
For sheep, skim milk is not much used nor is it proba-
ble that it will ever be thus fed to any considerable extent.
As sheep suckle their lambs, it is not required for such feed-
ing. But should necessity require it, skim milk fed to lambs
in the fresh form, will be quite as helpful to them as to
calves. Such food may aid materially in the development
of lambs that are being grown for exhibition.
For swine, skim milk is of great value. It may be
fed to them with advantage and profit at all, or nearly
all stages of growth, and under nearly all conditions of
feeding. It is equally good for pigs not yet weaned, be-
tween the weaning and fattening period, and for brood
sows during pregnancy and while nursing their young.
It is probably true, that, as with calves, the relative
profit from feeding it decreases as the birth period is re-
ceded from, and for the reason that other protein foods
may be fed, adapted to such feeding, that may be ob-
tained at less cost, from other sources. For the same
reason it is also true, that more relative profit is usually
obtained from feeding skim milk to swine subsequently
to weaning in moderate rather than in large amounts.
Even during the fattening period, skim milk is very suit-
able for feeding along with corn, but it can seldom be
spared for such feeding. When judiciously fed, the
feeding value of 100 pounds of skim milk is fully equal
to that of one bushel of corn. But to obtain such value
294 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
from it, very moderate amounts should be fed. In certain
trials made, it has been found that the best results have
been obtained when not more than 3 pounds of milk were
fed along with 1 pound of meal.
For horses, skim milk is not much used, but in cer-
tain instances where the supply was plentiful, it has been
fed to them in considerable quantities with results that
were satisfactory, even when fed to horses at work of no
little severity. It has been found highly useful in feed-
ing foals that are being reared by hand, and also in some
instances subsequently to the season of weaning.
The condition in which milk is fed to young animals
exercises an important influence on the results that fol-
low from feeding it. The aim should be to feed it as
nearly as possible at the heat which milk possesses when
drawn from the cow, that is at a temperature of 100 to 102°.
While yet sweet it is considered superior for feeding to
young animals to milk that is sour, but the experiments
to determine this have not been entirely uniform. That
milk which is curdled even has considerable feeding value
when fed to animals well started in growth, cannot be
gainsaid. The vessels in which it is fed should be kept
scrupubously clean, otherwise they may readily prove
the medium of conveying bacteria to the animals that
may prove harmful.
Buttermilk, when undiluted, has about the same feed-
ing value as skim milk, viewed from the standpoint of
the chemist. Equally good results have been obtained
from feeding it to swine when not of tender age, but it
has not proved so-generally satisfactory for all kinds of
feeding as skim milk. It may be fed successfully to calves
by those who are skilled in such feeding, but it has not
proved so highly satisfactory as skim milk. Some cau-
tion is also necessary in feeding it to young pigs and
to brood sows nursing them. Loss has been incurred by
such feeding with sufficient frequency to render apparent
the presence of an element of hazard. It may, however,
FOODS FROM BY-PRODUCTS 295
have resulted from feeding the milk when not in the best
of condition. Buttermilk is frequently diluted with water
especially at creameries, and when so diluted, its value
is, of course, proportionately lessened.
Whey is so bulky a food that it ranks relatively low
in nutrition. Its value for feeding is influenced by the
source from which it comes, by the class of animals to
which it is fed, and by its condition at the time of feeding.
Whey obtained from the manufacture of full cream cheese
has considerably more fat than that obtained from the man-
ufacture of skim cheese. Certain feeding trials conducted
have shown that for feeding swine, about 800 pounds ob-
tained from the former and about 1200 pounds obtained
from the latter source are equal to 100 pounds of grain.
The best results have been obtained from feeding whey
to swine in conjunction with such adjuncts as ground corn,
wheat, barley or rye. It is less valuable for young animals
than for those that are older. Calves reared on whey do
not thrive so well as those reared on skim milk. The whey
is so bulky and withal so low in nutrition, that calves thus
reared carry an undue amount of paunch, and are charac-
terized by a more or less unthrifty condition. Both may, of
course, be measurably counteracted by feeding a liberal
amount of such adjuncts as oil meal and other meal from
nutritious grains. The outcome is more satisfactory when
the calves are well started on whole or skim milk or both.
It is important that whey shall be fed while yet sweet
and fresh. The acid or semi-acid condition in which it is fre-
quently fed, especially when returned from cheese factories,
is in a considerable degree responsible for the unsatisfac-
tory results obtained from feeding it. The aim should be
to feed it while yet sweet and care should be taken to scald
the vessels daily in which to keep the feed.
Molasses by-product.—Molasses is a product ob-
tained in the manufacture of sugar from cane and also from
beets. Formerly much of this valuable feeding product was
wasted, but during recent years its real worth is coming to
2096 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
be more generally understood. As the sugar beet industry
increases, so will the use of this by-product in feeding in-
crease, consequently it would not be possible at the present
time to forecast the extent to which it may yet be used in
feeding live stock. Its highest use is found in feeding
horses at work and in fattening cattle and sheep, but it has
also proved helpful in feeding in certain combinations for
milk production. The real value of molasses in feeding is
greater than chemical analysis assigns to it, since when
mixed with other foods it adds to the palatability and so in-
creases consumption. The belief is common among practi-
cal feeders, and it probably rests on a basis of truth, that
the free feeding of molasses tends to sterility in males and
to barrenness in females. It is probable that henceforth
nearly all the molasses made at sugar beet factories will be
mixed with the pressed pulp and dried before it is put upon
the market. The product thus prepared is ready for feed-
ing by simply mixing it with other foods or adding it to
them dry, but more commonly with all the water added that
it will absorb. The objection to feeding a substance so
sticky as liquid molasses poured over the feed is thus avoid-
ed, more or less of which adheres to the feed boxes and in
summer attracts many flies.
For cattle, molasses is being used in increasing quanti-
ties. Mixed with dried blood, it aids development in calves
that are being prepared for the block. They furnish an ex-
cellent complement to such food as cottonseed meal when
fed to cattle that are being fattened. The product has been
much used in preparing animals for exhibition. It has thus
led to increased consumption of the other food and im-
proved.the gloss of the coat. It is commonly poured over
meal or what is better, over meal and cut fodders mixed.
It is frequently diluted with water before thus mixing it.
As a food for milk production, it is fed in smaller quanti-
ties. Dried molasses beet pulp may yet be used extensively
as a supplementary food for dairy cows, summer and winter.
FOODS FROM BY-PRODUCTS 297
Until more light has been obtained, however, as to its innu-
ence on the breeding properties of animals, it should be fed
with prudent caution, more especially to young animals in-
tended for breeding.
In feeding sheep molasses kas not been mucn used, but
recent experiments at the Michigan experiment station have
shown that dried molasses beet pulp had a feeding value for
fattening sheep even higher than that of corn.
To swine, ase eses has been fed successfully hls
with skim milk. Its use, however, in feeding swine will
probably be limited, as an appetizer is less necessary for
swine than for the other classes of farm animals.
For horses, molasses is probably more valuable in
feeding them when at work than in feeding any other class
of farm animals. Not less than two quarts per day of cane
molasses may be fed with advantage to work horses and
mules for prolonged periods. The molasses is diluted with
three times its bulk of water and poured over the morning
and evening ration. It is common to feed a little bran along
with cane molasses to correct a tendency to constipation
which is said to result from feeding it. It is claimed that
it is nutritious, healthful and economical. It may yet be-
come popular to feed it to horses that are being winterec on
products coarse and cheap, and fed in the cut form.
Miscellaneous by-products.—Certain by-products
have been used in feeding which merit some attention, but
the limited extent to which they are used in this country will
scarcely justify discussing them at length. For convenience
of treatment they are grouped as miscellaneous. These in-
clude tankage, dried blood, dried flesh meal and meat scrap,
fish scrap, and various kinds of cake.
Tankage is made from certain waste products of
slaughter- houses, as meat scraps and fat trimmings. The
tallow is removed by cooking, and the residue when dried
is put upon the market as tankage. Tankage varies with
variations in the waste products which it contains, and also
with the relative proportions of these, hence the need for
298 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
careful discrimination as to the amount that shall be fed. It
is used chiefly as a source of protein in feeding swine, more
especially when the other food consists mainly of corn. For
such feeding it has been found decidedly profitable even
when the price of tankage is 30 to 40 per cent greater than
that of corn. Tankage must be fed with some care as it
is a highly concentrated food. Usually it is not fed so as to
make more than 10 per cent of the ration. When feeding
tankage it should be carefully mixed with the food, thus se-
curing an even distribution. It must be kept dry or putre-
faction will set in, which makes it offensive to handle and
harmful to the stock, and it should not be allowed to soak
very long before it is fed.
Dried blood is simply blood from slaughtered animals
from which the water or liquid has been removed. In the
process of drying enough heat is applied to kill any disease
germs that may be present. Formerly it was used chiefly
for fertilizing, but now it is more commonly used in feeding
calves and swine. As shown in the table it is exceedingly
rich in protein and the relative digestibility is high. It has
been found highly useful in feeding calves. To some extent
it is thought to be a corrective of scours. It may be fed in
the milk or meal, beginning with say a teaspoonful and
gradually increasing with the needs of the animals. It has
also been fed to lambs with profit, the blood to some extent
taking the place of milk. Its highest use probably is found
in feeding swine, when fed in conjunction with carbo-
naceous foods as corn. Swine at three months may be
given say one tablespoonful daily, younger animals being
given a proportionately less quantity.
Dried flesh meal and meat scrap are more or less anal-
ogous in their composition. The former, properly ‘speak-
ing, is composed of the ground flesh of animals after the
melted fat and moisture have been removed. The latter
consists of the better grades of slaughter-house waste,
somewhat similarly prepared. The preparation of flesh meal
FOODS FROM BY-PRODUCTS 299
as a commercial food product was first undertaken in Uru-
guay at the instigation of Baron Liebig, in days when many
animals were slaughtered simply for their hides. It has
been used more for feeding swine than any other class of
live stock, but it has also been fed successfully to rumi-
nants. By feeding small quantities at first and increasing
very gradually the amount fed, they will at length take with
safety as much as 2 or 3 pounds per day. Lambs and
sheep come to relish it in time, and they thrive on a due pro-
portion of such food. Mixed with ground grain and made
into cakes, it is claimed that horses, to which these are fed,
show increased vigor and nerve power.
Fish scrap is the residue from fish that are being dried
or canned after the oil has been expressed and the product
dried. In some instances it is composed in part or alto-
gether of fish that are not suitable for human food. It is
fed as cake and also in the ground form. Because of its
high fertilizing value, it has been designated fish guano, and
is not infrequently applied directly to the land for its en-
richment, but where the facilities are present, it will be
found profitable to feed it to live stock and then to apply
the resultant fertilizer to the land.
Both fish scrap and fish meal are fed to live stock in
certain of the maritime areas of northwestern Europe.
Good gains have resulted from feeding 3 to 4 pounds
per day to mature steers of good size, and the quality of the
meat was considered good. It is thought that incautious
feeding to dairy cows will produce undesirable taint in the
milk and butter but it may certainly be fed in reasonable
juantities, that is, up to the limit of say 2 pounds per day
without producing such results. It has been but little used
in feeding cows in America, but in Norway it is freely used
for suck feeding. Mature sheep have made good use of as
much as one-half to two-thirds of a pound fed daily along
with suitable adjuncts. It may be fed more freely to swine
259 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
than to cattle or sheep. Along the coast of Maine, it is used
to some extent in feeding sheep, and to a considerable ex-
tent in feeding swine. :
Sundry meals.—In addition to oil cake and meal and
cottonseed cake and meal, already discussed (see pp. 275,
283), are certain other kindred products more or less freely
fed in certain areas, but not much used as food for stock in
the United States or Canada. Prominent among these are
peanut meal, sunflower meal, cocoanut meal and palmnut
meal. All these are valuable chiefly as a source of protein and
a means of increasing the amount of the same in a ration.
As with oil meal and cottonseed meal, all these are valuable
for milk and meat production, and also in improving the
tone of the digestion when judiciously fed. But for work-
ing animals, no kind of oil meal can take the place of grain.
Peanut meal, made from peanuts after the oil has been
expressed, is one of the richest among foods in protein. In
certain trials made it was found to have a feeding value
fully equal to beans. Owing to the rapid increase in the
growth of peanuts in the United States, and to the increase
in the manufacture of oil from the same, peanut meal may
yet become a food factor of considerable importance for
live stock in the southern states.
Suntlower cake and meal are manufactured somewhat
extensively in Russia, and are prized as food for stock in
some of the countries of western Europe. As a source of
oil, however, sunflowers are not grown in the United States
to any appreciable extent, if indeed at all. Nor is their
growth for such a use likely to increase in the near future,
owing to the amount-of hand labor called for in harvesting
the crop. The equivalent in food nutrients can be obtained
more cheaply in other forms.
Cocoanut meal, sometimes called cocoa meal, is the res-
idue from the manufacture of cocoanut oil. This meal has
been found useful as a concentrate adjunct in feeding cat-
tle, sheep, swine and horses. The price restricts its use in
the United States. It is considerably used, however, in
FOODS FROM BY-PRODUCTS 301
feeding dairy cows in the coast regions of California. It is
claimed that good, firm butter may be made from it even
when it is fed with some liberality. It answers well as a
food adjunct for sheep and swine.
Palmnut meal is the residue from the manufacture of
palm oil. The oil palm is extensively cultivated in the West
Indies and South America, also Africa, but not on the
North American continent. In some countries of Europe,
it is extensively used in feeding stock. It has good keeping
qualities, and is much prized as a food for dairy cows.
CHAPTER XIV.
FOOD FROM PASTURES.
In the United States and Canada tame pastures as a
source of food for live stock have not, as a rule, been taken
at their true worth, owing probably to the large area of new
or rugged lands that have furnished native pasture and to the
very large area covered by the ranges of the West. The rich-
ness of the virgin soils, during the early years of their culti-
vation, encouraged the growing of crops on them, other than
grass, to the comparative neglect of the latter. Hence it
is, that the continent is possessed of but limited areas of per-
manent mixed grasses, and that but little attention has beea
given relatively to the improvement of pastures of any kind.
Notwithstanding, food from pastures will always be one of
the cheapest sources from which it can be obtained.
The sources of pasture may be said to be fourfold. These
are: (1) The pastures of the range country; (2) pastures
on rugged land in areas where tillage is common; (3) per-
manent pastures natural or made; (4) temporary pastures.
Those, from the source last named, are by far the most im-
portant, not only because of the large areas devoted to
their growth but because of the renovating influence
which nearly all of them exert upon the soil, and because
of the fertility which many of them bring to it.
The pastures of the western ranges will always be of
large extent, though more and more circumscribed with the
passing of the years. That the production of wide areas
has already been greatly reduced by over depasturing is
a matter of history. That even range pastures are suscep-
tible of renovation is also being demonstrated. To discuss
the methods by which they may be renovated wouid be
foreign to this book which BESS of foods rather than
of growing them. 2
302
FOOD FROM PASTURES 303
Native pastures on rugged or low lands, too low for suc-
cessful cultivation until drained, are of course indigenous
to the locality in which they grow. Usually those on forest
land have come in, as it were, spontaneously on the cutting
away of the trees. On wet lands they have grown un-
changed, it may be, for centuries. Kentucky blue grass
is one of the most common and valuable of the former
and redtop of the latter. It is possible to transform
some native pastures by simply sowing the seeds of other
grasses at an opportune time, and in the case of wet lands
by changing the conditions as to the extent of the satura-
tion.
Permanent pastures include native pastures both on
rugged and low lands referred to above, and also pastures
specially prepared with a view to permanency. These
may include only a single variety of grass, but usually
they include a number of varieties of grasses grown together.
Blue grass in the North and Bermuda grass in the South fur-
nish instances of the former. More commonly, mixed grasses
grown with a view to permanency, are sown on lands natur-
ally moist and favorable to grass production. They are grown
in combination, the better to furnish grazing at all times
through the growing season and to furnish more grazing
than would be obtained from a single variety.
Temporary pastures include, first pastures grown but
for one season and frequently as a catch crop, and second,
those grown for a longer term of years. The former in-
clude the small cereal grains grown alone or in mixtures;
plants of the Brassica family; the sorghums, saccharine,
and non-saccharine, and certain root crops. The tem-
porary pastures usually grown for a longer term than
one year include various grasses and clovers. These may
be grown singly, but are usually grown in combinations.
These are sometimes mown one or more years and are
then grazed one or more years. Those readers who desire
304 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
further information with reference to pastures are referred
to the book, “Grasses and How to Grow Tkem,” by the
author. ;
The further discussion of this question will consider:
(1) The leading grass plants; (2) the leading clover
plants; (3) plants of the Brassica family used in grazing;
(4) the saccharine and non-saccharine sorghums, and
(5) cereals grown to provide grazing, more especially
winter rye. These will be considered with reference to
their feeding value and adaptation for grazing. Some-
thing will be added more or less general in character,
with reference to the grazing of pastures and their care.
The leading grasses.—The leading pasture grasses
are Kentucky blue (Poa pratensis), Russian brome (Bro-
mus inermis), Timothy (Phleum pratense), Western rye
grass (Agropyrum caninum), Redtop (Agrostis vulgaris)
and in the South, Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon).
These are probably generally valuable for pasture in the
order named.
Kentucky blue, king- among pasture grasses on this
continent, is characterized by a reasonably early and late
growth, and by a resting period in midsummer. It is
probably the finest in its habit of growth and the most
generally palatable of all the grasses. Although soils that
have sustained forests have usually the highest relative
adaptation for growing this grass, it is fast spreading over
all the areas embraced in the western prairies. Close graz-
ing tends materially to lessen the production. When done
in the autumn, it very much tends to retard growth in the
spring.
Even though grazing should be deferred until the
autumn, it still furnishes pasture that is much relished,
owing to the abundance of the fine leaf growth amid
the relatively light production of matured stems. Such a
pasture, held in reserve for autumn grazing, will tend te
prolong materially its season, and to curtail proportionateiy
the season for winter feeding. At least two or three
FOOD FROM PASTURES 305
seasons are required to bring this grass to a maximum of
growth; hence it is illy adapted for temporary pastures.
Owing to the close, firm nature of the sod which it makes,
it will better resist injury from severe treading than any
other valuable grass.
Russian brome grass, most highly valuable on prairie
soils, is coming to be much prized as a pasture grass. Its
season of active growth is longer probably than that of any
other grass grown in northern areas. It grows up early in
the spring and continues to grow until the coming of severe
frosts. The leaf growth is very vigorous and is relatively
abundant and no grass is more highly relished by stock. It
will stand close cropping better than most grasses and
when once established is not easily injured by treading.
Its carrying power under favorable conditions is probably
greater than that of any other grass. Its growth on aver-
age soils is greatly stimulated by top dressings of barnyard
manure.
Timothy, king among the hay grasses, is more
widely grown on this continent than any other grass, but
is not so suitable for pasture as the grasses named above,
as it does not produce so much growth relatively in the
autumn. In palatability it is average. Nevertheless, it
has higher adaptation for producing temporary pasture
than either Kentucky blue or Russian brome grass as it
can be fully established in a single season though sown
with a nurse crop. Since maximum growth with timothy
is reached in a relatively short period, as temporary pas-
ture it is usually grown with clover.
The aim should be to graze timothy so that it will
not throw’ up any considerable proportion of seed stems.
Should it do so, cutting them off before the seed matures
with the mower set high will add to the carrying power
of the pasture.
Western rye grass, frequently called slender wheat
grass, is probably the most hardy among the useful grasses.
It is grown over wide areas and is preeminently the grass
3006 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
for dry conditions in the semi-arid belt. It tends somewhat
to grow in bunches and should therefore be sown some-
what thickly. Although highly nutritious, it is not quite so
mitch relished as some of the other grasses. Growth is
chiefly made in the early part of the season. If allowed
to throw up stems, these quickly become woody and are
not eaten with much relish.
Redtop, valuable both as a hay and pasture plant, is
more grown for pasture in some of the central and southern
states than in those north. Though not so valuable in the
Gulf states as Bermuda grass, it is grown over wider areas
much further north than would be suitable for that grass. In
northern areas it is also grown for pasture, but usually in
combination with other grasses. It is permanent and endur-
ing and eventually makes a good sod, but it starts
a little slowly in the spring and also after it has been
mown. In midsummer it loses much, in palatability. In
the states that circle around Tennessee and Kentucky, and
also in other areas, it is much esteemed for winter
grazing when the grazing has not been close during the
summer and autumn.
Bermuda grass is a creeping perennial, the plants
from which multiply through underground rootstocks and
also through the rooting of the creeping stems where the
nodes come in contact with the soil. Because of this
habit of growth, new pastures are usually obtained through
planting the stems and rootstems at certain intervals. It
is strictly a summer grass and makes all its growth vir-
tually in the portion of the year when frosts are absent.
It is very enduring and stands grazing well, but it is diffi-
cult to completely remove it from the soil. It has much
power to produce, even on worn soils. Reasonably close
grazing during the season of growth is to be commended,
as even slight frosts injure the palatability of the grass.
Chief among the other grasses, useful in providing
pasture under American conditions, are Orchard grass
(Dactylis glomerata), Meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis),
FOOD FROM PASTURES 307
and Tall Oat grass (Arrhenatherum avenaceum), but these
are not so extensively grown as the former.
Orchard grass grows best in various centers all across
the continent between parallels 35° and 45° north latitude.
It is a leafy grass and a vigorous grower on good soils,
and it will endure shade better than other grasses. It has
the habit of growing in tussocks which may be modified
by growing it with blue grass. It is not so palatable as blue
grass, but is more productive. In the spring the grazing
should be measurably close to keep the seed stems in check.
The autumn growth is usually abundant and may be made
to furnish much grazing for winter where the climates
are reasonably mild.
Meadow fescue is hardy, palatable and nutritious. It
has been grown in various centers widely distant from one
another. It is slow in becoming established so as to pro-
duce a maximum amount of pasture; hence it is better
suited for permanent than for temporary pastures. It
grows better than blue grass in summer and has more
power also to make growth in the cool and cold weather
of autumn. It is prized for winter grazing in some of the
Middle Atlantic states.
Tall Oat grass will grow north, south, east or west,
but in climates not really severe it has proved of highest
value. It comes up very early in the spring, grows quickly
and is persistent in growth. The foliage is abundant but
coarse and, owing to a bitter property which it possesses, is
not so much relished as several other grasses. It should
be kept from throwing up seed stems, which of course, are
less palatatable even than the leaves.
- Three other grasses are capable of providing much
pasture, but they are so difficult of eradication that it is
at least questionable if ever they should be sown under
arable conditions. These are Quack grass (Agropyrum re-
pens), Johnson grass (Sorghum halpense), and Crab
grass (Panicum sanguinalis).
308 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
Quack grass is in a sense a scourge to the farmers,
especially those whose lands, naturally rich and friable, are
infested by it, owing to the great labor involved in cleaning
it out of the land. Notwithstanding, when properly man-
aged, it will probably furnish more grazing during the sea-
son than any other grass grown in the locality. In semi-
arid regions this grass may have a useful mission. It mul-
tiplies chiefly by means of the creeping rootstocks which it
sends out in great numbers in the soil.
Johnson grass, which grows luxuriantly in the south-
ern states, cannot endure the cold winters of the North.
When grazed it should be eaten down before the heads are
formed. Heavy pasturing has the effect of injuring sub-
sequent growth for a time. It is a better hay than a pas-
ture crop. It is exceedingly difficult of eradication.
Crab grass is an annual which infests southern soils.
It springs up luxuriantly in grain fields from which crops
have been removed, The grazing which it thus furnishes
is frequently considerable. This weed-like grass may be
grown, it is said, in alternation with bur clover, the former
furnishing grazing in winter and the latter in summer. The
ground is simply plowed and harrowed between the crops,
where both have obtained a foothold.
The leading clovers.—The leading clovers for pasture
are the Common or Medium Red (Trifolium pratense), the
Mammoth (Trifolium maximum), the Alsike (Trifolium
hybridum), the White (Trifolium repens) and Alfalfa
(Medicago sativa). These are probably valuable for pas-
ture in the order named.
Common Red clover, is now grown in portions of
almost every state in the Union. The great clover belt,
however, is in the Upper Mississippi valley, and in the
higher mountain states that lie to the west. This plant,
biennial or perennial according to the soil and climatic
conditions under which it is produced, grows during nearly
the entire growing season. The growth is more vigorous
aud persistent when the plants are not allowed to go to
FOOD FROM PASTURES 309
seed, and they will also live for a longer period. No other
variety of clover furnishes so much pasture in one season,
and none is so highly palatable.
When clover is very rank and succulent, cattle and
sheep must be grazed on it with caution, especially at
first, otherwise loss may result from bloating. This danger
is lessened, (1) by giving the animals dry food before
turning them on the clover to graze; (2) by leaving them
on the clover subsequently where this is practicable; (3)
by giving them access to some dry food all the while and
(4) by so arranging that some kind of grass will be pres--
ent in the clover in that degree that will reduce the danger
incurred to a minimum. Where clover is not grazed too
closely in the autumn, on some soils it reseeds itself and
thus perpetuates its growth.
Mammoth clover will grow virtually in about the same
areas as the Common Red variety. The habit of growth,
however, in the two, differs considerably. The Mammoth
requires several weeks longer to reach a maximum of
growth, does not grow so rapidly after midsummer, and is
coarser in stem than the former. The danger to cattle
and sheep from bloat is much the same as with the Com-
mon Red. Close pasturing in the late autumn is usually
more or less harmful to all clovers, but not equally so under
all conditions. Where seed is much grown from either the
Common Red or Mammoth clovers, they are frequently
grazed closely for a time after growth has begun. Such
grazing is not only grateful to the stock, but it has been
found favorable to abundant seed production.
Alsike clover is perennial in its growth and increas-
ingly so as the conditions become more favorable. Jt
grows best in moist soils. It is even more hardy than the
Common Red and is fully as wide in its distribution.
Though of finer leaf growth than the Common Red, it is
not more palatable, takes longer to attain a maximum of
growth, and makes less growth relatively late in the season.
310 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
Small White clover has a wider distribution than any
other variety. It seldom requires resowing on soils where
it has once grown unless where sown for seed production.
It is seldom grown for any other purpose than to pro-
vide pasture. Spontaneously as it were, it grows along
with blue grass and some other grasses, and is most in evi-
dence in moist seasons. It is reasonably palatable, but
less so probably than the clovers referred to above,
although of finer growth, and it is charged with inducing
slobbering in horses that graze upon it in the early summer.
This useful and harmless weed-like plant considerably in-
creases the producing capacity of pastures in which it
grows.
Alfalfa grows on certain soils in nearly all the states
and in nearly all the provinces of Canada. It is rather a
hay than a pasture plant as it does not stand grazing well,
and very frequently the grazing of cattle and sheep upon
it is attended with loss. The danger from bloat is not
present when it is grazed with swine and horses. When
grown for grazing the aim should be to grow some grass
along with it as Orchard grass or Russian brome, or to
grow it as a factor of a pasture more or less permanent.
The grazing of alfalfa usually shortens its life term, though
the reverse is frequently true of clover.
The chief of the clovers of less importance in pro-
viding grazing than those referred to above, are Crimson
clover, (Trifolium incarnatum), Japan clover (Lespedeza
striata) and Bur clover (Medicago maculata). Sainfoin
(Onobrychis sativa) may prove highly valuable in fur-
nishing pasture, but it has not been grown on areas of any
considerable extent in this country.
Crimson clover, usually sown in the summer or early
autumn is grown chiefly in the Central Atlantic states and
in some states westward and southward from these. This
plant, which lives but one year, makes much and quick
growth under congenial conditions, but it cannot endure
severe winters unless protected by snow. It may be
FOOD FROM PASTURES 311
grown alone or along with other winter crops that will
provide grazing, as vetches or rye. It may be grazed in
the autumn or spring or at both seasons but close grazing
in the autumn frequently endangers the life of the plants.
They furnish grazing very early in the spring. Crimson
clover is more grown as a fertilizer than as a pasture.
Japan clover is grown chiefly in the southern states.
It is an annual but, like White clover, it has much power
to reseed itself, and thus to remain in soil where it has once
been grown. It is much prized as a pasture plant in
considerable areas of the South, whether grown alone or
in yearly alternation along with such plants as turf oats
and sand vetches. The oats and vetches furnish spring
grazing and the Japan clover grazing in the summer and
early autumn. Stock do not take kindly to it at first, but
soon become fond of it. If allowed to form seed before
the grazing begins, it is less relished than if grazed earlier.
It starts late in the spring and is easily injured by autuma
frosts.
Bur clover, like Japan clover, is grown only in the
South. Unlike Japan clover, which furnishes grazing in
the summer and early autumn, Bur clover furnishes the
same in the winter and early spring. It has sometimes
been grown for successive years in alternation with Crab
grass, the latter being used for hay or pasture. Both
have much power to reseed themselves. Bur clover is
not highly palatable, but in time animals become accus-
tomed to it. It is most relished when the plants are
young.
Plants of the Brassica family.—The most important
of these, beyond all comparison, grown for pasture in
America, is the Dwarf Essex rape plant. To a limited
extent kale is grown for the same purpose especially on
the slopes of western Oregon and Washington, beside
the Pacific. Cabbage is also grown to a very limited ex-
tent to provide grazing for sheep. When fed to other
stock, it is more as soiling food than as grazing.
312 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
Dwarf Essex rape, grown on rich soils in all the states
and in all the provinces of Canada, is sown alone, broad-
cast, or in rows and cultivated, along with the small cereal
grains, or in the last cultivation given to corn. After the
grain and corn respectively are harvested, the rape pro-
vides abundant food according to the soil. It may be
grazed by any kind of stock, except cows in milk, and these
also may be grazed upon it for a short time after one or
both daily milkings, but if allowed to remain on it long, the
milk will be tainted. The plants may be grazed as soon as
they will furnish much feed and will grow again, but the
largest amount of grazing will be obtained, as a rule,
when growth in the plants is nearly completed before the
pesturing begins.
The rape plant is greatly relished by cattle, sheep,
swine and horses. It is excellent for producing growth,
fat, and also milk. These properties, along with its pro-
ductiveness and wide adaptation, make it the most valuable
fodder plant that has come into general use in this country
during recent years. It furnishes excellent grazing for
calves and older cattle, but the latter, when feeding on it,
cause considerable waste through treading down _ the
plants. For fattening sheep, no grazing is equal to it. It
may be made to furnish good grazing for swine through
all the growing season, except during the first six or eight
weeks of growth subsequently to the opening of spring.
Horses are fond of rape but, like heavy cattle, they injure
it by treading. It furnishes food too succulent for horses
at work, ‘
Cattle or sheep should never be turned in to graze
on rape while hungry, lest they should take harm through
bloating. The aim should be, when either are grazed
on it, to have a well-grown pasture at all times accessible,
as this supplemented by a plentiful supply of salt, tends
materially to prevent and also to lessen scouring. When
FOOD FROM PASTURES 313
once turned into graze, it is the common practice with many
not to hinder freedom of access to the rape again until it is
all grazed down.
Grain may be fed to cattle or sheep on rape, but such
feeding is not indispensable with them as it is with swine
that are being grazed on it. The grazing may be continued
until the coming of hard frost, but in some instances
digestive troubles arise from grazing sheep in the early
morning on rape covered with white rime. Feeding them
on grain previously is a safeguard.
Kale is frequently grazed in the spring in latitudes
with mild winters, the kale having been started the previous
autumn. The grazing of cabbage by sheep may begin as
soon as growth is completed, and may continue later
than in the case of rape. The amount of good grazing that
may thus be furnished by an acre of cabbage is very large.
The saccharine and non-saccharine sorghums.—In
some localities the saccharine and non-saccharine sorghums
are frequently used to provide grazing, more especially in
areas where, because of drouth or for other reasons, cul-
tivated pastures are not so productive. Sorghums may be
grown for pasture wherever corn can be successfully grown,
but the non-saccharine sorghums, including Kafir corn,
Jerusalem corn, Milo maize and Durra, can only be grown
where the summer temperatures are warmer than those
which prevail in the northern states and Canada. Pearl
millet is somewhat akin to these in its adaptation and also
in its habits of growth.
When grazed by cattle, the grazing should be deferred
until the plants are old enough so as not to pull out of
the ground while being grazed. The aim should be to
keep them grazed down so closely that the grazing will
not be greatly injured by the animals. This result is sure
to follow when the stalks become so far advanced that
they break down when the cattle walk through them. Such
grazing is not so palatable as some kinds of grass, and
yet cattle are fond of it. In some instances serious loss
314 FEEDING FARM ANIMAES
has occurred from grazing both saccharine and non-sac-
charine sorghum by cattle. This it is thought is due to the
presence of a poisonous principle known as prussic acid,
which collects in the plants usually, if not always, when
the growth has been checked by drouth. These results, in
some instances serious, are more frequent when grazing
down the second growth but they are not entirely confined
to such grazing.
Sheep are relatively better adapted than cattle to such
grazing. With sheep the grazing may begin at an earlier
age. They may be so grazed that but little waste will follow.
None of the sorghums are so much relished by sheep as
rape or certain of the grasses. Nor do they produce so
much increase in the animals. But they furnish a large
amount of grazing relatively in proportion to the area
grazed. |
In the central Mississippi states, these plants are fre-
quently grazed by swine. Some writers praise them for
such a use, but it is probably true, that, as with sheep, the
grazing is not so completely satisfactory as that furnished
by alfalfa, clover, rape and certain of the cereals, but such
grazing may be furnished quickly in warm, dry weather
These plants may also be grazed by horses and mules
but to such grazing there is the objection that the plants
may be injured by treading. No instances of loss have been
reported from grazing horses, sheep or swine upon the
sorghums.
Corn may be grazed when sown on the broadcast plan,
but when so grown it is best grazed by sheep; larger ani-
mals injure it much by treading and breaking it down. If
sheep are turned in to graze upon it when it is about a foot
high or even higher, they will get much grazing from it,
but after it has reached the first joint it will not grow up
again when grazed down. In some localities Squaw corn or
some other small variety is grown and fed off by sheep or
swine. In the northwestern states this method of fattening
sheep and swine, especially the former, is attaining some
FOOD FROM PASTURES 315
popularity. Rape sown along with the corn at the last
cultivation given to it improves the grazing.
Pasture from the small cereals.—Pasture is frequently
obtained from the small cereals sown singly or in combina-
tion. Of these winter rye is more commonly sown alone,
and because of its importance in grazing will be discussed
separately. In some instances winter wheat is grazed in
the winter season with benefit to both the stock and wheat.
Such crops as winter vetches may also be sown alone in the
early autumn to provide early spring grazing for all classes
of farm stock. But such grazing, even under favorable con-
ditions, must be conducted with a prudent caution or the
grazing may injure the grain. On stiff clays it cannot be
done at all. The same is true of the grazing of spring-sown
crops by sheep in the spring on the northwestern prairies.
In seasons unusually favorable to growth, such grazing
benefits the crop but if it is continued too long it will lessen
yields.
On the western and northwestern prairies spring grains
are sometimes sown in combination to provide grazing when
grass pastures are not available. The choice of varieties
may depend somewhat on relative cheapness. A mixture,
however, provides more grazing than a single grain, and
also tends more or less to prolong the grazing. These |
grains sown thickly and in the usual way, are ready to
graze as soon as the grazing is abundant. Such pastures
have highest adaptation for milk production, owing to
their succulence. They should be grazed so closely that no
stems can be formed, otherwise the grazing will be lessened
and also the palatability. Sowing the seeds of grasses and
clovers with these mixtures still farther prolongs the graz-
ing.
Pastures may be grown from the small cereals for sheep
singly or in combination, and in a succession that may be
made to cover the entire season of growth. When sown
alone these pastures may consist of winter rye, winter
vetches and winter oats where the winters are not too
316 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
severe. When sown in combination, the mixtures may
consist of winter rye or turf oats and sand vetches, of peas
and oats, and of several of the small grains sown together.
The winter crops are of course sown in the autumn
and the other crops in the spring. These may be sown in
various alternations with each other and also with corn,
sorghum and rape, more especially the latter. Thus sown,
at least two crops of grazing per year may be grown on the
same land. The grazing should begin reasonably early, on
the principle that sheep prefer succulent grazing. It should
not be deferred so long that the pasture will be seriously
harmed from the tramping while being grazed. Cropping
off the plants thus early tends to increase the stooling.
The small cereals more commonly grown to provide
grazing for swine, are winter rye, barley, oats, peas and
vetches, These are sown singly or in mixtures. The more
common of the mixtures are, barley and oats and rye and
winter vetches. The grazing of these plants should begin
while they are still young, at least before the time of
forming the seed bearing stems, except in the case of peas.
These are allowed to near maturity before being grazed.
The grazing of winter rye and barley is also sometimes
carried into the maturing stages of the grain, but such
grazing can scarcely be said to be entirely satisfactory in
all instances.
Winter rye for pasture.—Winter rye is, beyond all
comparison, the most valuable of the small cereals in fur-
nishing pasture, as it can be grown in almost every part of
the United States and Canada. It is the hardiest of the
cereals, will grow on poor soils, comes earliest in the
spring and may under many conditions, be made to fur-
nish grazing both in the autumn and spring. But when
sown quite early in the autumn, under some conditions,
it becomes affected with leaf rust, and when sown too late,
where the winter climate is rigorous, the plants become so
weakened frequently, that the growth in spring is not of
much value. Notwithstanding, under all conditions where
FOOD FROM PASTURES 317
winter rye is sown for pasture in the autumn, it is possible
to obtain some kind of a crop after the rye the following
season.
The practice of sowing winter rye in the spring to pro.
vide grazing is not to be commended, but it is admissible
when the seeds of the grasses and clovers are sown at the
same time with a view to prolong the grazing. Winter rye
may be grazed by horses, mules, cattle of all kinds and ages,
and sheep and swine. It is made to supply pasture to a much
greater extent than any other cereal when this is short from
other sources.
Although rye is frequently grazed in the autumn, the
results are variable. In some instances close autumn graz-
ing tends to weaken growth in the spring; in others, it does
not seem to harm it. The difference may arise from a dif-
ference in winter temperatures. When sown very early, it is
safer to pasture the rye in the fall. When sown later, but
not in time to make too advanced a growth in the autumn,
more grazing will usually be obtained in the spring, if the
rye is not grazed in the fall.
Grazing in the spring should begin as soon as growth
has really started. The aim should be to graze the rye some-
what closely, for if the plants are allowed to form heads, the
grazing becomes woody and distasteful to live stock. Rye
will furnish grazing for a much longer period when eaten
closely than if not so grazed. In many instances the crop
is grazed for a time in the spring, and the stock are then
removed so as to allow the plants to mature a crop. Good
crops of grain are thus frequently obtained when the graz- -
ing is not carried too far.
When cows in milk are grazed on winter rye and the
grazing is abundant, the milk will be possessed of an odor
and taste more or less offensive. This may be avoided by
only allowing cows to graze on the rye for a short period
after the time for milking. Owing to the succulence of
young rye and to its tendency to relax the bowels, it is a
good plan to feed more or less of grain, when practicable,
318 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
to animals that graze upon it. It furnishes excellent grazing
in the early spring for ewes that are nursing lambs and also
for brood sows nursing their young.
The grazing of pastures.—The grazing of pastures
should not begin as a rule until pasturing can be done with-
out poaching the land, until the grass or other crop has made
sufficient growth to meet the needs of the animals without
an excess of expended energy in supplying the same, and
until it has parted with an excess of succulence.
The injury from poaching is found, in part, in making
the surface uneven, in part, in destroying some of the plants
by pushing them down into the soil, and in part, in the ex-
cessive hardening of the soil after the excess of moisture
has left it for the time being. Clay soils suffer the most
from poaching and they suffer increasingly with the lack
of firmness in the sod, with increase in the excess of mois-
ture in the soil, with increase in the clay content in the
same, and with increase in the poaching.
All excess of energy expended by animals in supplying
their needs when grazing means loss. It means the utiliza-
tion of unnecessary energy to enable the animal to graze.
The expenditure of energy in excess of what may be nec-
essary to keep the animal in good health while grazing is ex-
cessive, and should be avoided. It should be avoided for the
further reason, that it involves unnecessary injury through
needless treading on the plants.
Grass or other grazing is possessed of an excess of suc-
culence when it induces a condition of the bowels so lax as
to hinder increase in whole or in part. That excess of succu-
lence varies in plants themselves with the advancement of
the same in growth, and with the character of the season.
Grain pastures would seem to be more succulent when quite
young as a rule than grass pastures. Pastures that may phy-
sic animals at an early stage to the extent of preventing all
increase, may lead to rapid increase at a later stage of devel-
opment by which time they have parted with much of their
FOOD FROM PASTURES 319
succulence. Some seasons, pastures have much more stccu-
lence than in other seasons, owing to a difference in the
amount of rainfall. The greater the degree of moisture in
the air also, the more relatively of succulence will the
pastures possess
Excess of succulence, however, is not to be measurerl
alone by the degree of the succulence. That degree of suc-
culence which removes an unduly dry condition from the
feeces, is not excessive or harmful, but helpful. The trained
eye quickly detects what is correct or otherwise in such con-
dition. Succulence is excessive when it leads to a condition
of the bowels so lax as to hinder production in milk, meat or
labor. The degree of succulence in pastures that would be
best suited for milk production would be excessive for meat
production, and that which is best suited for meat production
may be excessive for the best results from labor. This ex-
plains in part at least why summer pastures, green and suc-
culent, are best suited to the needs of milch cows, and why,
-when they become unduly dry, supplementary succulent food
is necessary in order to properly maintain the milk flow. It
explains why pastures well matured make beef much more
quickly than pastures less matured and more succulent. It
also throws light upon the necessity for feeding reasonabl
dry food to horses at hard labor.
The aim should be not to graze pastures close at any sea-
son of the year, for the reason, first, that when thus grazed,
growth is hindered by reducing too much the breathing ca-
pacity of the plant through the leaves, and by removing thie
shade and protection furnished to the roots by the grass
blades. When this covering is removed, the sapping of
moisture is so far accelerated by the sun and wind. This
loss of moisture increases relatively with increase in dry-
ness of the climate. There is also loss of energy in search-
ing for food by animals that are being vastured in order to
supply their needs
Of course, the closeness of the grazing cannot always
be regulated. When pasture is abundant, animals will
320 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
sometimes graze close where growth is least luxuriant, be-
cause the pasture there is less coarse than in other parts
and also probably sweeter, while they will not graze at all,
or but little, on the ranker portions of the grass. Sheep es-
pecially, are much prone to graze thus. Notwithstanding,
while the less productive portions are being grazed, grass is
accumulating in the ungrazed portions of the fields, and this
will be consumed readily when that season comes, which it
usually does every year, when the close grazed portions of
the field have practically ceased to produce grazing.
In the autumn, the aim should be to avoid grazing sa
close that fields will be left without any winter protection.
This, of course, is more important in «climates where the
frost is intense, where the fields are much swept with bleak
winds when bare, and where the snowfall is light. When
the grass covering has been entirely removed in the fall,
the blades are slow in starting in the spring, more espe-
cially where frosts are intense, and the early grazing is less
suitable to the needs of plants than it would otherwise be.
(See p. 319.) There are instances, however, in which want
of grazing would result in the smothering of the plants
to their complete destruction, especially where the snowfall
is heavy, and there are other instances where the unre-
moved covering would be so much, that it would check the
growth of the grass in spring even though it should not
be killed by the covering.
Whether different classes of animals should be grazed
together on the same pasture is a disputed question. Many
are opposed to it. Notwithstanding, it would seem to be
a question largely of conditions. When the pastures are not
abundant sheep, for instance, should not graze with cattle.
Because of their habit of close cropping, they will get the
lion’s share of the pasture, and through their habit of tread-
ing much while grazing, would render the grass more dis-
tasteful to the cattle. But when the pasture is abundant
through all the season, grazing different classes of animals
together is probably an advantage, as: one class from
FOOD FROM PASTURES ) Qex
choice eats portions that the other class will reject. A few
sheep on such a pasture will aid materially in checking the
growth of weeds, and a few goats in checking the growth
of bushes, should they be present.
The care of pastures.—The care of pastures has ref-
erence: (1) To the extent of the depasturing; (2) to pro-
tection from weeds; (3) to improvement by drainage; (4)
to improvement by fertilization; (5) to improvement by a
renewal of the grasses. Due attention to these matters will
greatly increase the carrying power of pastures. Very fre-
quently pastures are kept eaten down too bare. Usually the
power of plants to grow for the time being is crippled in
proportion as the top growth is removed and in proportion
to the earliness of such removal. Surface evaporation is
always more rapid in proportion as the covering is removed
from the soil, whether *that covering consists of living or
dead vegetation. Close grazing injures growth because it
makes unnececsary treading by the hoofs of the animals
grazing, and when winter comes, it injures through undue
exposure of the vital power of the plants. It is perhaps
an open question whether close grazing injures most
the animals that graze or the pastures that they graze upon.
If pastures must be grazed closely, such grazing should
take place in the spring rather than in the autumn, as then
the fields so grazed may reclothe themselves before the
advent of winter.
Weeds injure pastures by drawing on their fertility for
no useful end, by excessive shading and by crowding.
Even bushes and shrubs become weeds in pastures when
they hinder tke growth of grass. Weeds that grow burs
which adhere to stock are especially annoying. These evils
may be mitigated by the free use of the field mower and in
some instances of the scythe and spud. Annuals and bi-
ennials may thus be prevented from going to seed, and in
some instances perennials may be thus destroyed, but not
in all. Dense rooted grasses like Kentucky blue and Rus-
sian brome will crowd out many kinds of weeds through
the density of their root growth.
322 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
The possible improvement of pastures by means of
drainage is only limited by the opportunity furnished for
making the drainage complete. The following are some of
the benefits that accrue from it: (1) Drainage alone may
completely change the character of the production, the
change being from grass less valuable to that more valu-
able, because of increased growth, higher palatability and
superior nutrition; (2) it may prolong the season of pas-
turing more or less each year; (3) the harbor for parasites,
so prejudicial to the sheep industry where stagnant water
abounds is so far removed; (4) the injury from poaching
is reduced, if not entirely obviated. The methods of drain-
ing will not be discussed here, but it should be added that
the benefits accruing from draining the wet places in pas-
tures are usually far beyond the cost of the work.
But little attention has been given to the improvement
of pastures on this continent through the medium of ferti-
lization, owing largely, it would seem, to an extensively pre-
vailing idea that more profit will result from applying fer-
tilizer to other crops. The idea would not seem to be well
grounded, especially where temporary pastures are grown.
Dressings of farmyard manures and also of commercial
fertilizers stimulate growth in the roots as well as in the
leaves and stems, consequently when the pastures are bro-
ken up the humus in the soil is proportionately increased.
Farmyard manures also act as a mulch, and the fresher and
more bulky the manure and the more of it applied up to a
certain limit, the more beneficial will be the result to the
pasture. A threefold benefit results from applying farmyard
manure thus. The wisdom of aiming to apply as large a
proportion of the fertilizer as can be made available to
pastures is to be commended.
Grasses may in many instances be renewed in pastures
without breaking them up and resowing. This question is
discussed in the book on “Grasses” by the author (p: 392);
to which the reader is referred
CHAPTER: XY.
FOOD FROM FIELD ROOTS AND TUBERS.
Field roots are distinguished from tubers first, in pro-
ducing but one bulb or root, whereas tubers produce sev-
eral; second, in usually making much of the growth above
ground, whereas tubers grow wholly under the soil; and
third, in larger average production than can be obtained
from tubers. They also differ in chemical composition.
Roots are relatively richer in protein and tubers in starch,
and the starch in the two is found under different condi-
tions.
The value of teld roots and tubers in furnishing food
for live stock has not been appreciated in the past by the
growers of live stock in the United States as it has been by
the growers of the same in Great Britain and Canada. The
greater amount of hand labor required in growing them as
compared with corn, has led to the centering of attention on
the growing of corn. Nevertheless, the fact remains, that
American supremacy in growing live stock is largely de-
pendent on the extent to which field roots shall be fed to
them while in process of development. No other food ad-
junct has yet been found that will equal field roots in secur-
ing the development of large frames and in covering them
abundantly with fleshy tissue. The American exhibitor of
cattle and sheep must continue to import his leading prize
winners from Great Britain and Canada until he feeds his
young animals more largely on field roots.
Those who have investigated with reference to tke
comparative cost of nutrients in corn and field roots re-
spectively, have concluded, and correctly, that nutrients in
corn can be grown in greater quantity and much more
cheaply under average conditions than in field roots. But
when the conclusion is reached, that in consequence, the net
323
324 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
returns from an acre of field roots cannot be made as large
relatively or as profitable as those from an acre of corn
under some conditions of growth, that conclusion may be
safely challenged. The favorable influence that the moder-
ate or even light feeding of field roots exercises on the di-
gestion of the animals (see p. 51), gives field roots a value
far in excess of the nutrients which they contain.
The following conclusions with reference to the rela-
tive value of these and of corn will probably be found cor-
rect: (1) That in the main, under United States condi-
tions, corn should be made the leading food crop for live
stock rather than roots, but in some parts of Canada, be-
cause of climatic conditions, the reverse should be true. (2)
That corn has much higher adaptation for fattening than
field roots, hence they should be fed sparingly if fed at all
to animals being fattened. (3) That field roots are so well
adapted to milk production that, under many conditions,
they may be fed for such a use, even in conjunction with
corn and more especially with dry corn fodder. (4) That
field roots have higher adaptation for young animals than
corn, and that in consequence, the farmer should aim to
provide young animals with such food even in areas well
suited to the growing of corn.
The root crops discussed are: (1) Mangels, (2) sugar
beets, (3) rutabagas and turnips and (4) carrots. The tu-
bers dwelt upon are: (1) Irish potatoes, (2) sweet pota-
toes, (3) artichokes and (4) cassava. The miscellaneous
crops included in the discussion are: (1) Cabbage, (2)
pumpkins, (3) squash and (4) peanuts. The tops of roots
and tubers are also considered with reference to their feed-
ing value.
Mangels.—Mangels may be successfully grown in
some portion of every state in the Union and of every
province of Canada. Although they grow best where the
temperatures are moderate and the climate is reasonably
moist, they will stand more heat and drought than rutabagas
or turnips. The yields ordinarily run all the way from ten
FOOD FROM FIELD ROOTS AND TUBERS 325
to 20 tons an acre, the average under American conditions
being about 15 tons, but far higher yields are easily attain-
able. The yields are usually higher than those of sugar
beets and the labor of growing them is much less. Mangels,
when grown, are easily injured by frost, even before they
are harvested. The longer that mangels can be kept, the
more they improve for feeding. This at least is true of them
for several months subsequent to maturity, and it results
from chemical changes which take place in the roots. If fed
in large quantities for some weeks subsequently to maturity,
they tend to produce scouring. The highest use of mangels
when fed to stock is to promote growth in young animals
and to stimulate milk production. As with all classes of field
roots, mangels have a higher feeding value than chemistry
assigns tothem, especially when fed in small quantities.
More commonly they are sliced or pulped before being fed,
except when feeding them to swine.
For cattle of all classes, when on dry food, mangels are
excellent and more especially when much of the food fed is
carbonaceous, as in the case of corn. A few pounds fed daily
to calves before and subsequently to weaning, and to grow-
ing cattle in winter, will tend to promote increase in frame
and muscle in a marked degree. Usually not more than 20
to 30 pounds per day are fed to cows giving milk, but larger
amounts may be fed without harm. They do not taint the
milk, hence they are preferred to rutabagas and turnips for
milch cows. The quantities named will also be suitable for
animals that are being fattened under ordinary conditions in
America, although as much as 100 pounds daily per animal
is sometimes fed to cattle that are being fattened in Great
Britain. :
For sheep, mangels are nearly or quite as valuable
relatively as in feeding cattle. Finely sliced, they are much
relished by lambs. Two to four pounds a day fed to breed-
ing ewes previous to lambing and larger amounts subse-
quently, prove very helpful to them. As much as 20 pounds
per day is in some instances fed to large sheep that are be-
320 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
ing fattened but such feeding would seem excessive in cold
climates and under American conditions would prove costly.
Even when fed to breeding ewes in very large quantities,
there is some hazard that urinary troubles may follow, and
such hazard is increased in the case of rams.
For swine of all ages, mangels may usually be fed with
profit, when not getting other succulent food. They are
too bulky for feeding in large quantities to young swine or
to swine that are being fattened, but to brood sows in win-
ter they may be fed so freely as to form the bulk of the ra-
tion. When swine are first put upon a ration of new corn,
a few pounds of mangels daily help to balance the ration.
The Michigan experiment station has demonstrated the
feasibility of harvesting mangels with swine so as to cheap-
en materially the cost of production. The swine are given
grain in addition. The amount required is less than 50 per
cent of what would otherwise be needed during the first
part of the grazing, but toward its close, more grain would
be required to properly finish the swine. Under all condi-
tions of forced feeding or fattening with grain, a pound or
two or even more of mangels fed daily will aid in regulat-
ing the digestion. Swine feeding after cattle that are being
fed corn heavily, will be more healthy and thrifty if given
angels in addition, and will also withstand a visitation of
hog cholera better than those not so fed. Swine are more
fond of mangels than of rutabagas, turnips or carrots.
To horses, mangels are not much fed under American
conditions, but there are no good reasons for not feeding
them more or less when obtainable. Moderate amounts
will aid in keeping the digestion of horses in tone as well as
in the case of other stock. A few pounds fed daily
with dry food will materially aid in giving draft foals
that development of bone and muscle that is so much
desired in this class of horses, and will prove greatly help-
ful to idle horses and brood mares in winter, but small
amounts only should be fed to horses at hard work.
FOOD FROM FIELD ROOTS AND TUBERS 327
Sugar beets.—Compared with other field roots, sugar
beets have a high feeding value, but the cost of growing
them as grown for the factory, is considerably more than
that of growing mangels under similar conditions. It is also
more than would furnish an equal tonnage of rutabagas
where the conditions are favorable to the growth of the lat-
ter. Tor feeding live stock, therefore, it is usually considered
preferable to grow mangels or rutabagas. The labor involved
in thinning and harvesting sugar beets is much more than
that called for in thinning and harvesting either of the crops
named. But there are varieties of sugar beets that have
special adaptation for being grown for live stock, owing to
their large size. The sugar content of these is higher than
that of mangels, hence they are more suitable for certain
kinds of feeding. Sugar beets, like mangels, may be grown
in some portions of almost every state in the Union, and in
many of the provinces of Canada. Owing to the high
sugar content of sugar beets, they are more highly relished
than other field roots and are also more valuable for fat pro-
duction, but they are not more valuable for feeding young
animals to promote growth, and are probably less valuable
for producing milk.
As in the case of mangels they are usually fed sliced or
pulped, but when fed to swine and especially to brood sows,
they are generally fed whole. In practice, the difference in
the feeding value of sugar beets and sugar beet pulp is less
than chemical analysis would assign to these.
By cattle, sugar beets are highly relished. From
10 pounds downward may be fed daily to calves ac-
cording to their age with gratifying results. Young cattle
on dry roughage will take larger amounts. Milch cows will
make good use of 20 to 30 pounds per day in the absence of
corn ensilage, and smaller amounts in conjunction with the
same. But, of course, it is not absolutely necessary to feed
sugar beets to dairy cows that are being given a liberal al-
lowance of corn ensilage. To cattle that are being fattened,
large amounts may be fed daily, limited only by the cost and
328 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
the capacity of the animals to consume them. Economy,
however, points in the direction of the very moderate feed-
ing of roots under American conditions, owing to the cost
of growing them.
For sheep, sugar beets are excellent when fed to breed-
ing ewes on dry feed. They are also particularly good for
milk lambs that are being pushed for the market. For fat-
tening sheep and lambs, sugar beets should be fed along with
grain, notwithstanding their high sugar content. They are
too bulky a food to admit of feeding them alone for fatten-
ing along with hay.
For swine of all ages, sugar beets are excellent, espe-
cially for growing swine. They are greatly relished by
young animals and furnish an economical food for them
when fed as part of the ration. Brood sows will winter
nicely and cheaply on them with a small amount of grain
added. A small quantity will be found helpful far beyond the
cost, to animals that are being pushed along by heavy feed-
ing of grain. Experiments conducted in feeding sugar beets
to swine, have shown that from 4 to 8 pounds of sugar beets
are equal to 1 pound of barley.
To horses, sugar beets are not much fed, but
when available, moderate quantities will be as helpful
relatively to young horses as to young stock of other
classes. To horses that are at work, the same limitations
in feeding should be observed as in feeding other roots,
which means that they should not be fed to the extent of
relaxing the bowels unduly.
Rutabagas and turnips.—The rutabaga is a variety of
turnip which it is thought originated in Sweden, hence in
Great Britain and Canada they are commoniy designated
Swedish turnips. They are by far the most commonly
grown and also the most valuable of the turnip family, ow-
ing to the firmness of the bulbs and the long period during
which they may be kept. Turnips, as distinguished from
rutabagas, grow more quickly than the latter, are less firm
in flesh, and do not retain their good feeding qualities so
FOOD FROM FIELD ROOTS AND TUBERS 329
long as the former. The methods of growing the different
varieties is substantially the same, although on suitable soiis
and at proper elevations, they may be grown over wide
areas of the United States, the conditions best suited to
their growth being on good, sandy loam soils where the tem-
peratures in the growing season are moderate to cool, and
where the atmosphere is moist. Large areas in Canada are
admirably adapted to the growing of both. All kinds of
turnips are at their best for feeding when the crop is first
harvested, but rutabagas especialy retain their good feed-
ing properties for a long period. More commonly these
roots are sliced or pulped before feeding them, except, of
course, when they are fed off by sheep where they grew.
This practice, very common in Great Britain, is quite feas-
ible in those portions of the United States where the soil is
not heavy, and where frost does not lock the ground early in
the season, but more commonly it is necessary both in this
country and in Canada to store the crop for future feeding.
For cattle of all classes and ages, as a food adjunct
both rutabagas and turnips are excellent, except that
when fed to cows giving milk, both the milk and butter
resulting will possess the odor of the roots unless they are
fed with caution. From say 10 pounds downwards, fed
daily to calves, according to age, will aid materially in the
absence of other green food in maintaining them in good
thrift, and in securing satisfactory development of bone and
muscle. To young cattle, yarded in winter, and maintained
chiefly or wholly on inferior hay or straw, they may be fed
with much benefit up to that limit which would make feed-
ing them too costly. Along with straw, 10 to 15 pounds a
day will insure both thrift and growth in such animals. To
cattle that are being fattened, 100 pounds per day is some-
times fed in Great Britain. Such feeding of roots would be
too costly under American conditions. Such cattle in this
country, if fed rutabagas or turnips at all, are seldom fed
more than Io to 20 pounds per animal, daily. Milch cows may
330 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
be fed similar amounts without much hazard of taint in the
milk, providing thev are fed night and morning just after
each milking.
For sheep, rutabagas and turnips have been used to
a greater extent probably than in feeding any other class
of live stock. When fed freely to young lambs, in a finely
sliced condition, they aid materially in starting them into
vigorous growth. When pregnant ewes are being given
leguminous fodders, it is thought that large quantities
of rutabagas or turnips in addition tend to produce lambs
abnormally large, but deficient in vitality. From 2 to 4
pounds a day will probably be enough, but subsequently
to lambing they may be fed in much larger quantities.
Sheep may be fattened almost entirely on grain and
turnips. |. When so fattened, the roots may be fed up
to the limit of the capacity of the sheep to consume them.
But such fattening is far too costly for American condi-
tions. Only a few pounds daily are usually fed to such
sheep when fed at all.
To swine, rutabagas and turnips may be fed as a
part of the ration when not on succulent pasture, and
more especially while they are being grown, but they
are not so fond of them as of sugar beets or mangels. They
may be fed sliced, pulped or whole and with or witaoue the
tops. There may be instances in which they may aid in har-
vesting the crop, as when turnips are sown along with the
small cereals. Brood sows turn them to good account in win-
ter when a small amount of grain is fed in addition. When
the labor conditions will admit of it, they may sometimes be
fed with profit to pigs that are being fattened, when cooked
and mixed with meal.
To horses of all ages, though not commonly fed,
both rutabagas and turnips may be so fed. They are
commonly sliced or pulped when fed thus. When pulped
they are usually mixed with cut fodder. One pound of
hay has a feeding value equal to 4 pounds of rutabagas.
FOOD FROM FIELD ROOTS AND TUBERS 331
Carrots.—The carrot is one of the surest root crops
that can be grown in the United States, and it may also be
grown under the greatest variety of conditions. It is also
one of the most valuable when it is grown. Nevertheless,
it is probably grown to a less extent as a food for live stock
than any other root crop devoted to such feeding. This
arises, first, from the relatively large amount of labor in-
volved in keeping the crop clean, and second, from the rel-
atively large amount of the same called for in harvesting
and storing the roots, which do not usually grow so large
as other field roots. They furnish an excellent and safe
food for all classes of farm animals. As with other field
roots, they have a physiological value, so to speak, in addi-
tion to their feeding value, especially when the other food
fed is dry. To produce this effect, it is not necessary to feed
a large quantity. Notwithstanding, carrots are so safe a
food that they may be fed in large quantities where such
feeding will prove economical. It is not necessary to slice
them for feeding unless when they are being fed to young
calves or to lambs.
For cattle of all classes, carrots furnish an excellent
food. A few pounds fed daily to calves will add greatly
to their development, especially when the fodder fed
is dry. They may be fed with the utmost freedom to milch
cows, and without any fear of tainting the milk. They tend
greatly to stimulate milk production in cows on winter ra-
tions. For milk production they may be fed up to the limit
of at least 30 pounds daily, when they are not too costly.
When they can be spared for such a use, a few pounds fed
daily to cattle that are being wintered on dry fodder wiil
result in great benefit to them. They will also tend to pro-
duce rapid gains when fed to cattle that are being fattened,
but they are usually too costly a food to admit of feeding
them thus.
For sheep, carrots are as valuable relatively as for cat-
tle. From I to 3 pounds daily in the winter will add
much to the thrift of store sheep and breeding ewes kept on
332 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
dry food. For sheep that are being fattened, carrots will
usually be found too costly, but a few pounds fed daily way
be in order under some conditions.
For swine, tests conducted in Denmark have shown
that on the basis of dry matter, carrots and mangels were
about equal in feeding value. This would mean that pound
for pound, carrots would be more valuable than mangels
for such feeding, but the difference is not great, On the
other hand, carrots are not so much relished by swine as
mangels. The highest value from feeding carrots to swine
will probably come from feeding them to brood sows in
winter along with grain. Nutriment in the carrots will usu-
ally be furnished more cheaply than an equal amount of nu-
triment in the grain.
For horses of all classes, carrots have been found valu-
able. In Ontario, Canada, considerable quantities of carrots
are grown for such feeding. A few pounds per day are
excellent for promoting thrift and growth in weanling foals
and also in those of more advanced age. They are excellent
for keeping in tone the digestion of horses wintered on dry
food, more especially when it is composed mainly of straw.
Horses at work can also use a moderate amount to advan-
tage, but, owing to the large amount of water which they
contain, the quantity fed should be moderate, usually not
more than a few pounds per day. They are also much
prized in providing food for stallions when fitting them for
service and also for the show-ring. Usually not more than
12 to 15 pounds per day are fed. They act beneficially on
the glands of the skin and thereby improve the coat.
Irish potatoes.—Potatoes of a quality that would fit
them for the market may sometimes be fed with profit to
various classes of farm animals when market values run so
low as to justify such feeding, but they are seldom or never
grown primarily for feeding live stock. Field roots, as
mangels and rutabagas, can usually be grown so as to pro-
duce more nutrients per acre than potatoes and at less cost,
FOOD FROM FIELD ROOTS AND TUBERS 333
while the former are also more highly relished. Those re-
jected for cooking, however, because of insufficient size or
because unshapely, may always be turned to good account
when judiciously fed to farm animals.
Potatoes are rick in starch and, therefore, may be used
with profit under some conditions in fattening animals,
more especially swine. They are so bulky, however, and
contain so much water, that it has been found more profit-
able when feeding them for fat production to remove much
of the water by first cooking them. To other classes of
stock they are more commonly fed raw. But potatoes, old
and shrivelled, or that have sprouted, should not be so fed,
as they contain a principle, solanim which is dangerous to
live stock and which is removed by boiling the tubers. Like
all classes of tubers and field roots, they have a beneficial
influence on the digestion apart from the nutritive value,
consequently when fed to farm animals maintained on dry
food, they aid in keeping the digestion in tone. Except
when fed to swine and grown sheep, they should usually be
sliced. Cattle may choke on them when fed whole.
To cattle of all classes, potatoes may be fed with more
or less benefit when they can be spared for such feeding,
unless when the animals are being maintained on succulent
food. A few pounds only should be fed to calves daily.
Cows in milk skould not be given potatoes in large quanti-
ties except in conjunction with protein foods, owing to the:r
highly carbonaceous character, otherwise they may tend too
much to the production of fat rather than milk. With such
foods in plentiful supply, as many as 15 to 20 pounds per
day may be fed without harmful results. Cattle that are be-
ing fattened will take as much as 30 pounds per day, but
usually smaller quantities will suffice.
To sheep, a few pounds fed daily when on dry feed
will aid materially in promoting thrift in the flock. Usually
2 to 4 pounds may be fed with benefit to breeding sheep not
on grass. Twice these amounts and even more may be fed
to sheep that are being fattened. When sliced they may
334 FELVING FARM ANIMALS
be fed with satisfaction to milk lambs that are being pushed
for the market. There may also be instances in which they
may be allowed to feed on cull potatoes in the field.
For swine, especially when they are being fattened, po-
tatoes are relatively more valuable than for other classes of
live stock. They may be fed raw, but experience has shown
that when cooked, the gains resulting aré materially in-
creased. They may be cooked by steaming or boiling. If
cooked by boiling, as little water should be used as will suf-
fice. Meal is then added and the whole is made into a mash.
If cooked squashes or pumpkins are added, the ration will
be cheapened, but such food is rather adapted to growing
swine. Danish experiments have shown that 4 pounds
of potatoes were required to make as much increase with
swine as I pound of grain. Wisconsin experiments have
shown that 4% pounds fed raw are required to make as
much increase as I pound of corn. Swine do not relish
them when made into a thin slop. When cull potatoes are
left as they fell from the digger, swine may be used in
gathering them up, but should be given some grain also in
addition.
Horses at work may be given from 10 to 12 pounds of
raw potatoes daily. If fed larger quantities, there would
be some tendency to an unduly lax condition of the bowels.
Even larger amounts may be fed to brood mares and horses
not at work, especially when they are in a low condition.
Half the amounts named above should suffice for weanling
foals.
Sweet potatoes.—These are primarily grown as food
for man and yet they may be profitably grown as food for
live stock in certain areas of those portions of the United
States that are favored with a mild climate, so mild that no
frost is present for 150 days during the period of growth,
and the midnight temperatures do not reach lower than 45°.
Although they have highest adaptation for being fed to
swine, they are frequently fed also to cows, and may be fed
to all classes of domestic animals on the farm. The yields of
FOOD FROM FIELD ROOTS AND TUBERS 335
the coarse growing varieties are sometimes very large, as
large as 9 to 12 tons of tubers per acre, and in some instances
the enormous production of 18 tons per acre has been
reached. The average yields, however, are considerably
lower than 9 tons per acre. To grow the crop at its best,
requires a loam soil, inclining to sandy, porous and natu-
rally fertile or made so. Sweet potatoes may be grown even
for live stock, southward from the Potomac and Ohio riv-:
ers, in the East, and southward from the latitude of Des
Moines, [owa, and in the mountain valleys, southward from
say Walla Walla in Washington in the West. They are usu-
ally fed in the sliced form except when fed to swine. The
perishable nature of sweet potatoes tends to shorten the sea-
son for feeding them, and to encourage the feeding of the
crop as soon as is reasonable after it has matured.
For cattle, the aim should be to feed leguminous ad-
juncts along with sweet potatoes. Though relatively better
adapted for fattening than for milk production, they are
more commonly fed for the latter end. A few pounds fed
daily to calves and young cattle will aid them materially.
Large quantities may be fed with safety to beef cattle, but
moderate quantities will probably be found relatively more
profitable. In some instances 40 to 45 pounds per day have
been fed to cows in milk. But these quantities would seem
excessive of a food so rich in carbohydrates. The results
will probably be more satisfactory when not more than 15
to 20 pounds are fed daily along with concentrates such as
soy bean or cottonseed meal.
To sheep, sweet potatoes are seldom given, largely
for the reason that where they are grown most extensively,
sheep are not much grown. They may be used with ad-
vantage in feeding off the tops before the crop is har-
vested. For sheep that are being grazed on such pas-
ture as cowpeas or Japan clover, especially with a view to
fattening them, sweet potatoes should furnisk a very suit-
able complement. A few pounds fed daily should suffice,
but heavier feeding may also sometimes be in order.
336 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
For swine, sweet potatoes are better adapted to fur-
nishing food than for other classes of live stock, as
in addition to being very much relished by swine, they
are a good food for fattening them, and they may. also be
harvested by the swine. Being a bulky food, some concen-
trated food should be fed along with them. I[or suck feed-
ing cowpeas and soy beans are very suitable, but corn may
also be fed so as to form one-half the concentrate. When
swine are thus fattened on sweet potatoes, they should not
be required to glean closely lest the exertion thus made
should be too much for the best gains to result. * Such
gleaning should be done by store swine.
For horses and mules, at work in the South, sweet
potatoes are frequently fed. For such feeding they have
been found quite suitable when fed sliced along with corn
or other grain, in the proportion of say 3 pounds of
potatoes to 1 pound of grain. There would seem to be no
reasons why they should not be fed in moderation to foals
and to young horses not yet matured, when they can be
spared for such feeding.
Jerusalem artichokes.—These may be successfully
grown in nearly all parts of the United States and Canada.
The tops are sometimes used in providing food tor stock
where intensive conditions prevail, but even under such con-
ditions, the chief value of the crop lies in the tubers. They
are more watery than potatoes, but are richer in protein. In
feeding value they have been found fully equal to potatoes,
viewed from the standpoint of practical results. Their abil-
ity to resist frost without injury adds much to their eco-
nomic importance, as it makes it possible to harvest them
with swine or otherwise even after the winter has gone.
The yields vary greatly with varying conditions, but 200 to
300 bushels per acre may be readily grown under average
conditions. The persistency with which artichokes remain
in the soil is one objection to growing them.
For cattle, the feeding value of artichokes is much the
same as that of potatoes, and about the same quantities may
FOOD FROM FIELD ROOTS AND TUBERS 337
be profitably fed. It is not probable, however, that they
will ever be much grown as food for cattle because of the
labor required in handling them for winter feeding, when
they are more valuable relatively than at otker seasons.
They furnish good food for calves, for store cattle in win-
ter and for cows in milk, also for cattle that are being fat-
tened, when they can be spared for such feeding.
For sheep, both the roots and tops of the plants may
be used in providing food. Sheep soon come to be fond
of both, but, of course, they do not consume the woody
portion of the stalk. Store sheep and breeding flocks will
be much benefited from supplementing the other dry food
fed with 2 or 3 pounds of artichokes per day. The less
cost, however, of handling field roots, will to a great ex-
tent, preclude the growing of artichokes as a food for
sheep.
For swine, the best and chief use of artichokes con-
sists in furnishing them with food. They may be fed to. swine
at any age subsequently to the weaning period. When used
as a part of the fattening ration, they may be fed in the same
way as potatoes, that is cooked and fed along with meal.
(See p. 334.) But their highest use in feeding swine is
found in the food which they furnish to growing swine and
brood sows when harvested by these. Ordinarily the labor
of harvesting artichokes by swine that are being fattened is
so much that it would so far prove adverse to laying on
flesh. This labor, however, is very beneficial to brood sows,
especially when they are pregnant. It furnishes them that
degree of exercise which tends so much to promote stamina
in the young animals when born. Swine that are being
grown will be much aided in their development by having
access to a field of artichokes, but a grain supplement is
necessary to promote quick growth and it is also nec-
essary though not in quantity so large for brood
sows that are feeding thus on artichokes. The milder
the climate, the more prolonged may be the feeding season,
because of the shorter period during which the ground is
frozen.
338 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
For horses, tests made in feeding artichokes have
shown that they are excellent. They are also fond of them.
They have been fed to horses to the extent of making a
reduction of 50 per cent in the hay required with results that
were satisfactory. They may be fed whole to all classes of
stock, but in some instances they are sliced.
Cassava.—This is a tropical or sub-tropical American
shrub of the genus Manihot and the order Euphorbiacee. It
is a shrub-like plant at the base of which grow prong-like tu-
bers. These are more or less extensively used in feeding
live stock in the Gulf states. It is best grown on sandy land,
and the yields range from 2 or 3 tons to 15 tons per
acre. The tubers are exceedingly rich in starch, and they
have been much grown during recent years to supply mills
erected for the express purpose of manufacturing starch
from them.
As the plants may be grown as annuals or perennials,
and as it is not usual to dig them as food for stock during
the active period of growth, they are seldom extensiveiy
used in feeding animals from May 1 to November 1. In
other words, it is usual to feed them during other months
of the year. As under ordinary conditions of exposure,
they do not keep long when unearthed, they are usually dug
as wanted for feeding. Should the supply be in excess of
the needs for feeding, the unharvested residue may be left
in the soil to increase for feeding the following season.
The increase made, however, is partly counterbalanced by
increase in woody fibre in the tubers. In addition to fur-
nishing wholesome food for quadrupeds on the farm, they
are coming to be much prized as a food for poultry. The
tubers do not call for any other preparation than slicing,
when they are being made ready for feeding.
For cattle, cassava tubers are very valuable, more
especially when they are to be fattened. When properly
fed to milch cows they also aid materially in the produc-
tion of milk. Such feeding should only be done in con-
junction with a liberal supply of protein foods, such as
FOOD FROM FIELD ROOTS AND TUBERS 339
cottonseed meal and cowpea or other leguminous fod-
der. It is said that the free feeding of cassava to cows
tends to give the milk a reddish tint and high color to the
butter. Cottonseed meal fed with cassava aids in firming
the butter. For beef production, as much as 20 to 25 pounds
is sometimes fed to one animal daily. When thus fed, the
cassava will go far to take the place of corn. For such
feeding, the roots may be sliced with a spade in the absence
of a cutting box:
For sheep, cassava has not been much used, but for
such feeding it will doubtless be found quite as useful
as for feeding cattle. Its highest use in feeding sheep will
be in fattening them. From 4 to 6 pounds per day
would probably be found ample for mature sheep along
with suitable adjuncts.
For swine, cassava has proved an excellent food.
They become very fond of it, and it may be. fed to
them even to the extent of producing excessive fatness.
For young and growing swine it should be fed along with
such foods as shorts or cowpeas. It should only be fed in
moderate quantities to brood sows that are pregnant, but
may be fed with much freedom to swine that are being fat-
tened. Swine should never be allowed to harvest the crop,
as the portions brought to the surface and unused by the
swine would soon spoil, but the practice of allowing swine
to glean in fields from which a crop has been harvested is
commendable, as they search out and consume portions of
broken prongs that have been left in the ground.
For horses and mules at work, when cassava is fed,
the grain feed may be reduced proportionately. Cassava
and corn do not make so suitable a food as cassava and
oats, since the latter have a higher protein content than
corn. If cottonseed meal is fed to horses (see p. 286), a
small amount fed daily should answer well to feed with
cassava. When large amounts of cassava are fed daily to
horses, the aim should be to feed leguminous fodders along
with it. Should it be fed to young animals also, the aim
should be the same.
340 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
Cabbage.—This plant is usually primarily grown as food
for the human family, but in some instances it is also grown
as food for live stock, and even when grown primarily as
food for the human family, the residue of leaves furnishes
excellent food for some classes of live stock. No kind of
green crop is grown over a wider area. The soil and climate,
however, of northwestern prairies have highest adaptation
for the growth of this plant. On-such soils as many as 24
tons of heads per acre have been grown, not including a large
amount of leaves. The leaves may be gathered and fed to
live stock after the heads have been removed, or they may
be fed off by sheep or even by swine where they grew. [a
some instances the entire crop is grazed down by skeep in
the late autumn. Cabbage furnishes excellent food for
some kinds of farm animals in winter, but the labor in-
volved in storing them is such as to make the feeding of
cabbage too expensive, unless when they are fed to milk
lambs in order to hasten their development for the market.
In some latitudes, however, the winters are so mild that cab-
bage will not take serious harm though left exposed where
they grew. In such instances, the leaves and soft heads
may be fed with profit to cows, ewes and brood sows.
For cattle, the highest use of cabbage is found
in feeding them to cows for the production of milk. The
leaves and soft or immature heads may thus be fed
with satisfactory results, at least in a limited way. They
are excellent for stimulating milk production. The plan of
grazing cows on areas from which a crop of cabbage has
been removed is not to be commended, as such grazing is
likely to result in-too lax a condition of the bowels, and it
may also result in tainting the milk, more especially when
decayed or partially decayed leaves are present. Such food
will be helpful to calves, but even for them, the results are
more satisfactory when the amount of cabbage or leaves
fed is restricted. They are seldom or never fed to cattle
that are being fattened.
FOOD FROM FIELD ROOTS AND TUBERS 341
For sheep, the best results, all things considered, are
probably obtained from feeding cabbage, and in no way
can they be more profitably fed than by grazing them
off where they grew. An enormous amount of food per
acre can thus be furnished from a crop of cabbage grown
under favorable conditions, more than can be obtained from
rape, but more labor is involved in growing cabbage. The
grazing of cabbage may be continued later than the graz-
ing of rape, as cabbage take less injury from frost. As
when grazing down rape, the results will be more satisfac-
tory when the sheep may have access also to a grass pas-
ture in an advanced stage of growth. Sheep also answer
admirably for gleaning in areas from which the merchant-
able heads have been removed. In mild latitudes sheep may
be thus grazed far on into the winter, but on stiff clay soils,
such grazing would tend to impact the land.
For swine, rejected cabbage may be profitably uti-
lized at any season and under nearly all conditions of
feeding, but the crop is never grown primarily for
such a use. Cabbage leaves and soft cabbage may be fed to
swine at all times, or they may be allowed to glean amid the
unharvested portions of a crop after removing the market-
able heads, but the waste will be greater than when sheep
are used for such grazing. The rejected heads from stored
cabbage may be better utilized by swine than by other stock,
as they are less harmed by consuming partially decayed
heads than other classes of live stock would be.
To horses, cabbage are seldom fed, but there are
no reasons why they should not be fed to colts and
brood mares except those which arise from inconvenience
in feeding them. To work horses they would have to be
fed with prudent caution.
Pumpkins.—This crop may be grown successfully un-
der any conditions that are favorable to the growth of a crop
of corn. They are very frequently grownin the corn crop,
and they may be grown thus without in any way. retarding
the growth of the corn, but they are also frequently sown as
342 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
the sole crop occupying the land. Tke small varieties are gen-
erally used as food for man, but more commonly the large
varieties are fed to the various classes of animals kept upon
the farm. The use of the binder in cutting corn will prob-
ably tend to lessen the growth of pumpkins in this crop, as
unless removed in advance of the binder, they are much li-
able to be broken by the same. They are easily injured by
frost, and when so injured will soon spoil, hence, the aim
should be to feed them in the autumn and early winter, as
the labor of storing them is considerable in proportion to
their feeding value. Those immature will decay more read-
ily than pumpkins fully matured, hence, the aim should be
to feed them first. When feeding pumpkins, they are usu-
ally cut open with the spade, and for some kinds of feeding
are cut into smaller pieces.
For cattle of all classes, pumpkins furnish excellent
food, but they are most highly prized for feeding
cows in milk. When so fed, the practice is common of
drawing them daily or twice a day from the place where
they grew to the pastures. They are then tossed out of the
wagon, and in falling, the concussion usually breaks them
open, so that further division is not necessary. Cows are
exceedingly fond of them, and may with safety be allowed
to consume them in large quantities. The claim has been
made that the seeds are adverse to free milk giving, but
this claim has not been sustained by the experience of feed-
ers. The free feeding of pumpkins is highly favorable to
abundant milk production. Pumpkins should always be fed
in a clean place, hence, when fed to cattle in pastures, the
exact place of feeding should be changed from day to day.
They should be finely sliced when fed to calves. For such
feeding they are highly suitable.
By sheep, pumpkins are much relished and also by
lambs, as soon as they become accustomed to them. They
will learn to eat them more quickly if first sliced and salted.
They may be fed to sheep in the same way as to cattle. Ex-
cept for a few days at the first, they may be allowed to eat
FOOD FROM FIELD ROOTS AND TUBERS 343
them with much freedom, They will be found of much
value in promoting development in lambs kept for breeding
uses.
To swine, pumpkins are frequently fed with new
corn. When so fed, they correct impaired digestion
and improve the appetite. The portion of the crop that
is immature is more commonly fed to swine than to other
stock, as swine will consume pumpkins even when in partial
decay which would be rejected by other farm stock. The
practice which grows low-growing varieties of corn that
produce ears abundantly, with pumpkins plentifully inter-
spersed, and which consumes both crops with swine, is to be
commended. It is labor saving and the combination makes
excellent food for fattening swine.
By horses, pumpkins are much relished but they
are seldom fed to them, as it is usually more con-
venient to feed them to other classes of live stock. In the
absence of other green food, they render good service when
fed to weanling foals. They must, of course, be fed with
some caution to horses at work, as they may relax the bow-
els too much when fed over freely.
Squash.—This plant, commonly grown to provide food
for man, is in some instances grown to specially pro-
vide food for swine. On ground properly prepared, when
all the conditions are suitable, many tons may be grown on
an acre. Preference should be given to the soft shelled va-
rieties when of suitable size, otherwise the rinds may prove
so hard as to make it difficult for animals to consume them,
unless they are first softened by cooking. As considerable
care and labor are involved in storing them so that they will
l:eep into and through the winter montks, and as they are
easily injured by frost, the aim should be to feed them in the
autumn, and to feed first any that may be immature, as they
are the most perishable. Unless when feeding them to
swine, it is necessary to slice or break them open as with a
spade, and even when fed to swine, the hard shelled varie-
ties should be thus prepared. When squashes are fed to
344 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS’
live stock on dry food, as in tke case of field roots, they have
a physiological value in addition to the food which they
furnish (see p. 51).
For cattle of all classes, squash may, of course, be
fed when they can be spared for such feeding, but tkey
are most prized for producing milk and are, therefore, more
frequently fed to cows than to other classes of cattle.
Where large areas are grown for the market, rejected
squash, usually available in large quantities, may be turned
to good account by feeding them to cows in milk. No harm
probably will result from feeding them in liberal suppiy
when they can be spared, unless the amount fed should too
much relax the bowels. Usually, however, the most profit ©
is made by feeding such adjuncts in moderate quantities,
otherwise the benefit resulting in addition to nutrients fur-
nished, may not be secured to the fullest extent. When the
pastures dry in the autumn, squashes make an excellent
supplementary food.
By sheep, squashes are much relished, though for a time
they may refuse to eat them if not accustomed to them. Es-
pecially is this true of lambs. When fed to sheep in the
autumn before the rinds have too muck hardened, they will
materially aid in promoting growth in lambs that have
been weaned, and in bringing flesh to breeding flocks.
For swine, squash are an excellent adjunct when fed in
the autumn. The most profit, when the labor in-
volved is considered, is probably obtained from feeding
them in the autumn along with new corn fed in the stalk or
in tke snapped form. The squashes are available at such a
time, the rinds are less hard than later, and when fed at that
season the cost of storing is avoided. Moreover, they fur-
nish an excellent adjunct to such corn feeding, as they have
a corrective influence on the digestion. A few weeks of
such feeding aids in a marked degree in fitting the system
for the heavy grain feeding that follows during the fatten-
ing period. For such feeding, one good sized squash fed
daily to an animal weighing about 150 pounds will serve a
FOOD FROM FIELD ROOTS AND TUBERS 345
good purpose, but more, of course, may be fed with benefit
if available. lor later feeding, especially to swine that are
being fattened, they are frequently cooked by steaming
along with meal, and when so prepared, the mixture is fed
as a mash, Rejected squash with the hardest rinds may thus
be turned to good account.
By horses, although some kinds of squash are eaten,
in the nature of things tney are not likely to be much used
for such feeding. Relatively they are usually more valuable
to feed to swine or to cows giving milk.
Peanuts.—This tuber has been grown chiefly to provide
rood for man, in the United States, but during recent years,
they are also grown for live stock, more especially for
swine, which harvest the crop in the fields where they grew.
The tops also furnish hay that is much relished by live
stock. The peanut crop may be grown successfully as far
north as parallel 43°, where the soil conditions are suitable,
but it has centered heretofore in the light soils of the At-
lantic and Gulf states. That more food for swine may be
grown from an acre of peanuts on the light soils of the
South than from an acre of corn, is generally conceded by
those who are conversant with the conditions for growing
the two crops. With skillful cultivation, as many as 50
bushels of peanuts per acre may be grown on soils of only
moderate fertility, weighing from 22 to 28 pounds per
bushel. The nuts furnish one of the richest protein foods
for live stock that is grown in this country. After the oil
has been expressed, the cake resulting is fully equal to oil
cake (see p. 300). The hulls also, when ground, furnish a
valuable food. (See p. 346.)
For cattle, the nuts are not much used as food, for
the reason that unless stained or otherwise injured for
sale, they are too valuable for suck feeding. In some
instances, however, more or less of the nuts adhere to
the vines which are fed as hay, dependent upon the mode of
harvesting. If the vines are not removed before the crop is
harvested, the rejected peanuts are sometimes fed as hay
340 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
along with the vines. When thus fed, the value of the hay
is proportionately increased. Without any peanuts adher-
ing, the hay is nearly equal in value to peanut hay. Re-
jected nuts, in the form of meal, may be ground alone or
along with hulls and fed to cattle and other stock. The
richness of such meal will be proportionate to the amount
of nuts and hulls respectively which the meal contains.
By sheep, the fodder and also the defective nuts will be
turned to good account as soon as they become accustomed to
such food. They may also be used with advantage in graz-
ing off the tops before the crop is harvested. No class of
live stock will effect such grazing with so little waste as
sheep. Peanut meal may be fed to them also as to cattle,
but the same necessity does not exist for grinding them for
sheep. The cake may be fed to sheep in about the same way
as oil cake.
For swine, peanuts have higher adaptation in fur-
nishing food than for any other class of live stock,
as swine only, of all the domestic animals of the farm, may
be employed in harvesting the crop. When thus harvested,
the tops are first removed by grazing them down with cat-
tle or sheep, preferably the latter, or they are mown to be
made into hay. When thus harvested by swine, it is greatly
advantageous at the same time to give them access to about
an equal area of corn, or to feed them a supplement of corn
‘daily. It has been claimed that a bushel of peanuts, weigh-
ing from 22 to 28 pounds, will make 9 pounds of pork,
in other words, that 3 pounds of peanuts will make 1
pound of pork, whereas about 5 pounds of corn are re-
quired to make the same. The crop may, of course, be fed
to swine when confined in pens. When so fed, the tops are
first removed and the roots are then dug and placed before
the swine with the nuts adhering to them. Peanuts alone
make soft pork, hence the necessity for feeding a supple-
ment of corn in order to firm the pork.
For horses, peanuts whole or ground are not much
used. The hay from peanuts is frequently fed to them, and
FOOD FROM FIELD ROOTS AND TUBERS 347
the same is true of peanut cake or of the meal made from
the same. (See p. 300.) When peanut hay is fed to horses
with the nuts adhering, some caution should be exercised
owing to the richness of the food.
Tops of roots and tubers.—The various roots and tu-
bers, the tops of which may be used as food for stock, in-
clude mangels, sugar beets, rutabagas and turnips, carrots,
sweet potatoes, peanuts and artichokes. The tops of Irish po-
tatoes and cassava are possessed of little or no value for feed-
ing. The value of the tops of roots in feeding live stock is
measurably dependent on the way in which they are fed, and
on the relative cost of handling them. The tops of field roots
when fed, are either consumed in the field after the crop has
been removed, or are drawn daily and strewn over pastures
where live stock, may gather them, or they are fed in man-
gers. When gleaned by the stock in the field, they are much
liable to induce scouring because of their succulence and the
extent to which they aze consumed, but this tendency lessens
proportionately with the wilting of the leaves. Because of
this hazard, many growers simply spread them and then
plow them under for the benefit of the soil. Sheep will con-
sume them with less waste than other classes of live stock,
and if given access to an old pasture while thus consuming
the tops, the tendency to scours will be measurably removed.
When drawn and fed, the amount consumed, may of course,
be controlled. The tops of roots are specially valuable in
furnishing milk.
Mangel tops—The proportion of the tops to the roots
of mangels varies much with the variety. With most vari-
eties it is probably less, rather than more tkan 20 per cent.
The leaves of mangels are removed without any portion of
the root adhering to them, as in the case of sugar beets,
hence, they are less valuable relatively for feeding. Under
intensive conditions, the lower leaves are sometimes re-
moved from the growing crop and fed to live stock. This
may be done as it approaches maturity with little or no det-
riment to the crop. The leaves of both mangel and sugar
348 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
beets have considerable purgative properties, caused by the
large proportion of organic acids which they contain, a fact
that must be recognized when feeding them
Sugar beet tops——With sugar beets, the proportion of
the tops to the beets is large, usually more than 25 per cent,
owing to the fact that a considerable proportion of the root
is removed with the top when preparing the roots for the
factory. The feeding value of the tops, therefore, is very
considerable, but, because of the presence of oxalic acid in
the leaves, they should be fed with moderation. In some
countries of Europe, lime is sprinkled over the successive
layers which form the earth-covered heaps in which they
are sometimes kept for feeding, with a view to neutralize
the acid.
Turnip tops—The tops of rutabagas and turnips are
usually from 20 to 25 per cent of the entire crop. Live
stock are very fond of them and they do not possess purga- -
tive properties to nearly the same extent as beet leaves. But
they must be fed with caution and discretion to cows in
milk, or they will taint the same and also the butter made
from the milk. To avoid such a result, they should be con-
sumed only after each milking.
Carrot tops——The tops of carrots furnish from 20 to
25 per cent of the total weight of the crop, but the dry mat-
ter in the tops is somewhat greater than in the roots. Car-
rot tops, like those of turnips and rutabagas, do not relax
the bowels nearly as much as the tops of beets or mangels.
Nor do any of these taint milk as do rutabagas or turnips.
weet potato tops.—The tops of sweet potatoes, though
possessed of considerable feeding value, are seldom fed to
live stock, owing in a considerable degree to the difficulty of
harvesting the vines, because of the trailing character of
their growth. This does not apply to the vineless sorts,
which may be cut with the mower. In some instances they
are grazed down before the tubers are dug. Sheep are best
adapted to such grazing.
FOOD FROM FIELD ROOTS AND TUBERS 349
Peanut and artichoke tops.——These are sometimes fed
both in the green and dry form. The former make excellent
hay when cured with care (see p. 345). In some instances
they are grazed off by sheep. The latter are too woody to
allow of complete consumption, but the finer portions are
much relished by stock (see p. 336).
CHAPTER XVI
PREPARING FOODS FOR FEEDING.
In the discussion of this question, foods are considered
first, with reference to curing; second, to mechanical prep-
aration; third, to blending; and fourth, to softening before
feeding them. The discussion on curing considers: (1)
Curing in the green form, (2) curing in the dry form and
(3) storing. The discussion on their mechanical prepara-
tion considers: (1) Grinding or crushing grain, (2) pulp-
ing or slicing roots, and (3) chaffing and shredding fodders.
The discussion on blending considers: (1) Blending me-
chanically, and (2) blending chemically. The discussion on
softening considers: (1) Soaking foods, and (2) cooking
them before they are fed.
Curing foods green.—Foods are sometimes cured, that
is preserved, in the green form. When so preserved, the
curing, so to speak, is accomplished by excluding the air.
In some instances curing is done by placing the fodder
while yet green in a large mow and tramping so as to make
the mass lie closely. In other instances it is placed in stacks
and subjected to heavy pressure while these are in process
of erection. The aim is to exclude the air as far as possibie.
That remaining in the mass is removed by the keat which
develops through fermentation. Preserving green fodders
thus, though sometimes practiced in America, is not likely
to become popular in the near future for several reasons
that may be given. Chief among these is the reason that
green fodders may usually be preserved in silos with less of
labor and more of effectiveness, and they may also in nearly
all instances be more easily fed from the same.
A silo is simply a structure in which green food is pre-
served, usually in the cut form, and through the walls of
350
PREPARING FOODS FOR FEEDING 351
which the air cannot penetrate, at least to the extent of ap-
preciably injuring the fodder. When the food is cut, it is
the more easily preserved without waste and may also be
more easily fed out. Silos are built of wood, bricks, stone
or concrete. The circular form is preferred as it favors
quick and even settling of the contents.
Almost any kind of fodder may be preserved in the
silo by those who follow the correct methods peculiar to the
proper curing of each. But corn is used to a far greater
extent in filling silos than any other food. This is owing
to the large production per acre, to superior adaptation for
being cured thus, to the ready means which it furnishes for
disposing of the crop without husking out the corn, and to
its great value in general feeding. Next in adaptation are
the sorghums. In some instances fodders are mixed in the
silo while filling it with a view to aid in bringing the food
more nearly into balance. For instance, such nitrogenous
foods as soy beans are sometimes mixed in with corn.
The advantages from curing fodders and especially
corn in the silo are the following: (1) The silo preserves
food with but little waste even though the weather should
be unpropitious. (2) It preserves such fodders as corn and
the sorghums with little waste and insures for them more
complete consumption than would be ordinarily possible
from any other mode of curing. (3) It furnishes an ex-
cellent medium, and all prepared, with which to feed meal.
(4) It puts fodders, particularly. such coarse fodders as
corn and the sorghums in a condition that admits of feeding
it at a minimuni expenditure of labor. And (5) it may be
made to furnish succulence at all seasons of the year.
In feeding corn silage, unless it is removed at the rate
of one to two inches of the surface daily, the parts exposed
may take harm from the exposure. It is seldom advisable
to feed more than 30 to 40 pounds a day, even to a
dairy cow. Should ensilage become frozen, as it does some-
times around the edges of the silo, it may still be fed, if fed
352 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
at once after the frost has left it. Any who may desire fur-
ther information with reference to silos and silage, are re-
ferred to the book “‘Soiling Crops and the Silo,” by the au-
thor.
Curing foods dry.—It is only fodders that require to
be cured in the dry form. The curing of these in detail
cannot be discussed at this time. The curing of each is dis-
cussed at some length in other works written by the author
as, “Clovers and How to Grow Them,” “Grasses and How
to Grow Them,” “Cultivated Crops and How to Grow
Them,” and ‘Corn, the Sorghums and Sugar Cane.” Only
some points of superlative importance and general in char-
acter can be here given.
In curing fodders, whatsoever their character, the aim
should be to retain as far as possible the natural color of the
fodder when harvested, to cure with the least possible ex-
posure to rain, and to avoid an excessive loss of moisture.
Of course, the curing of the fodders must be carried far
enough to prevent them from moulding when stored The
natural color of the plants will be lost in proportion as they
are exposed to sunshine and to dew and rain. A certain
amount of exposure to sunshine is unavoidable and is ab-
solutely necessary to the curing of fodders, but the aim
should be not to expose them to sunshine longer than will
admit of completing their cure in the cock or shock. Un-
necessary exposure to sunshine results in loss of aroma in
all plants and leaves of legumes. The loss of aroma
means loss in palatability and serious loss in nutrition. Cito-
vers, for instance, properly cured, retain in a marked degree
the natural color of stem, leaf and blossom. When the
curing of fodders is completed in the cock or shock, only
the outer portions are thus injured by sunshine.
Dews and rain not only tend to darken the color in pro-
portion as they are heavy, but also in proportion as the ex-
posure is prolonged and severe. They also dissolve and
wash out of the plants much of the nutrition. The loss in
aroma, as in the case of exposure to sunlight, also increases
PREPARING FOODS FOR FEEDING 353
with the exposure to these influences. Legumes suffer the
most readily from exposure to. rain and dews, and corn fod-
ders are more easily harmed than sorghum. Legumes ex-
posed to much sunshine and to frequent wetting, at length
become almost valueless as food. The grasses, proper, will
suffer much less from such exposure and sorghum much
less than the grasses.
The loss of moisture is excessive when it goes beyond
the point at which the plants will keep without harm when
stored. Loss of moisture virtually means loss of succu-
lence. Plants fed in the natural condition are more bene-
ficial to animals than the same plants fed in equal quan-
tity in the dry condition. Were it not so, succulence in
foods would have no specific value. Thus it is that hay,
lying exposed for a long season on the ground, even in the
entire absence of rain and with little exposure to dew, will
at length become comparatively valueless for food, not-
withstanding that when it was first cut it was possessed of
high feeding value. It also explains why the desire is so
prevalent to put corn in large shocks in the field after it has
been husked, although other reasons may, and do exert an
influence in favor of the practice. The fact, however, must
not be lost sight of, that the mistake of storing fodders so
little cured, that they heat so much as to make them dusty,
the feeding value becomes greatly impaired, and if stored so
uncured as to induce mould, to feed them even in moderate
degree is attended with more or less of hazard to the health
and it may be to the life of the animals.
Storing foods.—The proper storing of foods calls for
attention: (1) To protect them from injury which follows
undue exposure while yet in the fields, (2) to protect them
from injury after storage, whether from exposure or from
storing while yet undercured, and (3) to placing them in
storage where they will be convenient for feeding.
All kinds of fodder suffer harm and loss, and increas-
ingly so, with increase in the duration of the exposure sub-
sequent to that time when they are ready for being stored.
354 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
Hay, for instance, when left unduly long in cocks, takes
harm from the absorption of ground moisture and from
undue drying and weathering of the outer portions. The
straw of certain cereals, useful for being fed to stock when
well saved, will soon become practically valueless for feed-
ing if left standing in shocks for any considerable time after
ready for being stored. Corn stalks gradually lose more or
less and in various ways, from the time they are put in
shock and probably in an accelerated ratio as the season ad-
vances. Cull potatoes soon deteriorate materially in food
value if left exposed after being dug. The rule is a safe
one that invariably aims to store foods at the earliest mo-
ment practicable after they are ready.
Fodders can in no other way be protected so per-
fectly after storage as when they have been stored
under cover. Nor can they in any other way, as a rule,
be stored so as to involve less labor while feeding thei.
The benefit from such protection increases with increase in
the precipitation, increase in damp, snowfall and sleet, and
increase. in the rawness rather than in the degree of the
cold. The extent to which such protection will be profitable
must be determined in a considerable degree by the cost of
materials used in building. When legumes are stored in
stacks, they cannot be protected in a rainy climate from seri-
ous loss unless other materials are used in topping out the
stacks that will completely shed rain. Field roots of all
kinds, including parsnips and artichokes, must be protected
from frost or they will take injury varying in degree from
a slight lessening of the feeding value to a total loss. They
must also be kept so cool that they will not begin to sprout.
The storing of food where it will be convenient for
feeding, is greatly important. If it can be stored so that
further handling is not necessary until given to the animals
for consumption, the economy in handling will be apparent,
as compared with an intermediate handling in addition.
But intermediate handling cannot always be avoided. In
the case of corn fodder, in some instances it is necessary
PREPARING FOODS FOR FEEDING 355
to incur the cost of the intermediate handling involved in
stacking the fodder rather than to draw from the shock and
feed directly. Climatic conditions, more than anything else,
determine which course is the better to adopt. When such
fodder as hay must be stacked in the open, the aim should
be to have it near the place for feeding, as when it must be
drawn far from the place of storage during the winter sea-
son, the roads are frequently in a bad condition, notwith-
standing there may be valid reasons for stacking such fod-
ders on the fields where they grew. In storing roots, the
aim should be not only to have them near the place of feed-
ing, but also to avoid, as far as possible, the necessity for
carrying them up steps in order to feed them. Supplies of
ensilage and meal also should be obtained from the same
plane as that on which the animals stand which are to con-
sume them.
The wisdom of storing litter, not only where it will be
properly protected but also where it is conveniently acces-
sible, is very apparent. There are instances in which the
proper storing of bedding may be quite as important as the
storing of fodders. The conditions of storage are ideal
when all the fodder and bedding required to carry the ani-
mals through the winter are stored above them when they
are housed in a well constructed basement, but such build-
ings are becoming too costly where materials for construct-
ing them are dear.
Grinding or crushing grain.—The necessity for grind-
ing and crushing grain is dependent: (1) On the nature of
the grain; (2) the animal to which it isto be fed; (3) the
combinations for feeding of which it forms a part; and (4)
the amount and kinds of noxious weed seeds present. As the
grinding of grain when cured will cost from 5 to Io
cents a hundred pounds, to say nothing of the cost of con-
veyance and handling during the process, it becomes a mat-
ter of considerable importance that unnecessary grinding
shall be avoided.
350 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
The necessity for grinding grain, based on the nature
of the grain, is greatest with seeds naturally small and hard,
as the seeds of the sorghums and of those that in addition
contain large quantities of oil, as flax seed, millet seed and
foxtail seed. Both properties resist the action of the
gastric fluids when unbroken in mastication, hence they
pass through the digestive tract to no good purpose, while
meantime they have put a tax upon the energies of the sys-
tem while in transit through it. The small cereal grains,
which are most improved by grinding, are those which are
smallest and hardest and which are possessed of the least
amount of soft hull. The necessity for grinding wheat, for
instance, is much greater than that for grinding oats. Corn,
more than any other grain except oats, may be fed without
grinding, but when it is to be fed in combination with other
grain, it is usually profitable to grind it. It is absolutely nec-
essary to do so when corn and cob are both fed.
Virtually all kinds of grain should be ground when
fed to calves, the exception under some conditions being
oats. All kinds of grain when separated from the straw,
should be ground for beef cattle. The exceptions, but
under some conditions only, are corn and oats. Unless
when swine may glean among the droppings, the corn
should usually be ground. Virtually all kinds of grain are
improved by grinding when fed to dairy cows. Nearly all
kinds of grain are improved by grinding for feeding to
lambs quite young, but this is not necessary when they be-
gin to eat grain freely, except in the case of corn, which is
improved by cracking it to enable them the more readily to
eat it. For lambs,-subsequent to weaning, and all mature
sheep, it is not necessary to grind grain free from noxious
weed seeds. Grinding improves nearly all kinds of grain
for swine, when fed unsoaked. The exception is corn when
fed alone. For horses, oats and corn in the shelled form
are usually fed unground. Barley, rye, speltz and wheat,
especially the latter, are frequently, if not always, improved
by grinding, and the grinding of sorghum and millet seed
PREPARING FOODS FOR FEEDING 357
is simply indispensable when these are fed to horses. The
necessity for grinding grain for horses is much greater
when they are hard at work than when idle.
When grains are fed in combination, which is a com-
mon way of feeding them, they are usually ground.
This is true of them whether fed in the form of meal
directly or in admixture with cut fodders. The ad-
vantage from grinding them is based, first, on the
necessity for grinding some of them; second, on the greater
ease with which some of them are ground when blended
before grinding, and third, on the more complete character
of the mastication, when thus prepared. Some grains, as
intimated above, must be ground under all conditions of
feeding. Flax is much more easily ground with other
grains than alone and especially when the mixture contains
just enough of the same for ordinary uses and no more.
Oats are ground more easily when blended with corn. The
same is true of other mixtures. Especially is the mastica-
tion more perfect when the meal is mixed with cut fodders,
because of the re-grinding given during the rumination
that follows.
No kind of grain containing the seeds of nox-
ious weeds should be fed unground. If so fed, they
are much liable to escape mastication because of their
small size, and to escape digestion because of their
hard and oily character, hence, when carried to the fields,
they grow, and thus infest the land. Even when weed
seeds are fed to sheep, they ought to be ground, as many of
them will fall amid the litter while the sheep are feeding up-
on the grain. Grinding is usually not more costly than
complete winnowing, and it is much safer.
The crushing of grain, accomplished by passing it be-
tween heavy rollers, in preference to grinding, has some ad-
vocates. It calls for less power than to grind the grain,
and in the case of grains that are pasty in character, and li-
able to adhere to the gums in mastication, as wheat, and to
a less extent barley, it is preferable to crush than to grind
358 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
for some kinds of feeding. When the crushed grain is
soaked or mixed with cut fodder before being fed, the ad-
vantage from crushing is lost. Grinding grain, rather than
crushing it, will always be more practiced on the farm,
since the machinery for grinding is now in place on nearly
all farms where grinding is done, since such machinery is
better adapted to preparing small and hard grains for feed-
ing, and since it has higher adaptation for varying the de-
grees of fineness in the grinding.
The degree of fineness to which grain shall be ground,
should be determined by the kind of the grain, the way it is
to be fed, and the animals which are to consume it. It will
probably be correct to say, that the smaller and harder the
grain is, the more finely should it be ground. Corn and cob
meal should be more finely ground than corn meal for aver-
age uses, the cob*being less digestible. When meal is to be
fed directly to animals in the unsoaked form, it should be
finely ground so that the digestive fluids may the more
readily act upon it; but when thus ground, some kinds of
meal call for admixture with some substance to render the
mass less adhesive in the stomach. When meal is to be
soaked sufficiently long to soften it, fine grinding is not
necessary, and the same is true of meal which is first mixed
with cut fodders before being fed to ruminants. Very
young animals call for meal more finely ground than will
suffice for those that are older.
Whether the meal should be ground on the farm
and by the farmers own machinery, by portable ma-
chines which travel from place to place, or by stationary
mills which take-in custom work, is an economic ques-
tion that must be determined by such considerations as
the volume of the work to be done, the distance of the sta-
tionary mills, and the customary charges for grinding. When
the volume of the work done will justify it, the aim should
be to grind the feed at home. The power to be used in each
instance is a question of no little importance. This, too,
should be largely determined by the amount of the grinding
PREPARING FOODS FOR FEEDING 359
called for. When this amount is not very large, wind power
will probably prove the cheapest. The old-fashioned
tread-mill, as a source of power, is perhaps not sufficiently
prized. There is also a place, however, for motor, for gas-
oline and for steam power, under certain conditions.
Pulping and slicing roots.—Pulping roots means put-
ting them through a machine, known as a root pulper. It is
run by hand or by other power as desired and reduces them
to a pulpy or finely comminuted condition. Slicing, in the true
sense of the term, means cutting them into thin slices by put-
ting them through a machine known as a root slicer, and run
as in pulping, by hand or other power. Inthe absence of a
slicer, they are frequently thrown into a box and chopped in-
to pieces with a spade. Under some circumstances they are
fed without either pulping or slicing. Whether to feed
them thus, or to slice or pulp them, must be determined by
the conditions present. Whether roots or tubers may be
fed whole is determined by the kind and size of the variety,
the class of animals to which they are to be fed, the age of
these, and the degree of the temperature at the time of
feeding. Carrots are about the only class of field roots
which it is practicable to feed to all or nearly all kinds of
farm stock without first cutting or slicing them. Arti-
chokes, owing to their shape, and peanuts, owing to their
small size, may be similarly fed. The danger is present in
some degree, that when medium-sized potatoes are fed to
cattle, they may choke upon them. The aim should be to
avoid feeding all kinds of roots and tubers to cattle and
even to horses in the unprepared form, notwithstanding
that both will feed upon them in the natural state, but not
with the same ease. Sheep will feed upon all kinds of uncut
_ roots, but not so readily as when they are sliced, and the
same is true of swine, but it is scarcely necessary to slice
roots for swine well grown or for brood sows. They should
be sliced or pulped for all kinds of young animals. When
fed to animals exposed to low temperatures, they should be
360 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
given in that form in which they can be consumed quickly,
lest they should freeze more or less before they are all con-
sumed.
Roots and tubers are more commonly sliced when they
are simply being prepared for feeding in the direct form,
that is, without admixture with other food. This method
of preparing them is followed rather than that of pulping,
because it takes less power and because slicers have been
longer in use. But there is no objection to pulping even for
direct feeding when it is as convenient or more so to pre-
pare them thus.
When field roots or tubers are to be mixed with
meal or cut feed, it is necessary that they shall be
pulped rather than sliced, in order to obtain a more per-
fect blending of the foods. Field roots thus prepared and
mixed with cut fodders, add greatly to their palatability
and value. If the plan of pulping roots at the time of lift-
ing and then storing the pulp after the manner in which en-
silage is stored should prove successful, the questions of
storing, keeping, and feeding would be simplified. No data
can be gathered bearing upon the question, but the behavior
of sugar beet pulp when ensiled, encourages the hope that
such storing would be quite practicable.
Chaffing and shredding fodders.—By chaffing fodders
is meant running them through a cutting box. The ob-
jects sought in chaffing food are: (1) To insure the con-
sumption of a fodder low in palatability by admixing it
with a chaffed fodder high in palatability, as when straw
and clover hay are cut and mixed before feeding them. (2)
To insure a larger*total consumption of fodders by putting
them in that condition in whick they may be fed after
being mixed with meal or field roots or both. (3) To
prepare foods in that condition in which they will keep best
in the silo, and in which they may be fed out with the least
expenditure of labor. Straw fodders are also chaffed in
some instances in order to put them in the best condition
for being used as litter. When thus chaffed, straw absorbs
PREPARING FOODS FOR FEEDING 301
liquid manure more perfectly than when long, and the ma-
nure is also in a better condition for being easily handled
and promptly applied to the land as soon as made. But it
will not be found profitable, as a rule, simply to run fodders
through a cutting box and to feed them without admixture
in order to increase consumption in the same.
When large quantities of meal are to be fed in the ab-
sence of silage, the plan is frequently adopted of chaffing
only enough of the fodder to furnish bulky materials with
which it is mixed before feeding it to ruminants, in order
to insure its most thorough mastication while undergoing
rumination. Phe plan is to be commended where the facil-
ities are present for carrying it out. On some farms, the
small cereal grains are threshed and chaffed by the one op-
eration, all the straw grown upon the farm being cut in that
way. Where the facilities are present for storing the chaffed
material, the plan is excellent. The blowers now used
on threshers will be greatly helpful in such instances as aids
in storing such food.
Shredding fodder means tearing it into strips or
shreds by machines made for the purpose. It is used only
in preparing such coarse fodders for feeding as corn and
the sorghums. Shredders husk the corn and separate the
ears in the same while shredding the stalks. Opinions dif-
fer greatly as to the value of shredding, some regarding
them with much favor, and others who have used them,
have ceased to use them longer. These differences in opin-
ion are due largely to a difference in the conditions under
which they have been used. They can be used with more
advantage in a climate naturally dry than in one naturally
moist, as in the former the shredded fodder is much less
liable to spoil through fermentation than in the latter.
Prominent among the benefits from shredding are the
following: (1) The corn is husked, and thus made avail-
able for feeding as desired, which may not be possible in
the absence of shredding. (2) The fodder is put in that
condition which insures a much larger consumption of the
362 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
stalks, and (3) it makes it possible to store the fodder
where it is safe from injury from storms. The following
are chief among the objections to shredding: (1) The ac-
cidents while running the shredders have been unusually
numerous, but possibly the element of risk, in this respect,
may yet be eliminated. (2) In moist climates it has been
found difficult to keep the shredded fodder from moulding.
But this may be obviated by mixing with straw. (3) The
expense is said to be too great in some instances at least to
justify the outlay and (4) the lower portions of the stalks,
when very large and coarse, according to some authorities,
will not repay the energy expended in digesting them. The
difference in the character of the stalks before shredding
as coarse or fine, probably accounts for the great differences
reported in the amount of fodder left unconsumed when
fodder is shredded.
Corn fodder is sometimes prepared for feeding by run-
ning the corn while yet unhusked through a threshing
machine on the approach of winter. To this method of
handling corn, the same objections apply as when shredding
it, except that which applies to cost. But in addition to
these objections are the large portions of stalk unreduced,
and the broken condition of cob, which makes it difficult to
preserve it.
Blending foods mechanically.—Foods are frequently
blended in what may be termed the mechanical sense, in or-
der to insure a larger consumption of those which, though
plentiful are less palatable than the foods blended with them.
The utilization for food of the straw of cereals and of corn
and sorghum stalks, may not be a question of much mo-
ment at the present time in many parts of the United States,
but the time is coming and is not very far distant, when in
none of the states will such products be destroyed as now,
as the best means of getting rid of them.
Where the supplies of hay are scarce and of fodders
plentiful, when both are run through a cutting box and
mixed before being fed, a much larger consumption of straw
PREPARING FOODS. FOR FEEDING 363
or of corn or sorghum stalks will be secured, than if these
foods had not been so prepared. In this way, animals at
rest may be carried through the entire winter season on rel-
atively cheap food. Even in the absence of hay, when pulped
roots are mixed with cut straw and other coarse fodders,
results equally good, if not indeed superior, will follow, de-
pendent upon the proportion of field roots fed. Should the
dry food thus mixed be dampened, as by sprinkling, in the
absence of field roots and a small amount of meal sprinkled
in during the process of dampening and mixing, the con-
sumption ‘will be further increased. Where molasses is
cheap, the addition of a small amount of this ingredient will
tend much to add to the palatability of the food and, there-
fore, to increase the possible consumption of coarse fodders.
Food prepared as outlined above, has special adapta-
tion to the needs of cattle and horses. It is not so well
adapted to the needs of sheep, as they are more expert than
cattle or horses in rejecting portions even of the cut food
that may not suit them, but even with sheep, the relative
consumption of cheap foods may thus be greatly increased.
Similarly the consumption of dry fodders by swine, as clo-
ver and alfalfa, may be much increased by chaffing the fod-
der, adding meal to the mixture and then cooking it by
boiling or steaming. Thus, also, the proportion of field
roots or tubers may be increased.
The following method of preparing food for ruminants
is common in some portions of Ontario. Hay and
straw or fodders are chaffed, pulped and mixed in a
feed room conveniently situated. The chaffing and
pulping are done simultaneously that the mixing of the
food may be as desired. Enough is prepared at one time
to last for several days. The fermentation which follows
tends to soften the fodder. Meal is added proportioned to
the needs of the various animals as the food is fed. This
method of feeding is economical of food and is eminently
adapted to the needs of cattle, sheep and horses.
304 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
Much of what has been said applies mainly to the feed-
ing of animals at rest. Should performance be sought from
them as in the production of increase in meat or the pro-
duction of milk or labor, it will usually be necessary to add
concentrated food to make up for the deficiency in the
nutrients.
It should also be borne in mind that a large proportion
reiatively of the nutrients in straw and coarse fodders are
relatively low in digestibility. Because of this, it would be
easily possible so to tax the energies of the system by feed-
ing so large a proportion of such foods, that the most de-
sirable results would not follow. This, however, is much
less likely to occur with animals that are being simply car-
ried through the winter at rest.
Blending foods chemically.—The mechanical blend-
ing of foods discussed in the preceding section did not in
any sense consider the chemical blending of the same, and
yet the aim should be so to blend them, that the ration shall
be in at least approximate balance. For instance, when cut
hay is added to the cut straw of the small cereals, or to cut
corn or the sorghum stalks, the aim should be to add clover
or other leguminous hay, as the straw of these are carbo-
naceous. Likewise, when molasses is added, the aim should
be to make the addition when practicable to a mixture of
cut fodders relatively rich in protein, as, for instance, when
composed largely of pea straw. Field roots go well with
straws rich in carbohydrates especially when fed in con-
siderable quantities. Steamed potatoes and clover or alfalfa
also go well together when fed to growing swine. In the
absence of the clover or alfalfa, meal rich in protein should
be fed. When meal is added to enrich the ration for cattle,
sheep and horses, a due regard should always be had to the
character of the fodder. Usually it will be advantageous to
add meal rich in protein to mixtures composed mainly of
straw fodders or of corn or sorghum stalks.
The proportions in which these shall be added cannot
be discussed here. The aim, of course, should be to feed
PREPARING FOODS FOR FEEDING 365
them so that the ration shall be in approximate balance,
and yet there may be good reasons for feeding a ration
not strictly in balance (see p. 187). The nature of the ad-
ditions will, of course, be dependent on the ration. Where
leguminous fodders are plentiful, the balancing of the ra-
tion is usually much easier than when the opposite is true,
owing to the fact that the great food grain, corn, is so rich
in carbonaceous elements.
Soaking food for stock.—The value of soaking food
for stock will depend on the kind of food, the kind of stock
to which it is to be fed, and the object sought from feeding
it. As a rule food is seldom soaked when fed to horses,
cattle or sheep, but is very frequently soaked when prepar-
ing it for swine.
It would seem correct to affirm that green fodders are
never soaked to prepare them for being fed to live stock,
and the same is generally true of dry fodders, but to this
there are some exceptions. When horses are hard at work,
it has, at least in some instances, been found advantageous
to feed meal on chaffed and moistened hay, as when so fed
the food could be more quickly consumed, that is, more of
it could be consumed during the limited time allotted to
horses for feeding, especially during the noon hour. With
cattle, no such necessity exists. When fodder is fed dry,
as compared with feeding it soaked, it is usually preferred
by cattle and also by sheep, and it is amply softened in the
various processes of digestion. Such food, however, will
better answer the end sought in feeding swine if it is first
soaked or steamed. Field roots and tubers also being of the
nature of green fodders, are not soaked preparatory to
feeding them, but in many instances cereals are soaked
either in the unground form or as meal, more especially
when fed to swine.
Grain of any kind is seldom soaked for horses or cattle,
and the same is true of meal. Bran is sometimes made into a
mash for horses by adding water, frequently hot, and stirring
306 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
witil it is all moistenea. They can eat such food more read-
ily, and so fed it may have a more laxative effect with them.
It was believed at one time that meal moistened and even
fed as slop to dairy cows tended to increase the yields of
milk. It cannot be said that tests made to determine the
question sustain this belief. Corn is in some instances
soaked before feeding it both to cattle and swine. When
long fed on dry ear corn, soreness of the mouth may arise.
In such instances the corn should be shelled and soaked for
not less than 12 hours, except when the weather is unusu-
ally warm. Under normal conditions, the increase from
corn soaked 24 hours and fed to swine is much the same as
when dry. All the small cereal grains are made more easy
of digestion for swine by soaking them from 12 to 48 hours,
but usually the results are more satisfactory when they are
first ground before soaking them. When thus prepared,
there is practically no waste in feeding. None of the food
escapes undigested, as when feeding it whole, and a larger
consumption of food is usually secured.
From what has been said, it is apparent that when food
is soaked or moistened before feeding it to cattle and
horses, the objects sought are specific rather than general,
and that they are thus fed more because of the exigencies
present in the feeding than because of the more favorable
influence which, as such, they exercise on digestion. It is
different with swine. They digest more perfectly food thus
prepared. There are times, however, when almost any kind
of a cereal may be fed to swine unground in limited quan-
tities, as when fed to brood sows in winter on a hard sur-
face. .
Cooking .o0. -or stock.—Years ago the cooking of
food for live stock was thought to be helpful to its diges-
tion. Because of the prevalence of this view, large
steaming plants were erected in various centers where it
was proposed to steam practically all the dry food
fed to cattle before it was fed. Usually it was first run
through a cutting box and then mixed with meal, and fed
PREPARING FOODS FOR FEEDING 367
directly to the stock. The fact that the practice has been
virtually discarded is pretty certain evidence that it did not
prove profitable. This is in agreement with the results ob-
tained from the tests conducted by the experiment stations
and it is all the more surprising in the face of the strong
claims put forth even by some of the scientists of for-
mer generations as to its value. In some of the tests made,
the cooking of the food seemed to reduce rather than to en-
hance its digestibility. This was true more especially of the
protein, hence the adverse effects were most pronounced in
foods rich in protein.
Until recent years this practice was common with the
exhibitor of cattle to prepare the food for them by chaf-
fing the hay, and after adding meal, to pour over the mass
while still hot, such food as boiled peas. The box or trough
containing the food was then covered and the mass allowed
to steam. It was believed that such food added to the me!-
lowness of the flesh and probably with some reason. It is
pretty certain, however, that it does not add to the increase
made, and it does add materially to the cost of feeding. In
these facts it is probable that the explanation lies for dis-
carding, at least to a great extent, such feeding during re-
cent years.
Years ago it was matter of common belief that grain
food fed to swine would give better results if fed in the
cooked rather than in the soaked form. This explains why
cooking such food was so common in those days. But ex-
periments conducted at the experiment stations have rudely
shattered this belief. They have shown that, as a rule,
cooked meal does not produce greater gains than soaked
meal. Nevertheless, under some conditions, as when the
cooked meal may be fed warm in cold weather, the cooked
food is superior to the other. The added value, however,
arises rather from the warming effect which the food has
upon the system than from any superior digestibility which
it possesses. Under such conditions, the profit from cook-
ing food may be considerable. It is also true that certain
368 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
grains, as barley and speltz, will give better returns when
cooked or steamed than when fed dry.
Certain vegetable substances may be improved as food
for swine by cooking them, for the reason first, that they
are rendered more digestible and second, that thus pre- ©
pared, they will be consumed in larger quantities. Pota-
toes are of the former class. Fed alone, they are an indif-
ferent food for swine, but when cooked and fed along with
meal in the form of a mash, they furnish a cheap food for
growing swine, viewed from the standpoint of the food nu-
trients. Alfalfa and clover, when chaffed and mixed with
meal, with or without vegetables, makes a good food for
growing swine and for brood sows. A limited amount of
boiled grain, especially barley, possesed of much water rel-
atively, poured over cut fodder to soften it, and then fed to
horses while still warm two or three times a week, will have
a helpful influence on the digestive tract when the horses
are on dry feed. Whether the additional labor and cost of
fuel will justify such feeding, must be determined by the
conditions under which the work is done. There can be no
doubt, however, about the utility of the practice of boiling
hay and feeding the extract thus obtained to calves when
the milk supply is not sufficient to meet their needs.
PART Ty.
The more important of the considerations that relate to
successful feeding are discussed in Part IV. These consider-
ations have not the strength of law and yet they are so im-
portant that they cannot be ignored by the successful
grower and feeder of live stock. The benefits from having
correct type in the animals to be fed and from feeding a
balanced ration based on a wise selection of foods, will be
discounted in proportion as these considerations are
ignored.
They are discussed as outlined below: Chapter XVII
dwells upon considerations that relate to meat production;
Chapter XVIII on those that relate to milk production;
Chapter XIX on those that relate to general feeding ; Chap-
ter XX on those that relate to the care of animals; and
Chapter XXI on considerations that are miscellaneous in
character.
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MOOLS WAIT GNV SNUVE ALVA
CHAPTER XVII.
CONSIDERATIONS THAT RELATE TO MEAT
PRODUCTION.
Prominent among the considerations that relate
meat production are the following :
I. Increase at different ages.
2. Increase during finishing period.
3. Leading up to full feeding.
4. Food consumed and increase.
5. Cost of increase.
6
y
8
a
LO
Gains when fattening not worth their cost.
Duration of finishing period.
. Season for marketing.
9. Marketing when ripe.
10. Shipping finished animals.
11. Loss of weight in marketing.
12. Feeding in stalls, sheds or yards.
13. Finishing animals on pasture.
14. Financial returns from purchased feeders.
15. Baby beef.
16. Winter lambs.
17. Growing bacon.
These are discussed in the order in which they are
given.
Increase at different ages.—It has been stated prev:-
ously (see p. 64), that with the exception of swine dur-
ing the nursing period, and for some time subsequent to it,
domestic animals may be made to increase more rapidly the
nearer to the birth period the gains are made. The greater
practical importance of this question and the bearing which
it has upon profits, is a sufficient justification for enlarging
upon it.
The figures now submitted approximate the increase in
weight that may be obtained from the different classes of
371
372 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
domestic animals at different ages: It has been founda easily
possible to secure 2 pounds of increase per day, not in-
cluding the birth weight, from cattle of the large breeds at
the age of one year. During the second year it requires
careful feeding to secure an average increase of one and
three-fourths pounds per day, and during the third year,
equally careful feeding to secure an increase of one and
one-fourth to one and one-half pounds per day. In other
words, 730 pounds of increase can be secured as readily as
639 pounds of further increase the second year, and as, say
504 pounds the third year. It would be approximately cor-
rect to say that lambs of the medium-sized mutton breeds
of sheep, if well nourished, will make a daily gain of 0.7
pound during the first month; 0.6 pound during the first
three months; 0.45 pound during the second three; 0.3
pound during the third three and 0.25 pound during the
fourth three. In other words, including the birth weight,
the lamb will attain to a weight of 21 pounds at one month,
and of 54 pounds at three months. During the second period
it will gain 40.5 pounds, 27 pounds during the third, and
22% during the fourth, at which time the weight will be
144 pounds. The subsequent gains will gradually decrease
until the animal is mature. With well sustained swine of
the middle breeds, it would be approximately correct to say
that during the first 70 days of growth, about the average
suckling period, the pigs would make an average daily in-
crease of say 0.6 pound; during the second period of 70
days, one pound, and during the third, one and one-half
pounds. In other words, they would make an increase dur-
ing the first period, including the birth weight, of 42.
pounds, 70 pounds during the second period, and 105
pounds during the third, when they would weigh 217
pounds at the age of seven months. The daily gains would
probably be maintained and possibly increased for a month
or two longer, after which they would decline until matu-
rity was reached.
MEAT PRODUCTION Bis
The figures submitted are based on the supposition.
that the animals are fed to their full capacity on suitable
foods, but without excessive forcing. It pre-supposes that
the foods fed are suitable for the production of the highest
average gains that may ordinarily be looked for from such
feeding. But in practice, such feeding is seldom followed
during the entire period of growing and rearing the ani-
mal. In fact, it is never followed except when very high
quality meat is sought from animals that are disposed of at
ages less advanced than animals of the same class usually
reach the market. This, however, does not apply to swine
to the same extent as to sheep and cattle, more especially
the latter. In a great majority of instances, during what
is termed the growing period, animals are sustained on food
less costly than that given during the period of feeding
milk which precedes it, and the fattening period which fol-
lows. Such foods include pasture and coarse fodders, much
of which, if not consumed thus, would be wasted.
The conditions amid which animals are grown, will
therefore, have a markedly important influence on increase
in the same, as it actually occurs in practice. If animals are
grown so as to make only moderate gains during the grow-
ing period, and if they are then put upon a finishing ration,
the gains made will, of course, exceed those made at a
younger age. This, however, does not affect the contention
that the possible capacity to make gains is greater before
than during the finishing period.
The statement is sometimes made that the capacity to
make increase in weight is a question of type and not of
breed. The statement is only partially correct. It is to
some extent a question of breed, and also to some extent
a question of individuality within both breed and type.
Take, for instance, two lambs of the Southdown and Hamp-
shire Down breeds. Push the growth of both on a suitable
forcing ration until they reach the age of 12 months. It
would seem correct to say that the inherent capacity ta
make increase in a Hampshire Down lamb would carry him
374 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
to a weight of 160 pounds as readily as inherent capacity
in the Southdown would carry him to a weight of 120
pounds at the age named. The same line of reasoning will
apply to all the large and small breeds of beef and dairy cat-
tle, the large and small breeds of sheep, and the large and
small breeds of swine. But it is more than probable that
the difference in the capacity of the large and small breeds
to make increase, lessens as the birth period is approached,
and widens as it is receded from.
Nor is it true that increase in weight during the finish-
ing period is almost wholly a question of type. Individual-
ity within type exercises an influence on capacity to make
increase only secondary to that exercised by type. Animals
of similar conformation not infrequently show a difference
in capacity to make increase that exceeds 50 per cent,
though fed alike. It will also be found true that animals of
the small dairy breeds of cattle and of some breeds of sheep,
as the American Merino, will have less average capacity for
making increase under prolonged feeding than heavier
breeds of cattle and sheep, and the same is true, also, of
large and small breeds of swine. Capacity to make gains,
therefore, is influenced by age, breed and individuality.
Increase during the finishing period.—The increase
made during the finishing period and also the rate at which
it is made is determined by such conditions as the follow-
ing: (1) The age of the animals; (2) their condition as to
flesh when put on feed; (3) the nature of the previous feed-
ing; (4) the character of the food fed; (5) the intensity of
the feeding and (6) the duration of the feeding period.
That animals of uncompleted growth have capacity to
make larger increase than those whose growth is com-
pleted is in a sense self-evident. The latter can only make
increase by putting on fat, whereas the former make it by
additional growth as well as by laying on fat. They may
also be expected to make it more cheaply by that law of de-
velopment which claims that increase can be made more
rapidly and cheaply, the nearer to the birth period that it
is made,
MEAT PRODUCTION 375
It is also evident that animals that are low in flesh or
carry but a moderate amount when put on feed, and whose
digestion has not been impaired, will make more gain under
prolonged feeding than animals in good flesh, but not really
fat when put on feed. They will also usually make such
gains more rapidly and for the reason among others that in
the system there is more room for increase.
But increase during the fattening period is increased or
retarded by the nature of the diet given previous to its
commencement. The system must be brought into what
may be termed a sappy condition, that is, a condition in
which the fluids of the body are abundant before gains
can be rapid. It must be amply stocked with circula-
tory protein. It has been found that swine, for instance,
grown largely on succulent pasture such as alfalfa or rape,
will make subsequent increase more rapidly than swine
equal in weight that had been fed chiefly on grain. Some
foods that cannot be classed as being in themselves fatten-
ing foods are, nevertheless, highly useful in putting the
system in a condition for fattening. Such are field roots
and various other succulent and nutritious foods.
The character of the food as toits constituents, influ-
ences gains in a marked degree. The largest increase may be
expected from foods fed in balance, and that balance will
vary with the needs of the animal. An animal of incom-
pleted growth, for instance, requires more of protein in
the food than one of completed growth. When fattening
only is wanted without growth, this will be best attained
by a ration as rich in carbohydrates as may be safely fed
for the purpose sought.
Intense feeding, that is, feeding a large propor-
tion of concentrates to the roughage and concentrates
rich in the nutrients that aid in producing fat, will
produce the most rapid gains when properly fed, though
not necessarily the most economical gains. Such feeding
also tends to shorten the period in which gains are made.
370 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
The richer the ration and the more intense the feeding,
the shorter will be the period for making gains, for then
that condition of the system is sooner reached when quick
increase is not possible. Such feeding judiciously done,
insures more rapid increase for a time than more moderate
feeding, but it also makes increase slower when the feeding
is in any sense prolonged.
The daily increase secured does not necessarily vary
greatly until the period is approached when animals under
judicious feeding are coming near that condition of finish
known as ripeness (see p. 389). Then it decreases, it may
be gradually at first, but with accelerated quickness the
longer the feeding is continued, and would at length reach
a point when further increase would altogether cease.
The daily gains made will vary with the variations men-
tioned above. They are usually. from the nature of things
most rapid during short periods of forced fattening. When
good cattle well grown are on feed for 150 days, the aver-
age gain for the entire period should be one and one-half
to 2 pounds per day. The average will not be more
than one and one-third pounds. Young animals not yet
grown, with most careful and suitable feeding may make
an increase of 2 pounds per day or even more than that
amount. Cattle fed large amounts of corn for 100 to 120
days may increase even more rapidly, but usually such gains
are relatively costly when corn is dear. Aged animals usu-
ally make a less gain than one and three-quarters pounds
daily. Lambs of good types between six and 12 months
when fed for 100 to 120 days will make a daily gain under
normal conditions-of fattening of 0.3 pound or g pounds a
month. With all the conditions favorable an increase of
I2 pounds may be made, but such gains are exceptional.
Ordinarily lambs will not gain more than 0.25
pound daily or 74% pounds per month. On rape pasture
the gains should be 10 pounds per month. Mature
wethers may gain as quickly as lambs, but the rate
of increase will not be so long maintained. Swine
MEAT PRODUCTION Sai)
when fed for 60 to 75 days should make an average daily
gain of one and one-fourth to one and one-half pounds,
providing they are not of less weight than 150 pounds
when the fattening season begins. Ina few instances a gain
of 2 pounds per day has been made.
Leading up to full feeding.—With reference to this
question, it may be said: (1) That animals which are
somewhat thin in flesh cannot be fattened quickly for some
time after the commencement of the fattening period, how-
soever suitable and liberal the feeding may be; (2) that
when such animals are first put on a fattening ration, they
are not capable of digesting quantities of concentrated
foods so large as at a later period and (3) that in conse-
quence, itis necessary to bring themup gradually to
what is termed full feeding, which means, feeding all the
concentrates and roughage that the animals can digest and
assimilate after having been given gradually increasing
quantities of concentrates from the commencement of the
fattening period onward.
As explained by Dr. H. P. Armsby in the “Manual of,
Cattle Feeding,” cattle that are much reduced in flesh and
fat cannot be fattened quickly until they are first brought
into a well nourished condition. The animal body must
first contain a sufficient amount of organized and circula-
tory protein, without which it cannot digest, resorb and
store up protein and fat. To bring about this condition
it is most economical usually to feed freely some legumin-
ous fodder, as clover or alfalfa hay. This, however, may
be supplemented with some grain or by-product, or the
two combined, also reasonably rich in protein. Such foods as
oats and bran, or oats and oil cake are well adapted to such
feeding. The aim should be to feed foods that will give a
nutritive ratio of say 1:5.5. Such food increases the stock of
circulatory protein, and thus paves the way for laying on
fat.
When fattening begins, animals are not capable of di-
gesting and assimilating large quantities of grain, for the
378 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
reason chiefly, that the digestive system requires time to
accommodate itself to the changes of food, and also to the
additional tax put upon it. All changes should be gradually
made (see p. 459). Digestion and assimilation in a certain
direction become strengthened by use or repetition. It is
evident that animals accustomed to grain previously can
be more quickly led up to a full ration than those to which
it has never been fed. In some instances, as when growing
baby beef, so much grain is being fed all the while, that
the difference in the respective amounts fed before and
during the finishing period is not marked. It is more a
difference in kind than of quantity, and the same is true of
cows that are fattened at once, when they cease to give
milk. If undue haste is shown in putting animals on fuli
feed, the digestion becomes deranged, and time is lost in
recovering digestive tone, while in some instances it. is never
again fully restored.
The time required to bring the different classes of
animals up to full feed varies. It is longest in the case of
cattle and shortest in that of swine, in keeping with the
time required in finishing the different classes. It varies
also with the condition of the animals and as to whether
they were given grain previously, and especially when the
finishing period began. When cattle are lean and unused
to grain, from 3 to 4 pounds would suffice at the first.
This may usually be increased at the rate of say one
and one-half to 2 pounds per week, for four to six weeks
according to the kind of grain fed and the duration of the
fattening period. The less concentrated the grain fed and
the shorter the prospective period for feeding, the more
quickly may the animals be brought up to full feed, and
vice versa. As the fattening progresses, the grain fed is
usually increased in the degree of its concentration up to
a certain limit.
Sheep and lambs that have not had grain previously
may be given say from one-fourth to one-third of a pound
of grain daily at the first, preferably oats or mainly so,
MEAT PRODUCTION 379
and this may be increased at the rate of one-third of a
pound per week from three to six weeks, according to the
kinds of food fed, the age of the animals and the probabie
duration of the feeding period. As with cattle, the grain
fed may be more concentrated as the fattening progresses.
Swine may usually be led up to a full grain ration
. much more quickly than cattle and sheep. This is owing
to the fact, first, that grain has probably been fed to them
all along, and second, that before the final fattening be-
gins, they have probably been given not less than half a
full grain ration. In but few instances, therefore, is it
necessary to take more than one to two weeks to bring
them up to a full grain ration.
Food consumed and incréase.—The relation between
the food consumed and the increase from it widens from
birth to maturity, that is, the more advanced the age of the
animal, the greater is the amount of the food required to
make the increase. That it should be so is the outcome,
first, of the more active character of the digestive and
assimilative organs near the birth period; and second, of
the increase called for in the food of maintenance as the
animals grow older. That it skould be so is what may be
expected from the gradual decrease in relative gains in
cattle and sheep, as the birth period is receded from. But
it has also been found true with swine, where the daily in-
crease is less rapid during the first three or four months
than subsequently.
With cattle and sheep it is not easy to draw the com-
parison between relative increase and the amount of food
used in making it, between animals that are being grown
and those that are being fattened, owing to the difference
in the relative proportion of grain and concentrates fed
to these. It is much easier to draw the comparison as to
relative cost, and the difference in cost may be taken as
an approximate basis, but not an exact basis of the differ-
ence in the amounts of food consumed. In “Profitable
380 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
Stock Feeding,” Prof. H. K. Smith states, that in six dif-
ferent trials made with cattle, each 100 pounds of increase
made during the first 12 months cost $3.45, during the
second 12, $7.42, and during the third 12, $11.50. At the
Kansas experiment station it was found that steers which
were being fattened consumed 730 pounds of grain for
every 100 pounds of increase made during the first 56 days
of feeding. During the entire period of feeding which
covered 182 days, they consumed 1,000 pounds of the same,
which was an increase of practically 37 per cent. The
testimony of other experiments is in keeping with the above.
The average results from several trials in feeding
lambs which weighed approximately 75 pounds when put
on feed, show that to make 100 pounds of increase calls
for approximately 500 pounds of grain and 400 pounds of
hay. To make similar increase with shearlings it has been
found that from 25 to 45 per cent more food was required. |
Similar is the trend of testimony of the American Fat stock
shows. Unfortunately, however, some of the testimonies
from these must be accepted with much caution, as for in-
stance the statement that in 1881, a Southdown lamb shown
weighed 213 pounds at the age of 213 days, which means
that up to that age it had made a daily gain of 0.9 pound.
In Denmark many experiments have been conduct2d
by the Copenhagen station which throw light upon the
relative amounts of grain or its equivalent, consumed by
swine of different ages in order to make 100 pounds of in-
crease. A large number of animals was included in these
experiments. The results showed that pigs weighing 35
to 75 pounds consumed 376 pounds of such food when
making 100 pounds of gain, while pigs weighing 195 to
235 pounds consumed 543 pounds to make the same. The
average results from a number of experiments conducted
in America show that with swine not more than 50 pounds
in weight, 100 pounds of increase may be made from each
300 pounds of grain and grain equivalents fed, while with
pigs from 200 to 250 pounds, about 500 pounds of the same
were required to make similar increase.
MEAT PRODUCTION 381
Of course the relative amounts of grain consumed by
animals, both when growing and during the finishing
period, will be influenced by the amount of coarse fodder
fed, whether fed in the green or dry form. The assumption
is safe, nevertheless, that to finish animals properly on
grain, the amount of the same required increases, first, with
increase in the age of the animals, and second, with the
continuance and prolongation of the fattening period. This,
however, does not make it certain that long periods of feed-
ing will be attended with less profit. That will only follow
in instances where the degree of the finish is not superior
in character.
Cost of increase.—It has been shown that animals as
a rule make gains more slowly as the birth period is re-
ceded from (see p. 371). It has also been shown, that
notwithstanding the slower gains, more food relatively and
absolutely is consumed in making then, and that this also
applied to the fattening period (see p. 379). It naturally
follows, therefore, that the cost of increase is greater as the
birth period is receded from, and as the fattening period
advances. But to this there are some exceptions, especially
during the growing period, as is shown below.
Many instances, all based on experiment, may be cited
to show increasing cost in the gains made with increasing
age. The following only can be given here: At the Wis-
consin experiment station, it was found that with animals
up to the age of 12 months, 100 pounds of beef, live weight,
cost $4.20, while with the same animals during the next
I2 months, it cost $6.13. At the Massachusetts station,
with animals in the two-year torm, too pounds of beef, live
weight, cost $7.49, and with the same animals in the three-
year form, it cost $12.38. At the Iowa experiment station
lambs that were fattened cost $3.61 for every 100 pounds of
live increase made, and wethers on the same feed cost $5.33
for each 100 pounds of the same. At the Wisconsin expert-
ment station, swine which averaged 222 pounds when put
on feed consumed 418 pounds of meal to make 100 pounds
382 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
of increase the first four weeks of feeding, 461 pounds the
second four, and 559 pounds the third four. The difference
in relative cost was proportionate.
Under some conditions, however, it is possible to make
100 pounds of increase more cheaply at some distance from
the birth period, and also from the commencement of the
fattening period, than earlier. The growing of young
animals, especially cattle, during the milk period, is more
costly relatively than at a later period, because of the
difference in the relative value of the foods. Milk and
grain furnish the principal portion of the food of young
animals for a time. Later they are usually maintained on
coarser and cheaper foods, more especially on pasture. One
hundred pounds of increase may, therefore, be made more
cheaply on the coarser food thus given, because of its
relative cheapness, notwithstanding the increase in the
amount consumed. Likewise when cattle are partly fat-
tened on dry food and are then finished on grass or grass
and grain, the increase made on the latter may be made
more cheaply than that made before turning out on grass.
At the Iowa experiment station, it was found that from
March to May, covering 92 days, steers fed on a ration of
corn meal, oil meal, hay and roots, made 100 pounds of
increase at a cost of $5.93. The same steers maintained
for a similar period immediately following on a ration
of corn meal and clover pasture made similar increase at a
cost of $4.31.
The cost of increase varies with variations in the cost
of food. Because of this, the same class of meat will
cost much more in one locality than another. It has been
estimated that during recent years the cost of making 100
pounds of increase during the fattening period was from
$2 to $3 more than the cost of the same in the Mississippi
States.
Gains when fattening not worth their cost.—During
the finishing period, the increase made is more or less in-
fluenced by the following conditions, viz: (1) The in-
dividuality of the animal; (2) the stage in development at
MEAT PRODUCTION 383
which the fattening begins; (3) the amount of flesh carried
at the tin.e; (4) the cost of the foods used; (5) the char-
acter of the feeding and finish made and (6) the relative
value of the fertilizer resulting.
Individuality is a most potent influence in hastening or
retarding increase. That it is so is shown in the fact that
two animals of similar age and fed alike will differ greatly
in the gains made, though consuming practically the same
amount of food. This difference sometimes exceeds 50
per cent
The stage in development at which fattening begins
influences the cost, first, by the greater relative increase
made by animals that are not yet matured, by the less
amount of food required to make these gains, and by the
greater relative cost of maintenance in mature animals.
It follows, therefore, that immature animals should make
greater and cheaper gains than those that are mature.
The less flesh that animals carry when the fattening
begins, providing leanness is not carried to the point of
weakening the bodily functions, the more they will in-
crease in weight, for the reason that there is more room
for such increase. But of course the less flesh carried
when fattening begins, the more prolonged must be the
period of fattening, a fact which may go far to offset the
consideration first named when purchasing animals for
fattening.
No influence is more potent in determining relative
cost of increase in fattening than the relative cost of the
foods fed. It will be at once apparent without argument
that with the same foods, cost in the gains made will fluctu-
ate with cost in the foods fed.
Forced feeding beyond a certain degree will result in
a waste of food. On the other hand under-feeding will result
in loss through increased cost in the food of maintenance.
Reasonably liberal feeding, therefore, is likely to give the
best results. The character of the finish influences cost of
increase so far as it influences the price paid for the fin-
ished product.
384 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
The value of the fertilizer made is a factor of much
importance in some localities, in other places it is not an
important consideration. While of course it does not in-
fluence gains, it does influence profits, and just in proportion
to the grade of the fertilizer made and the relative value
of the same in the locality.
Usually the increase during the fattening period
costs more than it will sell for in the market. This gener-
ally holds true in fattening cattle, sheep and swine, but to
a less degree probably in swine than in the other classes
named. Such increase in fattening mature cattle usualiy
costs not less than I to 3 cents per pound more than it will
sell for in the market. But to this there are some ex-
ceptions as when the price of foods is relatively low and
that of meat relatively high. The same is true also in many
instances of growing baby beef, under normal conditions
because of the quick gains made by the animals. The
testimony, however, of nearly all experiments in fattening
live stock in this country have shown that the cost of in-
crease during the fattening season has been greater than
the cost of the food.
Wherein is the profit from fattening live stock under
such conditions? It arises from the increase in the value
of each pound of the live weight of the animal when the
fattening began. Suppose, for instance, that a steer is
purchased and put on feed. Suppose that he weighs 1,200
pounds live weight and costs 4 cents per pound; suppose that
the increase in weight from six months feeding is 300
pounds, each pound of which costs 6 cents to make it. The
steer when finished is sold for 5 cents per pound live weight.
Allowing the manure made to offset the cost of feeding
and other incidental expenses, the transaction will stand as
follows: $75 the selling price when finished, less
$48 the purchase price, less $18 the cost of increase
during fattening, leaves $9 as the net pront
from the transaction. But what of the cost of grow-
ing the steer up to the time of fattening? It should
MEAT PRODUCTION 385
be considerably less than 4 cents per pound, tor, if grown
on the range, he would be grown virtually on free pasture.
If grown under extensive farm conditions hé would be
grown largely on cheap pastures. If grown under more
intensive conditions he would be grown largely on coarse
and cheap foods.
Duration of the finishing period.—Since, during the
finishing period, the cost of increase made during its con-
tinuance seldom equals in value the cost of the food used in
making it, the time covered by this period becomes a
question of prime importance to the feeder. Its profitable
duration will be influenced by such considerations as : (1)
The condition as to flesh of the animals when the feeding
period begins; (2) the character of the food fed; (3) the
intensity of the feeding; (4) the relative cost of the food;
(5) the season of the year when the finishing occurs, and
(6) capacity in the animals for making high finish.
If animals are in a low condition of flesh when the
feeding period begins, it is manifest that a proportionately
longer period must elapse before they can be profitably
sent to the block, thanif they were in good flesh at
the same time. Animals low in flesh when fatten-
ing begins cannot be brought to a high degree of
finish in a short time. The digestive powers can adjust
themselves only gradually to the changed conditions of
feeding, and the same is true of the assimilative powers.
This is shown in the fact that animals will digest and ap-
propriate much larger quantities of concentrated food
without injury when on what is termed “full feed,” than
when the feeding period begins (see p. 377). In some
instances, as in making baby beef sold under the age of two
years, the feeding has been of such a high character all
along, that the transition to what may be termed the finish-
ing period is scarcely discernible through any increase in
feed (see p. 402).
Some kinds of food bring to a finish much more quickly
than others, because of their constituents. Corn will fatten
380 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
animals more quickly probably than any other cereal, and
when fed in large quantities it will ripen them sooner. A
ration consisting mainly of roots and grain will not fatten
so quickly as one consisting mainly of corn and dry fodder.
Similar differences may be thus shown in various other
foods used in fattening.
The intensity of the feeding exercises an important
influence on the length of the feeding period. Intensity
of feeding has reference to strong feeding. It means feed-
ing concentrates rich in nutrients for producing fat, and
feeding to the full capacity of the animal to take such food.
But little roughage is fed. Such feeding leads to increase
more quickly than feeding concentrates less rich, or if rich,
in moderate quantities, and along with these feeding con-
siderable quantities of roughage. But it also leads more
quickly to cessation of profitable increase, and the attendant
danger is greater that the derangements in digestion will
be of more frequent occurrence than when feeding is less
intense.
The vatue of foods in relation to meat values should
always be considered. When food values are high and
meat values low, the shorter the period of feeding within
reasonable limits, the greater will be the relative profit.
Seasons do occur, but usually at rare intervals, when finish-
ing is not attended with any profit, unless when it can
be accomplished through some cheap food such as grass.
Capacity in the animals to make a high finish and
to furnish a carcass that will command a high price is also
important. When a steer for instance of dairy form is
placed upon the market in high finish and sells for more
than one cent less per pound live weight than the steer of
orthodox type in equally high finish, it is very evident that
it will not pay equally well to bring the former to so high
a finish as the latter. The great advantage in high finish
from the latter comes from the advance in value which it
puts upon every pound of the weight possessed when the
finishing period began (see p. 384). The advance thus
MEAT PRODUCTION 387
made in the value of the animal of dairy conformation is
much less as markets have ruled during recent years, not-
withstanding that at least as large amounts of food rela-
tively will be consumed in making it. It is less necessary
therefore because less advantageous, to feed such animals
and also aged cows, ewes and sows for long periods, that
they may thus be brought to a high finish, than to feed
well furnished animals with the same end in view. But
a certain amount of feeding with them is necessary, that
they may bring a respectable price.
The season of the year at which the finishing period
draws near should also be duly weighed. If the finishing
process draws near toward, or at the close of the grazing
season, it would be better to close it then than to continue it
only for a short period on food so radically different as a
change from grass to dry food would involve, or if the finish
was nearly completed when grass arrives and to complete
it would involve turning the animals out to grass for a short
period, it would be better to close it with the end of the
dry feeding season (see p. 397).
It will be apparent from tne above, that the duration
of feeding periods cannot be definitely stated so many are
the conditions that cause them to vary. It may be said,
however, that cattle can seldom be finished properly in
less than 120 days, sheep in less than 70 days, and swine
in less than 40 days, and that high finish seldom calls for
more than 180 days of feeding with cattle, 120 days with
sheep and 60 days with swine. More commonly feeders
err on the side of unduly curtailed feeding, accompanied
by lack of finish than on that of feeding unduly prolonged
and accompanied by over-finish. The aim should be to
bring good animals to high finish, unless there are good
reasons for not so doing. It has been estimated by competent
authorities, that from 75 to 90 per cent of the cattle mar-
keted in the United States are not properly finished.
Season for marketing.—The grower and feeder of
live stock should aim as far as it may be practicable to
388 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
have them ready at that season which will enable them
to reach the market in the absence of a glut in the same,
or even in the absence of supplies sufficiently plentiful to
cause considerable depression in values. The exercise of
timely forethought will usually make this feasible.
There are two seasons when the values of the common
classes of meat are usually low. The first is that period
covered by the entire season beginning with the middle of
September, and extending over a considerable portion
of January following. The second is embraced within the first
and includes more particularly the holiday season during
which poultry to a considerable extent substitutes the use
of other kinds of meat. Only the best classes of beef and
mutton at such times command good prices relatively.
Two classes of persons are compelled to sell at such
seasons. The first is, ranchmen who may be unable to finish
stock because of the entire absence of finishing foods which
may not be shipped in because of cost. The surplus stock
must be disposed of at the approach of or during the au-
tumn. The second class includes all farmers who may not
have the necessary food or necessary conveniences to enable
them to finish surplus stock at home. So large and so
constant is the supply from these two sources, at the sea-
sons named, that it has a depressing influence on values.
But it may be more profitable to market animals, as sheep
which make a late finish on such foods as rape, at such a
season, than to attempt to further finish them on dry food
involving greater relative cost.
The values of meat are relatively higher at all other
times of the year than those named, but there are seasons
that are especially favorable to marketing viewed from
the standpoint of relatively high values for meat. These
include the late months of spring and all the summer
months. But during those months lighter animals are
wanted and mort especially when the weather becomes
hot.
MEAT PRODUCTION 389
The individual who has high class meat and of weighis
inclining to light at such seasons may expect good values
for it. But to meet the conditions named requires fore-
thought all along the line of development, and more es-
pecially with reference to the duration of the finishing
period.
What may be termed timeliness in marketing 1s of
much moment to the producer of live stock. Christmas
beef must be of high quality and ready at the proper season.
Milk lambs will ordinarily bring higher values in the inter-
val between Christmas and Easter than at an earlier or a
later season. When ready earlier they must be sold
when supplies of meat are excessive. When marketed
later, they must compete with early spring lambs. Heavy
weight animals of all kinds usually command the best
prices when the weather is cool or cold. While light
weight animals of good finish are in demand at all times,
they are most prized during the warm season. Swine mar-
keted in the spring usually sell at higher rates than those
sold in the fall, but they also cost more to produce them.
Marketing when ripe.—Ripeness as applied to live
stock is a relative term. In one sense, it may mean mar-
keting, when ready to meet the needs of a certain market,
in the absence of completed growth and even of high finish,
viewed from the standpoint of the amount of fat carried.
Winter lambs are ripe when plump and fat at weights
running from 35 to 45 pounds. Baby beef is ripe, when well
grown for the age and fat, at weights varying from goo to
1200 pounds in the yearling form. Bacon swine are ripe
when they attain to weights varying from 160 to 220 pounds
and carry but a moderate amount of fat. In another sense,
ripeness means that stage of development reached by ani-
mals that are being fattened, when they become incapable
of making increase proportionate to the food fed to them.
This latter is the sense in which the term is more commonly
used.
390 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
When animals become thus ripe, it is self-evident that
further feeding, viewed from the standpoint of increase,
will be done at a loss, hence the wisdom, under normal
conditions, of putting them on the market promptly when
they are ripe. When animals are being fattened, the in-
crease as a rule is less rapid as the fattening period ad-
vances, and the cost of making increase continually ad-
vances. In fattening steers at the Kansas experiment station
for 182 days, it was found that during the first 56 days, 73c
pounds of food were required to make 100 pounds of gain,
while for the whole period 1,000 pounds were required to
make the same. At the Wisconsin experiment station, swine
that were being fattened made 100 pounds of gain during the
first four weeks from 418 pounds of food, during the second
four from 461 pounds, and during the third four from
559 pounds. The average weight at the commencement was
222 pounds. In an experiment conducted by the author in
fattening swine, at the Ontario experiment station, 1890-91,
it was found that during the experiment proper which
covered go days, the cost of making 100 pounds of increase
was $4.65. The swine were then regarded as finished, but
they were fed for 47 days longer on the same kind of a
ration. During this period, the cost of making 100 pounds
of increase was $14.93. The average weight of the swine,
when the experiment proper began, was 150 pounds. If
such feeding is continued long enough, increase will entirely
cease, and in time retrogression will begin, on the principle,
that after ripeness, deterioration begins.
Prominent among the indications of ripeness are a good
covering of flesh on parts more usually bare, firmness of
flesh as indicated by resistance to gentle pressure in the
muscles of the body, and a plumpness of form which reveals
a finished condition to the practiced eye. The weight scale,
of course, is the surest indicator of that decrease or cessation
of growth that accompanies ripeness and the service that it
may thus render when used judiciously may be very sub-
stantial.
MEAT PRODUCTION 391
The necessity for selling animals promptly as soon as
finished should certainly be given due regard. It would
not seem justifiable to hold them longer in any instance,
except to avoid marketing in a glut or when advance in price
within a short time is practically assured. By exercising
proper forethought, they will be made ready so that they
may reach the market when prices for such meat are usu-
ally relatively good.
Shipping finished animals.—Since live stock have, in
very many instances, to be shipped long distances to the
market, both as stockers and in the finished form, and
since the condition in which they reach the same materially
influences the sale, it is a matter of much importance to the
shipper that they reach the place of consignment under con-
ditions that will be attended with a minimum of shrinkage
and loss of bloom. To secure these results requires: (1)
That they shall be fed properly in preparing them for ship-
ment and when in transit; (2) that the transit shall be as
rapid as possible and (3) that they shall be promptly un-
loaded and cared for when they reach the place of consign-
ment.
Before shipping finished cattle and sheep, the usual
grain allowance skould be reduced gradually and materially,
for two to three days before shipping, and in transit may
cease altogether. Hay of good quality should be supplied
and in quantity as much as they will consume. If they are
on pasture and also receiving grain, they should be yarded
a day or two before shipping, and fed hay, the grain al-
lowance also being reduced. Stockers may be taken from
well matured pastures and shipped at once. The continued
full feeding of grain before shipping finished animals, in
connection with the more than usual amount of exercise,
and the excitement resulting from changed conditions, is
much liable to result in scouring. This means much shrink-
age in weight and a soiled appearance. Bedding should be
plentifully supplied before loading. Unless driven far before
loading, in a warm atmosphere, animals will not drink to
excess when fed as indicated.
392 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
When loaded, the transit should be as rapid as possible.
This of course is mainly in the hands of carriers, but it may
be materially influenced by the choice of season made by the
shipper, when traffic is not congested. Every additional
hour spent on the road means additional shrinkage, as ani-
mals will not eat or drink freely when in transit by rail.
When shipped long distances, the animals will take less
harm if hurried on to the place of sale, than if the journey
is prolonged by unloading at feeding stations every 24
hours. Experience has shown that runs considerably longer
than 24 hours conduce to the well being of the cattle by
reducing the time in transit, thus shortening the period of
privation, notwithstanding the contrary view held by many
humane societies. Watchfulness is necessary on the part
of the attendant, especially in case of sheep lest they should
get down and suffer injury by being trodden on, especially
in crowded cars. Overcrowding of cars is, of course, a mis~
take, but no harm comes from filling cars to their full capa-
city. In shipping long distances weather probabilities
should be considered at certain seasons. A blizzard may
cause serious loss in transit, and the same is true of ex-
cessive heat, especially in the case of swine.
Delay in unloading is avoided when the animals have
been consigned to a commission firm when shipped. The
aim should be to unload them not later than 8 o’clock in the
morning, before the buyers make their rounds, and hay
and water should be present in ample supply. Any effort
to induce the animals to drink excessively by giving salt
previously or by withholding water, is to be deprecated.
Loss of weight in marketing.—The extent to which
finished animals shrink in weight on the way to market is
influenced chiefly: (1) By the time occupied in transit;
(2) the foods used in fattening and the degree of the
finish; (3) the age of the animals; (4) the extent to which
they have been exercised while being fattened and (5) the
character of the weather.
MEAT PRODUCTION 393
The time occupied in the journey from the feed lot or
other place of fattening to the market is probably the most
potent influence in causing shrinkage, even though the ani-
mals should be rested, fed and watered on the way. This
arises from the little inclination which they evince to take
food or water while in transit. The rate of the shrinkage,
however, decreases with increase in the time occupied in
conveyance, as the more prolonged the journey, the less the
amount of food and water is there in the digestive organs
to pass out of the system.
The more succulent the foods used in fattening and
the less the degree of the finish, the greater will be the loss
of live weight in transit on the supposition that the animals
are given fair treatment on the way. Of course if the
animals were driven to market, the more perfect the finish,
the greater would be their distress in traveling, and this
might result in a greater loss in weight. The flesh of ani-
mals fed watery foods, such as succulent grass and field
roots, contains a higher per cent of water than that of ani-
mals brought to high finish on dry foods, and this is more
readily lost than the fat in the system.
Young animals lose more in transit relatively than
animals that are mature and that are possessed of an equal
degree of finish. This arises first, from the larger per cent
of water in the system of the former, and second, from the
greater relative activity of the excretory organs. But this
tendency may to some extent be counteracted by the greater
power possessed by young animals to accommodate theni-
selves to disturbing conditions.
The extent to which animals exercise while being fat-
tened exerts a marked influence on the shrinkage in transit.
Cattle finished in yards or feed lots will shrink much less
than those tied in the stall and given but little or no ex-
ercise. Wethers fattened on alfalfa hay, wheat, corn and
roots at the Colorado experiment station shrank 9 per cent
of the live weight in transit to the Chicago market. Se-
lected lambs shrank 9.4 per cent, and lighter and more active
Mexican sheep shrank but 6.5 per cent.
304 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
The more comfortable the weather is, the less will
animals lose in transit. Where they must be driven several
miles to the shipping point the character of the weather is
of much moment. If it is warm, the journey should be
made in the night. In the experience of the autkor, fat
steers weighing between 1400 and 1500 pounds lost on an
average 75 pounds each in a journey of 15 miles made in
the night.
While it is not possible to state exactly the amount of
shrinkage from shipping finished animals, it will be more
or less of an approximation to say that cattle loaded one
day, the next day occupied in transit, and the third day sold
and weighed, will shrink somewhere in the neighborhood of
5 per cent of the live weight, sheep about 4 per cent and
swine 4 to 5 per cent. Locally, cattle are sometimes pur-
chased on the basis of a shrinkage of 4 to 5 per cent on
the weight in the stall or feed lot.
Feeding in stalls, sheds or yards.—Looking at this
question from the standpoint of theory only, the conclusion
would be reached that the largest and also the cheapest
gains would be made from feeding in the stall as, when
thus fed, the animals are kept absolutely at rest and the
individual wants of each animal as to food may be exactly
met. Until recent years, the view was almost universal
that feeding cattle in the stail would be attended with the
greater profit. The trend of the results obtained, how-
ever, from the experiments conducted is rather in the op-
posite direction. Of course the attempt is never made to
feed sheep or swine in the stall. The former are almost
invariably fed in sheds under average farm conditions, and
are given access to well bedded yards at will. The latter
are, in nearly all instances, finished in pens under cover,
and are given access to small yards at will. But both sheep
and swine are in some instances finished on certain kinds of
pasture. ]
The chief arguments in favor of finishing in the stall
are the following: (1) The food fed can be controlled
MEAT PRODUCTION : 395
at will. Where it is desired to feed a relatively large pro-
portion of roughage to concentrates on the ground of econ-
omy, this is more easily accomplished than when animals
are fed together in a wholesale way. In such feeding to
animals, not confined in the stall, the stronger would get
more than their rightful share of the concentrates, and
the weaker less. (2) The food can be more perfectly ad-
justed to the needs of each animal. It frequently happens
that some variation in the kind and quantity of food fed
is helpful to the individual animal. This cannot be con-
trolled when animals are fed loose. (3) The temperature
can be more perfectly adjusted to the needs of the animals,
as undue cold may thus be excluded, and in this way un-
necessary waste avoided. (4) The degree of the exercise
can be so completely controlled that no energy will be
thus wasted at the expense of the food. (5) The resultant
fertilizer can be saved without waste where an ample supply
of litter is used.
The chief arguments in favor of finishing in the shed
or yard are: (1) The saving effected in the labor of feed-
ing. This cannot be gainsaid, as the difference equals that
which results between doing work in a wholesale and retail
way. (2) The saving in the labor of handling the manure.
This is an important item. It isto some extent offset under
certain conditions by the leaching which takes place in open
yards in times of heavy rainfall, but this may be largeiy
prevented by restricting the size of the yards and supplying
ample litter. Manure made under cover with an ample
supply of litter by animals at liberty is of the best, as it
conserves all the liquid portion and does not suffer loss
readily by excessive fermentation. (3) Experience has
shown it to result in a majority of instances in larger
returns absolutely and relatively in proportion to the food
fed. This reason is very potent. That it is so arises
probably from the fact that the more exercise taken by the
animals at liberty causes them to take more food, which
390 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS’
results in greater relative gains through the saving ef-
fected in the food of maintenance, and probably also
through the more perfect assimilation of the nutrients. This
increase is more than sufficient to overcome the increased
loss of bodily heat by the animals that are loose, since they
are more exposed to the cold. Animals confined are fre-
quently allowed to become too warm and the discomfort
resulting is adverse to their gains.
To secure the best results, however, from feeding cattle
loose, it would seem correct to say that the following con-
ditions should all be present: (1) They should be horn-
less, either naturally or made so to prevent bodily injury.
(2) They should be fed under cover, unless in climates
quite mild and dry. (3) The concentrated food should be
fed in mangers in which the animals could be kept in
place by stanchions adjusted by one movement of a lever
until the meal is consumed. In this way the amount of
meal fed could be virtually controlled. Unless fed thus,
the strong may get more than their rightful share. (4)
The yards should be small and kept well bedded to avoid
unnecessary leaching of the manure. The litter should be
sufficiently ample to prevent discomfort to the animals when
at rest, either from the presence of frozen lumps or of
miry or even unduly saturated conditions.
Finishing animals on pasture.—In the discussion of
this question the following points necessarily come up for
consideration: (1) The degree of the finish that may be
expected from pasture alone; (2) the season for finishing
to secure the greatest profit; (3) the amount of grain that
may be used with highest profit in supplementing pastures ;
(4) the relative profit from such finishing and (5) the
mistake of finishing on sparse pastures.
The degree of the finish that may be expected from
pastures is influenced by the character of the pastures and
duration of the pasturing period. Some pastures furnish
decidedly more nutriment than others in proportion to the
food consumed. The short pastures of the western ranges
MEAT PRODUCTION 397
are proverbial for their fattening properties. All grass
pastures are better adapted for finishing when reasonably
well advanced in growth than earlier in the season, notwith-
standing that early growth when abundant may produce
more weight. Grasses alone, therefore, will not produce
high finish on a period of grazing that does not cover sev-
eral months. Nor will it give so perfect a finish as when
grain is fed, as is evidenced in the extent to which range
cattle are purchased and placed in feed lots for further
- finishing, after having grazed on the ranges during much
of the entire season.
The season for finishing to secure the greatest pront
will, of course, vary with such conditions as the flesh car-
ried when the grazing begins, the influence of the season
on growth and on the markets for meat. It would seem
correct to say that the aim should be to finish grazed cattle
not later than September, when they have been given a
grain supplement, and not later than July when they have
been given a reasonable grain portion from the beginning
of the previous winter onward. After September the mar-
kets are frequently over-supplied witk meats of somewhat
inferior ades, which has a depressing influence on the
same.
The amount of grain that may be fed with highest
profit to cattle on pasture will vary with the age of the
animals, their condition; the nature of the pasture, and
the price of grain. The younger the animal up to maturity,
the leaner when grazing begins, and the more sparse the
pasture, the greater is the necessity for feeding grain and
the larger the amount required. The cheaper relatively
that grain is, of course, the greater is the profit from
feeding it. Clearly then, it is impossible to formulate any
hard and fast rules that will serve as infallible guides to
those who finish animals on grass. The best feeders are
not in agreement on this question. ,
The following conclusions based on the experience of
practical feeders and on the results of trials made at the
398 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
experiment stations, would seem to be correct: (1) That
when cattle are turned out on grass to be finished not
later than mid-summer, the grain ration given to them
before the grazing season should be continued, and in-
creased if necessary. (2) That when cattle are to be
grazed through the season and sold from off the grass in
finished form, it is questionable if the grain fed for two or
three months while the pastures are at their best will give
an adequate return, viewed from the standpoint of in-
crease in weight, but as soon as the grasses begin to fail
the reverse of this is true. (3) That the profit will probably
be found greater relatively when a light grain ration
is fed to animals grazing, rather than a full ration of the
same, as grass is relatively cheaper than grain. It should
also be noted, that when estimating the result from feeding
grain on pastures, the influence exerted on the increase in
the weight of the animal, on the quality of the meat and on
the saving effected in the pasture should be considered.
Whether it will be found profitable to feed grain to
sheep that are being fattened on pastures has not been made
the subject of experiment to any very great extent in this
country. The necessity for so doing, and the advantage
from the same will probably be-based, (1) on the character
of the pasture; (2) on the shortness of the period in which
the fattening is to be done and (3) on the extent to which
fertilizers have to be purchased. Sheep and lambs may
be finished in good form on well matured rape in 60 to 90
days from the commencement of the grazing. In the
experience of the author feeding a grain supplement to
lambs thus grazed- did not secure enough additional in-
crease to cover all the cost of the grain. Notwithstanding,
when it is remembered that a light grain supplement, run-
ning from % to 1 pound per animal, per day, is to some
extent a safeguard against certain digestive troubles that
are liable to affect sheep thus grazed, more especially after
hoar frost begins to settle on the rape, it would not be
thus fed at a loss. When fattened on clover or amid grain
MEAT PRODUCTION 399
stubbles, from % to 1 pound of some such grain mixture
as corn and oats would be a necessity for quick finishing.
When large sums are paid out annually for commercial
fertilizers, to feed such a supplement freely as corn and
oil cake to sheep while being grazed on arable pastures,
would probably be found one of the cheapest possible
methods of securing fertility. It is doubtless correct to say
that a light grain supplement fed to immature swine on
pasture will prove profitable in all instances in which the
grazing does not ednsist of mature grain. Growing swine
cannot consume enough pasture to insure quick growth.
The amount of the supplement will vary with the size of
the swine and the character of the pasture, but it is ap-
proximately correct to say that not less than half the
amount of grain should be fed that would be necessary if
the swine were wholly dependent on grain.
The relative profit from finishing stock on pasture with
a grain supplement as compared with the same under con-
fined conditions has been made the subject of experiment,
and the conclusions reached favor the view that more
orofit results from finishing thus on pasture. This view
is doubtless correct where the conditions favor such grazing
but the fact remains, nevertheless, that very much of the
live stock fattened must continue to be so fattened in the
winter season, otherwise much coarse food would be
vasted that is now turned to excellent account.
It would be a mistake to try and finish live stock on
sparse pastures, even when a grain supplement is in ample
supply, owing to the over abundant expenditure of energy
on the part of the animals in searching for grass, which,
when succulent, is always appetizing. Such expenditure
would be at the expense of supplemental food. But it may
be in order to feed breeding or store animals a supplement
of grain rich in the elements of fertilization. When the
object is to enrich the land as well as to benefit the animals,
sheep are best adapted to such feeding, because of the
even way in which their droppings are distributed, and
400 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
the small amount of loss that accompanies such distribti-
tion. It would also be a mistake to require animals that
are being fattened to consume closely shock corn fed oa
grazing lands in the autumn. The aim should be to have
two pastures, and to allow store cattle and swine to glean
after the animals that are being fattened. The two classes
of animals would thus be alternated from day to day. Like-
wise it would be a mistake to compel swine that are be-
ing finished on unharvested corn or peas, to glean closely.
That should be done by store swine that are admitted
later.
Financial returns from purchased feeders.—When
animals are purchased for feeding, the financial results |
from fattening them will be influenced: (1) By the age
at the time of purchase; (2) by the weight; (3) by the
condition as. to the flesh they carry; (4) by the value of
the food fed and the duration of the feeding period, and
by the difference between the price paid at the time of
purchase and received at the time of sale.
It has been shown (see p. 371), that animals young
and immature make greater increase when being fattened
than mature animals. But age also influences market val-
ues more or less. Of course with all animals, there is an
age below which the market demands them only in limited
numbers and to meet some special need, as in the case ot
“milk lambs” and “baby beef;” but when this age is past,
the younger the animals are when put on feed, other things
being equal, the larger are the profits likely to be, not only
because of the greater and cheaper increase made, but
because of the higher relative price which such animals bring
when sold. With cattle the highest price and widest sale
are made by animals from say 1,200 to 1,400 pounds when
finished; with sheep from go to 100 pounds; with the lard
types of swine, from 200 to 250 pounds, and with the
bacon types, from 160 to 200 pounds. In former years
animals much heavier were more in favor.
MEAT PRODUCTION AOL
When animals are being fattened, it has been showa
that the profit usually made comes from the increase in
value of eack pound of the live weight at the time of
purchase (see p. 384). Theoretically, therefore, the high-
est profit should come from animals which weigh the most,
but to this there is the offset; first, that animals lighter
because younger gain more on less feed, and second, that
they usually sell for more, relatively, when finished. It is
probably true that generally more is paid relatively per
pound for the lighter animals, which so far offset the
SCturns.
It has been shown that condition as to the amount of
flesh carried by animals when put upon feed influences
gains (see p. 377). But it usually influences profits in
another way, that is, through the lower price for which
such animals can be purchased. Because of this, more
profit is sometimes made from feeding animals so mature
that they are no longer profitable for breeding uses. When
cattle are purchased young and lean, in the opening of the
grazing season, they usually make large gains relatively
and give profitable returns for the season’s grazing be-
cause of the light weight of the sparely covered frame at
the time of purchase
The influence of the cost of food is discussed on
page 382. The duration of the finishing period is largely
influenced by such considerations as the flesh condition
when the animals are put on feed, by the relative cost
of food and the finished product resulting from it, and
by the comparative fitness of the animals for medium
or high finish. The higher the condition of animals when
fattening begins, the shorter relatively is the period re-
quired in which to finish them and vice versa. The say-
ing thus effected in the food of maintenance may go far
to offset the difference in cost between lean and less lean
animals when purchased for feeding. The higher the
value of the foods fed and the lower the value of the
finished product, the greater the necessity for curtailing
402 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
the period of feeding and vice versa. The less fitness
possessed by the animals for making a high finish, the
shorter relatively should be the feeding period and the
higher the degree of such fitness, the more may it be pro-
longed under normal conditions, as high finish usually in-
sures a high selling value.
The difference between the price paid for animals
when bought for fattening and when sold as finished,
probably exercises a greater influence on returns than any
single influence which bears on the fattening process. The
difference between the buying and selling price to insure
profit from fattening animals, especially sheep and swine, is
influenced by the character of the animals, the cost of
foods and the nature of the feeding. In this very com-
plicated and many-sided problem, it will be found that
the better the class of animals, the younger they are, the
cheaper the foods and the cheaper the system of finishing,
the narrower may be the margin of difference between
buying and selling values. Finishing on grass with a
supplement of concentrates is usually cheaper than finish-
ing on dry food (see p. 397). With dry fodders worth
% to % cent a pound, and concentrates at I cent
a pound, some net profit should be made wken the
margin of difference between the buying and _ sell-
ing prices is I cent per pound live weight. Considerable
profit should result when it is 114 cents and a good profit ©
when it is 1% cents.
Baby beef.—During recent years the production of
what is termed “baby” beef has increased materially. The
discussion of the question involves the consideration of the
following: (1) What is baby beef? (2) The objects
sought in growing it and (3) where and how it should be
grown?
Baby beef may be defined as beef made from animals
subsequently to the milk period and not yet two years
old. The animals are kept growing rapidly from birth
and are then marketed in a high condition of flesh, more
MEAT PRODUCTION 403
commonly in the one-year form, and between the ages of
15 and 21 months. The term has also been applied to
animals marketed when a little beyond the age of two
years, but clearly it should not be so applied, as animals
beyond that age may be made to produce carcasses, approx-
imating average carcass weights.
The following are chief among the objects sought
from growing baby beef:—(1)To meet the demand for
well finished carcasses of light weight and possessed of
quality that commands ready sale. Such meat is juicy and
tender; (2) to prevent the over-stocking which may result
from maintaining meat making animals of a more mature
age. Such overstocking may easily occur both on the range
and on the arable farm; (3) to secure increase from a
minimum expenditure of food, on the principle that in-
crease calls for more food to make it as the birth period
is receded from.
Baby beef can only be finished on the arable farm
or under arable farm conditions, although its growth
may be commenced and maintained on the range up to the
weaning period. Dropped in the spring, the calves are pur-
chased when weaned, pushed rapidly onward and disposed
of during the following summer. Localities in which corn
and alfalfa or corn and clover grow abundantly, have high-
est adaptation for such feeding, since they furnish grow-
ing and fattening foods in balance and cheaply, but in all
localities where growth is abundant, baby beef may be
grown from start to finish.
On the arable farm two methods of growing baby
beef have been followed. By the first, the calves are
dropped, preferably in the autumn or early winter, reared
upon their dams, pushed rapidly forward by generous grain
feeding, subsequently to weaning, and marketed the second
spring from the stall or what may usually be preferable,
from the pastures of early summer, a season when such
meat is much in demand. Animals reared thus will prob-
ably bring more profit usually in the two-year form, since
404 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
the proportion of cost to be charged against the dam will
be materially less. By the second method, they are reared
essentially on skim milk and adjuncts, the adjuncts con-
sisting chiefly of concentrated foods and high class fodders.
Baby beef from this source will be scarcely equal to that
from calves that were suckled by their dams, but it will be
made more cheaply, as none of the cost is to be charged
against the dam, since maternity in her case was necessary
to bring her into milk, and its cost, therefore, would have
to be incurred, regardless of what would become of the
calf.
The grain during the milk period in the case of hand-
reared calves, ought to contain not less than 33 per cent
of fattening food, such as corn, barley or rye from the
first, when the fodders are leguminous, and this propor-
tion should be materially increased, for several months
previous to the disposal of the animals. Where non-legu-
minous fodder must be relied on, the protein equivalents
being purchased, as oil cake and such foods, the cost of
production will be materially increased. The necessity for
an ample supply of protein when growing such meat is well
brought out in an experiment conducted by the Nebraska
experiment station in 1904. When yearling steers were
fed alfalfa and corn, the daily increase was 1.97 pounds.
When fed prairie hay and corn it was 1.35 pounds. The
net profit with the former was $8.66, with the latter 38
cents. The test covered a period of six months.
Winter lambs.—By winter lambs is meant lambs that
~ are born, say from November 1 onward until mid-winter,
and are pushed forward rapidly in their growth and are
then sold while yét suckled by their dams. The aim should
be to have them fill the place in the market between the
time of abundant fowl consumption at the Christmas season
and the ordinary season for selling early spring lambs. To
bring the relatively high prices usually paid for them, they
should be made plump and fat and to reach 40 to 50
pounds in live weight at the age of 60 to 80 or go days.
MEAT PRODUCTION 405
To raise winter lambs, or as they are sometimes called,
milk lambs, successfully, the following requisites must be
present, viz:—(1) Ewes that will drop lambs at the proper
season; (2) quarters sufficiently protected to shield the
young lambs from harmful exposure; (3) food suitable in
kind and ample in quantity and (4) facilities for marketing
with dispatch and on easy call. If any of these are
lacking, the success of the work will be proportionately
increased.
The breeds at present in this country which have
the habit of dropping lambs in the late autumn or early
winter are the Dorset and the Tunis and high grades of
these. If lambs of one or the other of these breeds are
crossed upon common females of breeding more or less
mixed, the habit of producing lambs at the desired season
may be engrafted on the progeny in a limited number
of generations. The change may be facilitated by judicious
feeding and selection. Experiments conducted by the
author at the Minnesota station, showed that in two gen-
erations of such breeding, the change was secured in a
majority of instances.
As in northern climes, winter lambs are dropped in
weather that is usually more or less severe, it is necessary
in growing them to have shelter provided sufficiently warm
to protect the young lambs from hazard through exposure
until they are a few days old. Such shelter may be pro-
vided by a basement of a barn, dry, airy and sunny, or by a
lambing pen or house built or fitted up for such use. As
soon as the lambs are well started, it is not especially
necessary that they shall be kept in quarters much warmer
than would be suitable for a breeding flock, but of course
temperatures lower than a certain degree will retard in-
trease and will make it more costly. The dams should
be in reasonably good condition when the Iambs are
weaned, and must then be heavily fed on foods suitable
for milk production until the lambs are sold. The fodder
should be leguminous, fine in growth rather than coarse,
406 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
and well cured. The grain should be rich in protein.
Equal parts of bran, oats and corn or barley make a good
grain ration, and it should be fed nearly to the limit of the
capacity of the dams to consume it. Field roots sliced or
corn silage are excellent, especially the former. The
roots may be fed with much freedom, but usually not more
than 3 or 4 pounds of silage are fed daily.
The lambs are started on such food as sifted ground
oats and oil cake or oil meal. This food and that which
follows it, is fed inside a creep, which the dams may not
_ enter. Ere long the lambs will take unground oats, cracked
corn and oil meal, and these properly blended aid in pushing
them rapidly. Corn may usually be profitably fed to the
extent of making half the grain ration, as quick fattening
is wanted. The other factors may be fed in equal propor-
tions where the prices will admit of such feeding.
As winter lambs are usually sent to a market that
furnishes meat for a special and high class trade, they
are frequently ordered as wanted. To fill such orders with
dispatch, it is essential that the shipping facilities shall
be of a reasonably high order. This means that winter
lambs can be most profitably reared in proximity to rail-
road stations.
Growing bacon.—To grow bacon of high quality, the
following requisites are essential: (1) The animals must
be possessed of correct form; (2) they must be managed
on correct principles and (3) they must be grown on foods
that will secure the end sought. The question of form is
discussed elsewhere. (See p. 153).
Correct management calls for feeding that will secure
the requisite growth within a reasonable age, for steady and
continuous rather than fitful development, for that amount
of exercise that will insure the requisite amount of muscle
in the carcass, and for that degree of finish that gives the
desired firmness and thickness to the carcass without ex-
cess in either of these.
MEAT PRODUCTION 407
The most desirable weights in high class bacon run
from, say 1600 to 220 pounds. Other things being equal.
the lighter weights are preferred. These weights should
be attained in from six to seven months. To reach them
more quickly would involve feeding that would produce
meat with an excess of fat and softness. To produce
them more slowly would cut in seriously on the profits.
Unless the growth is steady and continuous, the desired
weights will not be attained. It should average about 39
pounds a month during each month. Of course it will not
average that much the first three months, but will average
more during tke months that follow. Food that will
produce very quick development, especially during the
later stages of growth, will produce meat more or less
lacking in firmness.
Exercise is essential to the development of muscle.
Too little exercise accompanied even by ordinary feeding
would result in the production of too small a percentage
of lean meat. The bacon carcass should possess not only
a large proportion of lean in the sides but also in the
hams and elsewhere. Too much exercise will retard growth
unduly. Because of the exercise which it furnishes, the
pasturing of bacon swine during the season of growth has
an important bearing upon the development of muscle.
With bacon swine, the fattening or finishing period
is less pronounced than with the other types of swine. It
is more a firming and thickening of the carcass than a
fattening of the same, and yet it is not to be understoo/
that a bacon carcass is synonymous with a lean and thin
carcass. The finishing of bacon is accomplished through
feeding foods which contain a reasonably high percentage
of protein and carbohydrates, but not an excess of either.
During pregnancy and the nursing period that follows,
the food fed to the bacon and lard types of swine is es-
sentially the same, that is to say, in both instances it should
be essentially nitrogenous in character (see p. 124). But
during the growing period subsequently to weaning, the
408 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
bacon types call for food more nitrogenous than the lard
types, and during the finishing period the food fed to the
former should be considerably less carbonaceous. Legumin-
ous pastures are in order. Corn may form say 33 per cent
of the grain fed while the swine feed upon such pastures.
During the finishing period it should not furnish more
than that proportion of the same. Skim milk and barley
furnish an excellent ration for growing bacon, and no grain
furnishes bacon of a higher quality than barley if fed as
the sole or principal food during the finishing period. In
the absence of skim milk, shorts is one of the best sub-
stitutes, while skim milk, shorts and barley are particularly
excellent when fed in reasonable combination. These are
the standard foods fed in Denmark, so justly noted for the
high quality of its bacon. Other grain, as peas, oats and
rye, when available, may be fed along with barley and with
much success.
CHAPTER XXvVill:
CONSIDERATIONS THAT RELATE TO MILK
PRODUCTION.
Prominent among the considerations that relate to
milk production are the following :—
Formation of milk.
Composition of milk.
Foods and milk production.
Milk production and cost.
Quantity in milk production.
Quality in milk production.
Breeds and milk production.
Lactation and milk production.
Age and milk production
Large and small cows.
Relative milk giving capacity.
12. Protection for cows in summer
13. Shelter for cows in winter.
14. Feeding grain to cows on pasture.
These are discussed in the order given.
Formation of milk—As has been pointed out by
Armsby, milk is not simply a secretion from tke blood,
as urine is in the kidneys, or as the digestive juices are in
the stomach and intestines. That it is not a transudate, that
is a variant, a filtrate of the blood, the result of the pas-
sage of its fluid constituents through membrane, is shown
in its composition. Milk differs from blood: (1) In that
it contains factors not found in blood; (2) in the marked
contrast in the ash in blood and milk respectively and (3)
in the sustaining power of each. Cow’s milk contains
from 2 to 5 per cent protein, and from 3 to 5 per cent
milk sugar. But the protein of the blood exists as al-
bumin or fibrin, while the greater portion of that in milk
exists as casein, which is found in considerable quantity
409
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OO GO NO Be ei
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410 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
only in milk. Milk sugar has not been met with else-
where in the animal organism. ‘The ash of milk contains
from three to five times as much potash as soda, while the
ash of blood contains from three to five times as much
soda as potash. Milk, therefore, cannot be a secretion, in
the ordinary use of the term. Moreover, milk contains
within itself all the essential constituents for sustaining
animal life and in due balance which is not true of blood.
Milk is secreted in the mammary glands. It is formed
in the milk glands and from the cells of the same. That
its formation shall be possible, it is essential that the ani-
mal which has not heretofore produced it shall become
pregnant. When conception takes place, the cells begin
to enlarge and to fill with fat globules. New cells also
are formed, a process which increases until the birth period,
at which time it becomes very rapid. The secretions first
formed are those also first drawn from the udder, and
form the colostrum of milk (see p. 411). In three or four
days, this is followed by the true milk. After a period in
lactation, the glands decrease in size, and the milk flow is
reduced, hence the necessity for recurring periods of
pregnancy to secure corresponding periods of abundant
milk production.
Milk elaboration does not proceed at a uniform rate
between milkings. It is most rapid by far while the milk
is being withdrawn. It is greatly accelerated by the manip-
ulation of the udder in the act of milking, and is also much
influenced by the nervous condition of the cow. The char-
acter of the manipulation exerts an important influence
as well as the fact of the same, as is shown from the in-
crease or decrease which frequently results from a change
of milkers. The results from nervous influence are shown
in the marked difference in quantity and to some extent in
the quality of milk withdrawn by those whose work is
gentle and kind, as compared with the same withdrawn
by milkers harsh and rough.
That the quantity and quality of the milk are not
dependent entirely on the food, is evidenced in the great
MILK PRODUCTION 4II
difference in the amount and character of the milk from
two cows fed on precisely the same kind of food, the other
conditions being similar. These are determined by the
size and quality of the milk gland. But the relation be-
tween food and milk is very close, nevertheless. The milk
cells consist largely of protein. The fat also and probably
a part of the milk sugar is formed from albuminoids, hence
it is to be expected that their formation will be more or
less dependent on the protein in the food. This logical
expectation has been abundantly verified by experiments,
which have shown that the most abundant milk yields have
been obtained from a fodder rich in protein. Before leav-
ing the subject, it may be said that, notwithstanding ail
that is known about milk elaboration, many things about
it are not yet understood.
The composition of milk.—Milk is the opaque whitish
liquid secreted by the mammary glands of female animals,
and primarily designed for the nourishment of their young,
but in every age, it has also been made to furnish food
for the human family. In America about the only milk
used for man is that taken from the cow, but the milk of
sheep and goats and even of mares is also used thus in
various countries. Cow’s milk is easily digested, and con-
tains in equilibrium all the constituents requisite for main-
taining life and promoting growth in bovines and also in
the human family, at least during the earlier periods of
development. Notwithstanding considerable and even wide
variations in the composition of milk from individual ani-
mals, the following may be given as approximately the aver-
age constituents of the milk of cows, sheep and mares
respectively :—
Digestive nutrients in 100 lbs.
ind of Dry matter in Carbo- Ether ~
milk 100 pounds Protein hydrates Extract
lbs Ibs. lbs. Ibs.
From cows 12.80 3.60 4.90 3.70
From ewes 19.18 6.52 4.91 6.86
From mares 9.22 1.99 5-67 1.21
412 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
Because of the difficulty in obtaining samples, but few
analyses of sow’s milk have ever been made. At the Wis-
consin station the average of nine samples gave the fol-
lowing in 100 pounds of milk: Dry matter 19.65 pounds,
protein 6.4 pounds, carbohydrates 4.75 pounds and ether
extract 8.24 pounds.
The protein is found in the above tables as casein and
albumen, the proportions being as about 5 to 1. When the
casein is coagulated, as by the use of rennet, it forms curd
which is made into cheese. The greater portion of the fat
also enters into the curd. The albumen does not coag-
ulate, and in making cheese, along with the milk sugar,
passes into the whey.
The carbohydrates are formed as milk sugar, which in
chemical composition closely resembles cane sugar, but is
not equal to the latter in sweetening power, and it is less
soluble. It is thought to have about the same feeding
value as an equal weight of starch. When milk sours
coagulation is caused by some of the milk sugar being
changed to lactic acid.
The ether extract, which is simply fat, exists in the
form of minute globules, which are essentially a mixture
of several fats. These are exceedingly minute, so much so
that their number is almost incredible. When the milk is
left at rest, these rise to the surface and form cream. They
are also separated by what is known as the centrifugal
system, which subjects the milk to a rapid whirling motion,
at least soon after it is drawn from the cow. By
churning the cream thus gathered, butter is obtained.
Whole milk is also rich in mineral matter. Were it
otherwise, it would not furnish sufficient material for the
further development of the bony structure in young ani-
mals. Cow’s milk contains about seven-tenths of a pound
of mineral substance in each 100 pounds of milk, spoken
of as ash. It consists chiefly of phosphates and chloride of
potash, soda and lime.
MILK PRODUCTION 413
As a food for young stock, whole milk is without a
rival. Substitutes are of course frequently used as supple-
ments or substitutes for it, but none of these have been
found to answer quite so well the purposes of rapid growth.
This explains why it is so generally given without stint
to young animals that are to be fitted for exhibitiou
purposes, far beyond the usual age for weaning. Although
by far the safest food for young stock, some caution must
be exercised in feeding it, especially when very rich in
fat, or digestive troubles may follow.
From the table it will be noticed that ewe’s milk has
in it a much higher proportion of protein and fat than
cow’s milk. This would suggest the wisdom of adding
cream to cow’s milk used in starting lambs quite young
on the same, or of using strippings for such feeding. As
mare’s milk contains only about one-half the protein and
fat of cow’s milk, but considerably more sugar, when
cow’s milk is given to young foals, it should be diluted
with water and sugar added. These additions may of
course be reduced gradually as the digestion becomes ac-
customed to the change. Sow’s milk is much richer in
fat and sugar than cow’s milk, hence it would seem prudent
to add cream and sugar for a time, when cow’s milk is
substituted for the former with quite young pigs.
Foods and milk production.—To furnish milk eco-
nomically the cow should be supplied with food: (1) In
balance as to chemical constituents and of easy digestibility ;
(2) in quantity limited only by the consuming power of
the cow; (3) obtained from sources relatively cheap and
(4) possessed of at least a reasonable amount of succulence.
The yield in milk production, other things being equal, wiil
be reduced in proportion as these essentials are lacking.
The Wolff-Lehmann standards recommend the following
organic and digestible nutrients for milk production per
day, in a cow possessed of 1,000 pounds live weight and
producing 22 pounds milk daily:
414 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
Digestible protein ; 2.5 pounds.
Digestible ether extract 0.5 pound.
Digestible carbohydrates _ 13.0 pounds.
Total dry matter 29.0 pounds.
This gives a nutritive ratio of 1:5.7. In nearly all
foods the inorganic or mineral constituents are sufficiently
present to supply all the needs of the animals. The one
common exception is salt.
The above constituents are much the same as those
contained in good pasture grass, and this fact constitutes
a strong presumptive argument in favor of its approximate
correctness. Good pasture grass, when at its best for
milk production, constitutes more nearly a perfect ration
for cows giving milk than any single food that can be
furnished for them. This is evidenced in the doubt that
exists in the minds of many practical men as to whether
anything can be added to such a ration, as grain for in-
stance, that will make it more effective in producing milk.
Good pasture for milk production may be defined as
pasture so far advanced in growth that it will not induce
under-laxity of the digestion, not far enough advanced in
growth to make it in any marked degree less palatable
or less digestible, and sufficiently abundant to supply the
needs of the animals without calling for any unnecessary
exertion from it while grazing.
The tendency with some American investigators, how-
ever, is to reduce somewhat the protein requirement in the
food for dairy cows as given in the Wolff-Lehmann
standards. Some of these favor a reduction of as much as
Io per cent of protein. This would make the digestible
protein requirement 2.25 instead of 2.5 pounds per day, and
would in no inconsiderable degree cheapen the ration. The
wisdom of making such a reduction has found considerable
support. The difference in the protein reqirement thus
advanced for the respective countries may be owing to a
difference in the condition of the foods as to the amount of
MILK PRODUCTION 415
moisture which they contain, or to some other difference.
Nor should it be overlooked that heifers immature require
more protein relatively than mature cows to aid in complet-
ing growth, and large milk producers more than those
which produce less freely, since with the former more is
required for the larger yield of milk furnished.
Much depends on the relative digestibility of the food.
Concentrated foods as grain and the by-products of grain
are not only richer in the per cent of nutrients which they
contain, but the per cent of these digestible is also larger.
This explains in part, why it is advantageous and even
necessary to feed more or less grain or meal along with dry
fodders. -The cow is unable to consume enough bulky
fodder to produce maximum milk yields, and with increase
in the relative proportion thereof fed to cows, comes in-
crease in the energy expended in digesting the ration. For
instance, a ration that produces a given return on the basis
of nutrients when 60 per cent of the nutrients are digestible,
will not produce the same return if but 55 per cent are
digestible. Nor should the same return be expected if the
nutrients in the less digestible ration were increased so as
to make the total digestible nutrients in the two equal. In
the latter instance, there would be a diversion of energy
in digestion from milk production to the mastication of the
extra digestible matter in it, and in carrying the same
through the various digestive organs. But, on the other
hand, as a matter of economy and to maintain sufficient
distension in tke digestive organs, a certain proportion of
-roughage is necessary.
The necessity for feeding cows freely in milk produc-
tion will be apparent when it is remembered that more
than half the food fed in many instances is required as
the food of maintenance before any return can be obtained
for the same. Production can only begin from the food fed
after this requirement has been satisfied, and is only limited
by the amount consumed and the capacity of the cow to
produce milk from it. The only limit to be observed in
416 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
feeding cows applies to the relative proportion of con-
centrates fed. This should not be so high as to react in
reducing digestive capacity, which will certainly follow pro-
longed and excessive feeding of concentrates (see p. II5).
That the aim should be to feed foods relatively cheap
when efficient, does not require to be argued. But how to
secure and feed them thus stirs a large and ever recurring
question in the experience of dairymen. Grass and soi!-
ing foods, as well as dry fodders, are usually cheaper
than concentrates, and therefore should be fed to the great-
est extent compatible with the highest profit attainable. To
secure this it may be necessary first, to sacrifice something
in highest yields, attainable through feeding more grain,
and second, to feed more carLohydrates relatively than the
feeding standards call for, because of their greater relative
cheapness.
That succulence in foods exercises an important in-
fluence on milk production has already been noticed. Why
it does so is not so well understood. This relation is con-
stant in the sense that it is always present, though varying
in degree with the foods that contain the succulence. The
influence thus exerted is greater with some foods than with
others of equal succulence. The ‘result follows probably
from the favorable influence which they exert on the
digestive tone, as when they lessen the tendency to consti-
pation, and also because of the more favorable condition in
which they are for being suitably acted upon by the gastric
juices, because of their soft condition. Green corn is cer-
tainly more favorable to milk production than the same
amount of dry matter in corn fed in the cured form, not-
withstanding that the amount of water taken into the sys-
tem should be the same in the two instances.
Milk production and cost.—The cost of producing
milk will depend on such conditions as the following: (1)
The value of the food fed; (2) the capacity of the cow to
turn food into milk; (3) the season of the year at which
the milk is obtained; (4) the cost of the plant and the value
of labor involved.
MILK PRODUCTION 417
So far as food is purchased, it is of course to be
charged not at the value in the open market but at the
price paid, with the cost of conveyance added. Wken grown
upon the farm, it is to be reckoned not at the market but
at the home value, which may be set down as approximately
20 per cent less than the market value under average con-
ditions. This important factor should be taken into the
account when studying the reports of experiment stations
on animal production, as these usually charge food at
market values. _
Variations in the value of foods, the result of location
and other conditions may make a difference of not less
than 50 per cent in the cost of production. Fertility or the
lack of this has an important influence on the cost of home
grown foods. The proportion of roughage to concentrates
fed, especially when succulent and nutritious, as silage,
tends to cheapen production. In an experiment at the
Utah station, the cost of maintaining a dairy cow for a
year was $22.28; while at the Cornell university it was
$45.25.
The influence of adaptation in the cow for production
is, in some instances, greater even than that of food values
on the cost of production. In the test referred to above at
the Cornell university, the particulars of which are given
in Bulletin No. 32, issued by that institution, there were
20 cows. The cost of producing 100 pounds of milk varied
all the way from 44 cents to $1.07 per cow. The cost of
food with the former was $43.12 for the year and with
the latter $36.24. In the case of a very young heifer, the
cost of producing 100 pounds of milk was $1.46, but be-
cause of her tender age she is excluded from the compari-
son. The cost of producing butter fat varied from 11 cents
to 27 cents per pound. Excluding the heifer referred to,
tke yields of milk for the year varied from 3,387.75 to
11,165 pounds. To produce the former cost in food $36.24,
and to produce the latter $52.06. Valuing the milk at 70
cents per 100 pounds, the difference in the net production
418 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
would be $51.04 and in the cost of the food but $15.82. The
wisdom of careful selection and close culling in the dairy
are thus emphasized.
Experiments have shown that production costs more
in winter than in summer, in keeping with the relative
change in food values. The maximum of cost is usually
reached in March and April, and the minimum in the early
months of pasture. As winter approaches, the cost again
increases. This does not mean that summer dairying. is
more profitable. It is usually less so, owing to the relatively
cheaper value of dairy products. On the average farm it
would be correct to say, that winter dairying, all things
considered, is the more profitable -and generally ad-
vantageous.
As the cost of the plant, that is, the cost of rent of
land and buildings, cows and dairy utensils increases, so
does the interest on the investment. The difference in this
respect on cheap land and fertile, and dear land and not
much fertile, is very considerable. The difference in wages
may also vary materially in localities. The cost of trans-
portation must be considered, and the difference here also
may be material in the case of milk.
In the face of influences which thus vary, it is impossible
to give mean averages of the cost of producing 100 pounds
of milk, or one pound of butter fat. With a whole herd
it has seldom been found possible during recent years to
produce the former at a less cost than 50 cents and the
latter at a less cost than 12 cents.
Quantity in milk production.—The influences that
affect quantity in milk production include the following:
(1) The food fed; (2) tke breed or grade; (3) type; (4)
inheritance; (5) size; (6) age; (7) time from calving; (8)
exercise ; (9) discomfort arising from any source, and (10)
habit in milk giving. It is not possible to state the relative
degrees of the influence thus exercised, since it will vary
with variation in the attendant conditions.
MILK PRODUCTION 419
That the food fed exercises a most potent influence
on the quantity of milk produced is evident from the fact,
that though all the other influences should be present in
the most desirable form, the quantity of milk produced can
only be proportionate to the suitability of the food ration.
The essentials in foods favorable to milk production
are: A high relative protein content, enough of succulence,
sufficient concentration, and at least a reasonable degree
of palatability.
The influence of the breed or grade on milk produc-
tion, more especially with reference to quantity in produc-
tion, is recognized in the classification of cows, as dairy,
dual purpose and beef breeds. This classification carries
along with it the thought that the class first named pos-
sesses dairy qualities in the highest degree, including, of
course, quantity in milk production. Experience in grading
has also shown that the influence of breed on production
in the grade is so marked, that a limited number of genera-
tions of up-grading will so effectively enstamp milking
qualities, that these will bear a close resemblance to the
same in the breed from which the sires have been chosen.
When accompanied by careful selection, this result should
follow within, say four to six generations of careful breed-
ing. For the standing of the dairy and dual purpose breeds
with reference to production see page 135.
That type or form exercises a most potent influence on
quantity in milk production cannot be questioned. (See
p- 143.) It is possible nevertheless that some writers on dairy
form have assigned a higher relative value to it, as gen-
erally outlined, than it is entitled to, and that some breeders
have sought it to an extent that has led to a lessened pro-
duction. The most that can be claimed for it is, that it is
an indicator of quantity in milk production, so reliable,
as to furnish a reasonably safe general guide when select-
ing or judging dairy cattle. That it is not an infallible
guide is shown first, in the inability of the best judges to
certainly determine the rank of the various animals in a
420 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
dairy nerd in the order of tne relative milk yields obtained
from each. This inability is based on the fact that highest
type, as based on generally recognized interpretation, is not
always associated with highest milk yields. Second, with
some breeds, notably the Brown Swiss, large milking
capacity is associated with some indications of form, nota-
bly strong shoulders and heavy hams, that are usually
looked upon as being antagonistic to large milk production.
Furthermore, some essentials of the recognized dairy
type in what may be termed the extremest form, are to
some extent antagonistic to the retention of the highest de-
gree of inherent stamina. These include thin, and long
necks, sharpness and steepness at the withers and down-
ward spring of rib, beyond a certain degree. Extreme in
degree, these point to and are associated with a vitality
not of the strongest and most vigorous type. Some regard
must be had then to the law of equilibrium in dairy form,
even though it should be necessary to sacrifice something
in milk yields in order to maintain it.
The influence of inheritance on quantity in milk
production is very potent. As with all other forms of
transmission, such inheritance is not invariably uniform
and certain, but it is sufficiently so to enable the skillful
breeder to maintain high averages in milk yields, and
even to increase them. In up-grading, the inerease from
such transmission is most marked.
That there is a relation between large size up to a
certain limit and quantity in milk production cannot be
questioned. What may be regarded as phenomenal milk
yields have nearly all been made by cows of large size.
Such a result is in harmony with the known laws of physi-
ology, as, with increase in size, other things being equal,
there is increase in capacity to take the food from which
milk is made. The proportion of the food nutrients di-
verted for maintenance is also relatively less. The relation
between size, milk production and cost is discussed else-
where. (See p. 433.)
MILK PRODUCTION 421
That age influences production is potent to everyone
conversant with dairying. During the first years of Iacta-
tion, general experience has shown that the milk yields,
though advancing from year to year toward maximum,
are lower than maximum, and that when the meridian
of vigor is passed, they gradually decline. The time re-
quired to reach maximum yields and to maintain them,
varies with such influences as individual vigor, based upon
individual or breed inheritance, care and management.
In nearly all instances maternity is a pre-requisite to
milk production in any degree, and in all instances, it is
a pre-requisite to the same under normal conditions. Uni-
formity in the quantity of the milk flow cannot be main-
tained for any considerable period.
The largest milk yields are obtained during the weeks
which follow the first week or two subsequently to parturi-
tion. They then gradually decrease, howsoever suitable
for milk production the food may be, until finally they
cease entirely. The duration of the period of lactation is
influenced by several conditions and may be greatly pro-
longed but it cannot be maintained indefinitely in the
absence of the renewing influence of maternity. (See p. 429.)
Exercise, in so far as it tends to-maintain normal vigor,
is favorable to increase in the amount of milk given.
When, however, it draws upon the energies beyond the
necessity mentioned, it tends proportionately to reduce
milk yields. Cows in milk do not call for much exercise
when kept under proper sanitary conditions. Every step
taken in pastures when grazing beyond actual health re-
quirements, tells so far adversely on milk production.
When given it should always be gentle in character.
Discomfort to cows during the period of lactation
may arise from many sources. Prominent among these
are: (1) Exposure to the extent of producing unrest
whether from cold or heat; (2) irritating influences such
as lice, mange and flies; (3) irregularity in feeding, water-
ing or milking and (4) disturbance of equilibrium in the ner-
422 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
vous system. Anyone of these influences acting singly when
present in any considerable degree may result in a marked
reduction in the milk yield. For the discussion of the
influence of cold and heat see pages 439 and 4306.
In a well ordered dairy, lice and mange may give bit
little or no trouble. In fact where cows are not bought in to
any extent, they may never be present. Not so, however,
with flies (see p. 437). From the two sources of irrita-
tion first mentioned, they may with the exercise of due
precaution be protected, but no precaution of an entirely
practical nature can altogether protect them from flies.
The remedies for such visitations do not come within the
plan of this work, but the absolute necessity for removing
lice and mange when present, or any other form of
skin disease, is emphasized, as also the wisdom of protect-
ing from flies as far as practicable.
The absolute necessity for observing the strictest regu-
larity in furnishing food and drink to cows, if highest
milk yields are to follow, cannot be too strongly em-
phasized. It has not been shown that the hour for giving
food or drink exercises any special influence, providing
the time is the same from day to day. Of course such
hours should be chosen for giving food and drink as will
best suit the purpose of the individual, providing they do
not interfere with the natural season in which the cow is ac-
customed to rest. Two feeds a day, ample in quantity,
have been found quite as satisfactory as three. When these
are given twelve hours apart, it is reasonable to suppose
that equilibrium in digestion will be more perfect and more
easily maintained, than when the intervals between feed-
ing are of unequal length. When they are unequal, the
digestive organs are more severely taxed during the short-
er interval, and in proportion as it is shorter. But regu-
larity in feeding is more important than duration between
the periods of feeding or even the number of feeds per
day. Irregularity in milking interferes with function in the
milk gland. (See p. 480.) When milk is being elaborated
MILK PRODUCTION 423
in large quantities, the retention of the same beyond the
usual time produces discomfort. No more certain method
of reducing the milk flow can be adapted than that which
withdraws the milk from the udder at irregular intervals,
and the reduction is further increased when the milk is
not all taken from the udder, a neglect of which careless
milkers are frequently guilty.
Milk elaboration is more or less, influenced by the
nervous system preceding and accompanying such elabora-
tion. Nervous calm is favorable to the process, and
nervous unrest unfavorable. This explains in part at least
why it is so harmful to chase cows in milk with dogs. It
also explains why noisy and rough herdsmen, even though
not necessarily cruel, cannot bring the herd up to highest
possible capacity in milk-giving. It also makes it plain
why gentle milkers who are uniformly so when milking,
will get more milk from cows than those opposite in their
ways.
The influence of habit on quantity in milk production
is shown in various ways. Among these are the following:
(1) In the tendency in the average cow that suckles her
calf to produce no more milk than the calf can utilize
when the feeding is not forced; (2) in the relatively short
period during which she provides food for her calf and this
period usually does not cover more than six to seven
months; (3) in the relatively large quantity of milk
produced by the average dairy cow properly cared for;
(4) in the difficulty frequently found in drying off good
dairy cows to give them a period of rest before calving;
(5) in the great increase in milk production that may be
obtained even from a cow possessed of what may be termed
the beef form, through patient, persistent milking from
year to year. The relation between the influence of habit
on quantity in milk production and inheritance is close. The
same may be said of the various influences that offset
quantity in milk production. In fact they are in a sense
424 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
a more or less complicated inter-related whole, which re-
act upon each other, so closely that it would be impossible
to tell the degree of the influence that should be assigned
to each.
Quality in milk production.—Quality in milk, relates
chiefly to its composition as to constituents, also to taste,
flavor and color. The more potent of the influences which
affect quality in the milk of the cow and also probably in
that of other domestic animals are: (1) Food; (2) breed
or grade; (3) individuality within the breed or grade; (4)
the time of the lactation period and also of the milk-
ing season when it is taken from the udder and
(5) quantity in the milk flow. The milk of mares is in-
fluenced to some extent by work.
Food affects quantity in milk to a far greater extent
than quality (see p. 419). But it also affects quality to
some extent with reference to constituents of the miik
as to the proportion of the solids and other components
which it contains, and in a greater degree, taste and flavor
in the same. Food rich in protein may considerably in-
crease the proportion of solids but the increase relates
to other factors rather than to fat. This would seem to
explain how the quantity of butter may to some extent be
increased by correct feeding without increasing the propor-
tion of the butter fat. The popular view that watery food
increases the proportion of water in milk has not been sus-
tained by experiments conducted to throw light upon this
question. .
That food exercised an important determining in-
fluence on the percentage of butter fat in milk was matter
of universal belief until recent years. So deeply rooted is
this belief in the minds of a considerable number of
practical dairymen, that they still cherish it in the face of
evidence based on experiment to the contrary. Many ex-
periments carefully conducted have shown that while food
may and does increase or decrease materially the total
yield of fat, that it does not essentially increase or decrease
MILK PRODUCTION 425
the percentage of the fat. It is true, nevertheless, that if a
cow has been fed so long on innutritious food that her
condition as to flesh and bodily vigor have been greatly
reduced, and if such food is supplanted by a ration rich
in character, there will in time be some increase up to a
certain limit in the fat in the milk. Under normal con-
ditions there may be slight variations in the percentage
of butter fat following a change of food, but these are
more or less temporary in character. It is also true that
food may in the course of generations exercise some in-
fluence on the normal quality of milk as to butter fat, as
witnessed in the essential difference in this respect with
reference to the milk of cows maintained on the bulky and
watery foods of moist lands of the Netherlands, and those
maintained on foods less bulky and watery as grown in the
Channel islands. But selection also with the cows in the
two countries has had its influence. How much is to be
attributed to each can never be known. Food also in-
fluences the mechanical condition of the butter fat and to
some extent its chemical condition, as shown in its keep-
ing qualities. Some foods, as cottonseed for instance, ren-
der butter more firm, and others as oil cake when fed in
very large quantities, render it less so.
The influence of food also extends to taste, flavor and
cclor. Taste and flavor are so closely allied, that usually
if not indeed always, what influences one also influences
the other. Among the foods that influence both favorably
are fresh succulent grasses, nutritious in character. Among
those that influence both unfavorably, when eaten in large
quantities are rye and rape among pastures; turnips, ruta-
bagas and the tops of these, and to less extent potatoes
among roots and tubers; and leeks (Allium tricoccum) and
penny cress (Thalsapi arvense) among weeds. The taint
thus imparted to the milk extends also to the butter. Color
in milk is more influenced by breed than by feed as shown
below, but it is true also that foods which furnish the
most palatable milk also furnish it of good color.
4206 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
Breed influences the constituents of milk more prob-
ably than anything else, with the exception of species. The
difference in the components of the milk of mares and of
cows is greater than the difference in the same between
cows of one and the same breed. Some breeds produce
milk with a higher percentage of butter fat than others.
The difference is marked, averaging in many instances as
much as I per cent. Milk richest in butter fat comes
from the Channel island breeds. Breed also affects color in
milk and in some degree taste, since increase or decrease in
percentage of fat influences taste. Taste may vary in in-
dividuals, but, usually the more fat the milk contains, the
more agreeable is the taste considered. The bright straw
colored tint in milk increases with the percentage of fat
and vice versa. The influence on color extends also to
butter made from the milk. The Guernsey breed is pro-
verbial for producing butter that is rich in color, that is
butter of a bright yellowish hue. The influence of grade
on milk in the cows is the same in kind as that of breed
but less in degree. This means for instance that the higher
the percentage of Jersey blood in Jersey grades the higher
relatively will be the percentage of fat in the milk. But
not until quite a number of generations of Jersey grades
have been produced will the per cent of fat in the mill
test as high on the average as the milk of the pure Jersey,
(see p. 41). .
The difference in the quality of milk, more especially
with reference to the amount of butter fat which it contains
is sometimes greater within the breed or grade than it is
between breeds. In extreme instances it may average as
much as 2 per cent. The immediate cause is the char-
acter of the milk gland. One cow of the same age and
breed, fed on precisely the same kind of food, and under
exactly the same conditions, will furnish much less milk
and milk also less rich in butter fat than another cow and
no amount of forcing can make the former produce equal
to the latter since the milk gland has not the same capacity
MILK PRODUCTION 427
for producing milk equal in quantity or quality to the milk
gland of the other. But the primary cause must trace
back to the variations which accompany inheritance.
As the time of calving is receded from, the quantity of
the milk produced decreases more or less gradually. Witir
such decrease comes an increase in the proportion of casein
and to some extent decrease in the proportion of fat. The
fat also contains a larger proportion of volatile fatty acids
during the earlier periods of lactation, hence the butter
made from it is more highly flavored.
The variations found in the percentage of fat in the
same animal from whatever source they may arise are
slight, compared with those found in milk as it is drawn
from the udder. That first drawn is lowest in butter fat
and the increase in the per cent of the fat is continuously
progressive, the richest milk being taken last. The differ-
- ence is in some instances considerably more than 100 per
cent.
Quantity in the milk flow influences the proportion
of solids in the milk. It may be affirmed that as a rule:
(1) Large yields of milk from cows are more watery than
small ones; (2) that milk is less watery as the lactation
period advances and (3) that the longer the intervals
between the milkings the more watery is the milk.
Breeds and milk production.—Breed influences: (1)
Quantity in production; (2) quality in the same and (3)
adaptation for production with reference to environment.
It is by no means the only influence bearing upon any
one of the phases of production just mentioned, but it does
bear upon each of them sufficiently to entitle it to careful
consideration when deciding upon the breed or high
grade of the same that shall be chosen for dairying.
That breed influences quantity in milk production is
well brought out in the considerably higher averages ob-
tained from Holstein-Friesian cows as compared with the
Jersey. The same is true of high grades of these respec-
tive breeds. The difference in this respect cannot. be
428 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
stated in percentages, owing to the great variations in in-
dividuality in single animals and in whole herds, the out-
come of breeding, selection and other influences. It has
been sufficiently recognized, however, by practical men,
to influence them in establishing their herds. When milk
is wanted for sale, as in cities, the preference has been in
favor of the Holstein rather than the Jersey. The same
preference has been shown on many farms where large
quantities of skim milk are wanted for feeding swine and
kindred uses. Of the four distinct dairy breeds in America,
the Holstein, the Ayrshire, the Guernsey and the Jersey,
it would be correct to say that the Holsteins rank highest
for quantity in milk production, the Ayrshires second, and
if there is a difference the Guernseys will rank third. The
dual types, including the milking Shorthorn, the Red Poll,
the Brown Swiss and the Devon, all rank at least medium
in the quantity of milk produced, higher probably than
the Guernsey and Jersey, and lower than the Holstein.
For quality in milk based on the percentage of the
butter fat, the Jersey and Guernsey are unquestionably en-
titled to first place. If there is a difference in the balancing,
it would probably incline-toward the Jersey. Next in the
percentage of butter fat comes the Ayrshire, and the
Holstein stands lowest. Where cream and butter are the
chief considerations, aside from the influences of adaptation
to environment, it is very evident which of the breeds will
best answer the purpose. Without additional light it would
not be possible to classify the milk of the dual types in the
order of richness in butter fat. The milk of each of these
ranks at least medium in this respect. Like that of the
Ayrshire it is equally well adapted to the production of
butter and cheese. For the last named purpose, the milk
of the Holstein also ranks at least medium. The milk
of the Jersey and Guernsey are not so much used in cheese
making as that of the other breeds named, not from any
want of adaptation for such a use, but from the smaller
relative yields frequently obtained.
MILK PRODUCTION 429
The adaptation of breed to the environment shouid
never be ignored. That relatively light breeds fare better
on rugged lands and pastures extensive in production is
now generally conceded. It is also generally accepted that
the Ayrshire and the Devon have higher adaptation for
stern climates than some at least of the other breeds.
The milk of high grades of all the breeds named has
essentially the same peculiarities as that of the breeds in
the pure form, but probably they do not possess these in
the same degree. It would seem to be true that changing
the quality of the milk produced is not so easily or quickly
accomplished as changing the animal form.
Lactation and milk production.—With reference to
milk giving it may be said: (1)That the period of the
lactation exercises an important influence on production;
(2) the milk yield is greatest a short time subsequently to
the time of calving; (3) after a time it lessens gradualiy
under normal conditions, until finally it ceases; (4) it is, of
course, chiefly dependent on the food fed, but not entirely
sO.
Milk giving is dependent on maternity, first with refer-
ence to its possibility, and second, with reference to its re-
newal. The instances are exceedingly rare though not en-
tirely unknown, in which cows can be made to produce
milk, in the absence of maternity. It is a provision arranged
for by nature, whereby suitable food is prepared by the
cow for her progeny to sustain it from birth until it is old
enough to live upon other food. In cows left to the in-
fluences of nature only, it ceases entirely as soon as the
calf is able to provide otherwise for itself, but, subject to
man’s control, it may be prolonged indefinitely within cer-
tain limits. Beyond these, no power or skill can prolong
its continuance, hence the necessity for renewal from time
to time through the production of progeny. Such renewal
is customary with the cow, under normal conditions, about
once a year, but frequently it occurs at irregular periods,
owing to various causes.
430 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
The milk yield is greatest a short time subsequently tc
the time of calving. That it is not greatest at the time of
calving is also a wise provision of nature, otherwise the
calf could not take a sufficiently large quantity of the milk
from the udder, in consequence of which disaster might
result to the cow. When deposited beyond a_ certain
quantity in the receptacles of the udder and not removed
at such a time, milk fever and other ills may follow. The
increase is gradual and continuous until maximum produc-
tion is reached. The duration of this interval varies in
cows and in the same cow, owing in part at least to the
condition of the udder. The greater the degree of in-
flammation, which to some extent is frequently present at
the time of calving, the longer is the time required. Usually
maximum yields are reached in from two to three weeks
from the date of calving.
Maximum yields famine been reached, they remain
normal for a time. This Nocbil: is usually short, only cover-
ing a few weeks at the longest. Its continuance is de-
pendent to a considerable feeee on the food fed, but it
would seem also to be enced to some degree by in-
heritance and habit as well. Declension then begins grad-
ually and continues at a ratio more or less regular, until
milk giving finally ceases. Professor Sturtevant concludes
that the average decrease in the milk yields from month to
month is about 9 per cent.
While the absolute amount of milk produced is largely
dependent on the kind and amount of the food fed, it is
by no means entirely so. No amount of food fed to two
cows practically equal in milk giving power, can secure
from them equal milk yields, when one is_ considerably
more advanced in lactation than the other. Milk yields
are largely dependent on the activity of the milk gland,
which is greatest shortly after parturition, and which grad-
ually lessens until finally it ceases altogether. Food that
is eminently suitable and persistent and careful milking may
greatly prolong the milk-giving period in the absence of
MILK PRODUCTION 431
renewal in the natural way, sometimes to the duration of
two or three years, but in such instances the yields become
so small after a time as to prove unprofitable.
It is also important that the milk yields shall be well
sustained during the normal season for milk-giving, by
feeding liberal supplies of suitable food. Should declension
in milk yields result at a period unnecessarily soon, froin
want of food suitable and sufficient in quantity, and should
the attempt be made to advance the milk, yields subsequently
by giving proper food, it will be only partially successful.
The yield may be increased but not to what it would have
been under proper management. The increase possible
would be proportionate to the extent of the declension in
the milk yields, and to the duration of the period covered
by such declension.
During the period of highest milk yields, the cow and
a.so other females generally lose more or less in flesh. The
loss in body weight is proportionate to the relative milk
yields, but it may be affected to some extent by other in-
fluences such as inheritance and the nature of the food. As
the milk yields decline, the lost weight is gradually re-
stored under normal conditions, until it reaches the former
level.
Age and milk production.—Milk producing capacity
in cows may be divided into three periods, as follows: (1)
The period which leads up to maximum yields; (2) the
period of maximum yields; and (3) the period of declen-
sion which follows. These vary in individual animals and
to some extent in breeds. A good cow properly managed
should be profitable in the dairy for nine or ten years. This
period, however, is longer than the average dairy cow is
retained in the average herd. Assuming that the cow
produces profitably for, say nine years, the three periods
above referred to will cover three years each. The discus-
sion that follows is based on the assumption that cows
come into milk when two years old, which is usually the
case with dairy cows.
432 FEEDING .FARM ANIMALS
During the first period; viz., from two to five years,
there is gradual increase in milk-giving capacity. This in-
crease is material, frequently amounting to considerably
more than 50 per cent. The relatively low production dur-
ing this period is caused in part by the diversion of food
nutrients to promote increase in growth. This, however,
does not furnish a complete explanation, as milk produc-
tion increases more relatively than weight, and it continues
for a time after increase in weight has ceased. It would
seem fair to assume, that there is increase in capacity of
function in the milk gland, the outcome in part at least of
use, on the same principle that use strengthens any other
organ of the body up to a certain limit.
During the second period; viz., from six to nine years,
the yields should not vary much, but toward the latter
portion of the same, the tendency toward declension is
accentuated in many instances. On the whole, however,
the years covered by this period are those of the most prof-
itable production in the cow, notwithstanding the greater
activity of the digestive and assimilative functions during
' the previous period.
During the third period; viz., from nine to 12 years,
the decline in production continues, although it is not rapid,
not nearly so marked as a rule as the increase during the
first period. The value of a cow in the dairy, therefore, is
greater during the third period than during the first.
It is to be understood, however, that in actual ex-
perience, the variations may be considerable, owing to the
way in which a cow is fed. The machinery of digestion
may be driven at a rate so rapid through high feeding,
that the first period may prove the most profitable, and
that a cow’s usefulness may be at an end before the close
of the second period. In some instances maximum produc-
tion may not be reached until the seventh year, in other
instances it is reached at five years, and yet again produc-
tion may be more profitable in the ninth year than in the
eighth.
MILK PRODUCTION 433
The relation between actual and profitable production
is close and intimate. Actual production in the first period
has been found by experiment to be less profitable the first
period than the second, and more profitable the second
than the third. In other words more food relatively is re-
quired to produce 100 pounds of milk during the first
than the second period and less food relatively during the
second than the third.
Large and small cows.—Authorities are not all agreed
as to the relative profit from large and small cows, respec-
tively. Such disagreement results probably from the ob-
served fact that experience has skown that the bearing
of size on production if operative at all, is much less so
than that of various other influences apart from size, such
as inheritance and individuality. The balance of testimony,
however, favors the view that, other things being equal,
large cows of the breed or grade are on the whole more
profitable relatively than smaller ones.
Tkree experiments conducted by Brandl with small
and large sows, respectively, gave the following results:
The small cows gave less milk relatively than the large
ones, and consumed more food relatively in making it, but
the milk was somewhat richer in fat. The result last stated
is in keeping with the general relation between quantity in
milk production and the fat which it contains, (see p. 427).
The large cows not only produced more milk relatively
and absolutely than the small ones and on less feed relatively,
but when farrow they proved more persistent milkers and
sold at a greater relative profit per kead, after having been
kept almost a year. Fifteen of each class were included in
the experiment, the average weight of the lighter cows be-
ing 979 pounds and of the heavier 1,205 pounds.
Woll gives a summary of the results of breed test
No. 1, conducted at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago,
1893, and bearing on this question. The cows, 75 in num-
ber, are divided into three groups, and each group con-
tained the same number of Jerseys, Guernseys and Short-
434 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
horns respectively. They are classified as light, medium
and heavy. The cost of producing 100 pounds of butter fat
with these respective groups was $17.93, $17.79 and $17.42.
The following facts are noteworthy: (1) The 25 Jer-
sey cows entered in the competition at the Lousiana Pur-
chase Exposition in St. Louis, 1904, were considerably
larger in size than the average of the breed. They weighed
g11.2 pounds on an average at the commencement of the
test and 983 pounds at its close. These cows were used
in a test of which economic production was a prominent
factor. (2) The cows that have proved the world’s record
makers are considerably above the average in size. (3) The
same is true of a majority of the cows entered in the vari-
ous advanced registry associations.
While the difference in relative profit from large and
small cows respectively is not large, it unquestionably be-
longs to those of large size. It is probably the outcome of
the relation between size and the relative amount of the
food maintenance required. This in mature animals is
even more than one half the entire ration. Probably more
than nine-tenths of the heat generated by the food goes
to supply the loss through radiation, perspiration and respi-
ration. The loss through radiation is greater relatively in
the small than in the large animal, owing to tke relatively
larger body surfaces in the former.
But aside from relative milk production, there are
some reasons why breeders should aim to produce relatively
large rather than small cows for the breed. These include
the following: (1) Good constitution and stamina are
more frequently associated with well developed animals, in-
cluding cows, than with those less well developed. (2) Uni-
formity in size should be the aim of the breeder as an
evidence of good and skilful breeding, and the standard
thus set should favor at least average size for the breed, as
a guaranty of the absence of degeneracy. (3) Animals of full
size, or rather more, take the market more readily than those
under size, whether sold for the dairy or the shambles.
MILK PRODUCTION 435
Relative milk-giving capacity.—But little information
can be given with reference to the milk-giving capacity
of any of the classes of live stock, except cows, that is based
on American experience. Nor can it be said that the
question is greatly important except in the prospective
sense, that is, in so far as it relates to the possible sources
other than cows, from which milk may be obtained. In
discussing the question, therefore, something may be said:
(1) Regarding the milk-giving capacity of cows; (2) the
probable milk giving capacity of other domestic animals,
as mares, ewes, and female goats, usually spoken of as
nannies and (3) the probable sources of milk production in
the future.
The difference in capacity in cows to give milk, is
simply surprising. In well regulated dairies, 6,000 pounds
a year per cow may be set down as the minimum of pos-
sible production. It would be safe to affirm that the average
annual yield of all the cows milked at the present time in
the United States and Canada is not more than half that
amount. With individuals of some breeds and also of some
grades, it is easily possible to obtain 10,000 pounds of mill
a year without resorting to feeding unduly forced. For
the facts regarding maximum production, see page 418, and
for the discussion of the influences that affect quantity in
production, see page 424.
While no data based on American experience with
reference to the amount of milk produced by mares dur-
ing lactation is available, the average amount given by a
mare is fully equal to and probably more than that given
by the cow which merely suckles her calf up to the perio:
of weaning. Basing the amount of milk given on the in-
crease in the weight resulting, the average foal will con-
sume more milk than the average calf. It would seem
probable, therefore, that mares could be so managed as to
produce milk yields fully equal to those of cows. At the
Wisconsin experiment station it was ascertained that
through weighing the lambs, both before and after nursing,
430 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
certain grade Shropshire ewes gave from 2.51 to 3.96
pounds daily. Experiments at the same station conducted
similarly with sows of the lard types, found that they gave
from 4.1 to 5.8 pounds daily. The tests were made at in-
tervals during the nursing period.
Under American conditions, it is more than probable
that the cow will continue to be the source from which the
greater portion of the milk needed will come. Mare’s
milk is not likely to be used as food for man, if for no
other reason than the much greater ease with which cow’s
milk can be drawn from the udder. The milk breeds of
sheep in certain areas of West Central Europe are credited
with giving in response to hand milking, fully 8 pounds
per day soon after coming into lactation. But, should even
greater yields be obtainable, as doubtless they could be
under judicious management, it may be said that, under
American conditions, ewe’s milk is not likely to supplant
cow’s milk for the reason, first, that cow’s milk is more
readily obtained; second, it is more difficult to rear lambs
under artificial conditions than calves, and third, the sheep
is much liable to be preyed upon by dogs. It may be
different, however, with milking goats which have been
recently introduced into America. It is not improbable that,
in the future not distant, many artisans on the outskirts of
cities may yet each keep his goat to supply fresh milk.
for the family. They-are much less dainty of their food
than sheep, and are much less liable to be hartned.
Protection for cows in summer.—In summer cows re-
quire protection: (1) From the sun’s rays when these are
so warm as to produce discomfort; (2) from flies during
the fly season and (3) from rain storms, cold, prolonged
and severe. Neglecting to furnish any one of these will
seriously lessen milk yields. While such protection is mark-
edly beneficial to all classes of domestic animals, its im-
portance is especially emphasized in the case of cows, be-
eause of the relatively high value of the milk product which
they furnish.
MILK PRODUCTION 437
Cows are, of course, protected from the sun’s rays
when they are furnished with shade. This may come
from trees growing in the pastures, singly or in clumps, or
in places accessible to them, by a cheap roof in the pasture
sustained by poles and covered with straw, or by the stables
in which they are kept in winter. Trees and roofs provided
in the pastures answer the purpose until the season of flies.
To shade from either of these sources during the continu-
ance of the fly season, is the strong objection that they
furnish breeding places in which flies multiply with great
rapidity. This is owing to the droppings which accumulate
in such centers in which the flies deposit their eggs. Be-
cause of this, shade furnished by the stable is preferable,
since when properly provided it is cooler, and as shown
below, flies may be in a great measure excluded. Basement
stables are especially suitable for summer ~rotection because
of their greater relative coolness.
Absolute protection from flies in the fly season is not
practical without excessive outlay in the materials used
in spraying the animals, or in the labor involved in applying
them, or in the two combined. Nevertheless very much
may be done with profit to promote their comfort at such
seasons. These methods of protection are adopted: (1)
They are kept in stables during the day. These are
thoroughly ventilated and yet kept so dark that flies
do not careto stay, much less to work in them; (2)
they are sprayed with some _ preparation offensive
to the flies, either through its odor or its sticky
character, with sufficient frequency to effect the purpose
and (3) they are covered with blankets, light, coarse and
cheap, and these are kept in place by elastic bands, so that
the underline also is protected.
Of these three methods, the first is unquestionably the
best, as it furnishes more of coolness than the other forms
of shade, gives the most perfect of the three forms of
protection from flies, and makes it easily practicable to
give the cows supplemental food which is necessary during
438 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
much of the grazing season. The chief objectien to it is
the labor involved in removing the droppings, but this
is largely offset by the increased value of the same as com-
pared with having it deposited in the pastures where much
waste follows. Much may also be done to prevent the
multiplication of flies by promptly removing all the manure
from the yards in the spring, and by drawing daily or at
quite short intervals that made subsequently and applying
it when needed. A free use of lime in the yards is also
further helpful. The methods of darkening and ventilating
the stables, the mixtures used in spraying and the exact
nature of the blankets are foreign to the design of this
work and will be discussed in one that is to follow on the
Feeding and Management of Cattle.
Gentle summer rains do not harm cows in milk while
inthe pastures. They may prove grateful to them. It is
different with violent rains. Even though not cold, they
are in some degree harmful. But most of all is exposure
to long and cold rains harmful, and all the more so when
these are intense. Such rains occasionally occur both in
the late spring and the early autumn, lasting in some in-
stances for three days at a time. Prolonged exposure to
one such storm may result in a lessened milk flow which
may not be recovered from for many days. The wisdom of
housing milck cows at night as soon as the nights are
cool enough to produce any discomfort, will be readily
apparent.
Shelter for cows in winter.—The necessity for provid-
ing cows with suitable shelter in winter is based: (1) On
the relative inability of the system to resist the influences
of low temperatures when not in high flesh; (2) on the
marked susceptibility of the function of milk secretion to
changes of temperature, especially to those that bring cold,
and (3) because of the favorable influence which furnish-
ing such protection exerts on the economy of production.
The cow in milk usually carries only a- moderate
amount of flesh and but little fat. On the other hand, the
MILK PRODUCTION 439
cattle beast that is being fattened usually soon lays on a
covering of external fat, which goes far to protect the
system from the penetrating influences of cold. Expose
a milch cow in moderate or lean flesh to cold beyond a
certain degree, and soon she stands with the back drawn
up as an evidence of her discomfort. The fat steer
similarly exposed will show no signs of discomfort.
The susceptibility of the function of milk secretion to
the influence of low temperatures is shown by the quick-
ness of the reduction which takes place in the milk yields
consequent upon such exposure, and by the constancy of
the same. The effect of such exposure will be manifest in
the shrinkage in yield in the first milking following, and
in every succeeding milking during the continuance of the
exposure. If continued for a period of considerable length,
the result will be that the yields will not become normal
again, though tke cause of the reduction should be removed.
It is probably caused to some extent by the relaxed and
somewhat reduced condition of the system consequent up-
on maternity, and in part by the diversion of a portion of
the nutrients that would otherwise be concerned in making
milk to the defense of the system against the cold.
In an experiment conducted at the Indiana experiment
station, it was found that the cows that were housed during
the 48 days of the experiment, gained in flesh considerably,
while the latter lost flesh. The former also gave consid-
erably more milk on less feed. Professor Plumb, who
conducted the experiment, concludes that a saving of $4.26
per cow was effected by the shelter furnished, not-
withstanding that the cows exposed were given the pro-
tection of an open shed in a sheltered place, and that they
were not confined to it daily for a longer period than eight
hours in the warmer portion of the day.
In view of the above, the following practices are to be
deprecated: (1) Allowing cows in milk to roam through
corn stalkefields in winter in search of what is at best in-
ferior milk producing food; (2) allowing such cows to
440 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
remain out on pasture after the nights begin to turn cold
or even during the day in weather that produces discom-
fort because of its inclemency; (3) allowing them to stay
in the yard during the larger portion of even mild days
in winter, because of the fact that they rest more con-
tentedly in their accustomed stalls.
The nature of the protection required will depend upon
such conditions as the character of the climate and the cost
of providing it. The question cannot be discussed here
further than to say, that it matters not what the nature of
the materials may be which furnish it, providing it secures
a temperature between 40 to 60° in winter, ample light,
freedom from dampness and a constant supply of pure
air. It should also be mentioned that cows not in milk
gather more reserve power for the milking period whicn
follows when given large liberty and more exposure dur-
ing the non-milk-giving interval.
Feeding grain to cows on pasture.—The discussion
of this question involves the consideration: (1) Of the
direct return in milk and butter fat from feeding the grain;
(2) the residual effect from such feeding; (3) the saving
effected in the pasture and (4) the influence on fertiliza-
tion. Notwithstanding that several trials have been con-
ducted at various experiment stations, practical men are
much divided in their opinions with reference to the ad-
vantage from feeding grain to cows on pasture.
Judged by the direct results obtained from feeding
grain to cows on succulent and abundant pastures, the
conclusion would be reached that there is no profit in
such feeding. In nearly all the trials made there was in-
crease in the milk yields and consequently in the butter
fat, but not in the percentage of the same. The increased
return did not in all instances pay for the grain, but it did
in some instances. Little or no direct profit, however, re-
sulted. But there was more increase in weight from the
animals to which grain was given, which so far meant a
MILK PRODUCTION 441
laying up as it were of reserve power in the system, to be
utilized in future production.
By the residual effects from feeding grain to cows on
pasture is meant the influence which such feeding exerts
on future production, more especially on production the
following season. An interesting trial was conducted at
the Cornell experiment station in order to throw light
upon this question. Six cows which had been fed grain
somewhat freely the previous summer and six that had
not been so fed were grazed in the same pasture. In the
test now considered no grain was given to either lot. The
return from the lot which had been fed grain the previous
season was 16 per cent greater than that from the cows in
the other lot. The heifers in the grain-fed lot also made
better development, which meant the promise of superior
future usefulness. These results coincide with the opinions
of many practical men regarding the utility of feeding a
light ration of grain to cows in milk through all the season
of pasturing.
The saving effected in the pasture is in some instances
an item of material importance, although in some of these
trials it has apparently been lost sight of. It is fair
to assume that a pound of dry matter fed in the
form of grain will effect a saving of an equal amount
of dry matter in the form of pasture. This would be oi
little or no importance where the pasture is superabundant,
but when pasture is insufficient in supply as is frequently
the case, the importance of such a saving would be material.
The influence on fertilization would also mean some-
thing. It would depend on the kind and amount of the
grain or meal fed. If cottonseed meal or wheat bran were
fed, the enrichment added in the droppings would be ma-
terial. The advantage, however, from such fertilization,
would be much less than would result from feeding the
same amount of grain or meal to sheep that are being grazed.
The whole question may be summed up as follows:
(1) When cows are first turned out on grass in the spring,
442 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS ;
grain feeding should be continued at least for a time because
of the corrective influence which it has on tke tendency to
undue laxity in the bowels caused by the grass; (2)
whether grain is fed or not during the weeks when grass
is abundant and succulent, it should be fed as soon as the
pasture becomes insufficient in quantity or dry in character ;
(3) that when pasture is abundant and succulent no direct
profit will be obtained in the return in milk. But, (4) when
the residual effects are considered on future production,
the saving that is effected in the pasture, and also the re-
sults on fertilization, it would seem profitable in all or
nearly all instances to feed more or less grain at all times
to cows on pasture. The only exception would be, instances
in which the pasture supply for the season exceeded the
needs of the cows. But, the amount fed should, of course,
be much less when pasture is at its best than at other
times.
CHAPTER KIX
CONSIDERATIONS THAT RELATE TO GENERAL
FEEDING.
Prominent among the considerations that relate to
general feeding are the following.
I. Generous feeding during pregnancy.
2. Feeding the first milk.
3. Food for maintenance.
4. Growth and future production.
5. Foods vary in adaptation.
6. Foods that influence digestion.
7. When to feed concentrates.
8. Proportion of concentrates to roughage.
g. Changing foods.
10. Adjusting foods and needs of animals.
It. Foods, home grown or purchased.
12. Relative food values.
13. Sustaining power of pastures.
14. Condimental foods.
15. The place for self-feeders.
16. Relative profits from domestic animals.
These are discussed in the order named.
Generous feeding during pregnancy.—The opinion
has become widely prevalent that what may be termed high
condition or fleshiness in the pregnant dam tells adversely
on reproduction. It has been claimed that it tells adversely
on the development of the young animal in utero and that
it is the harbinger of trouble at the time of parturition.
This opinion rests doubtless on the observed facts, that the
progeny of very fat dams when born is of small size, and
that trouble does arise more frequently with such dams
and also with their progeny at paturition than with dams
less fleshy. But it fails to take into account the source from
whick the fat has come, as is shown below. In discussing
443
444 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
this subject, it will be safe to affirm: (1) That the food
of dams that are pregnant should be generous; (2) that
it should be richer for pregnant dams that are immature
than for those that are mature, and (3) that when harm
comes to such dams or their progeny from liberal feeding,
it is because the ration is unsuitable in kind, rather than
in quantity.
Dams that are pregnant should be fed generously for
the following reasons: First, at such a time they are sus-
taining two animals. The food which results in develop-
ment of the embryo comes, of course, from the dam. Oth-
erwise she would utilize it herself as far as necessary to
meet her needs. Second, because of the heavy drain upon
the system of the dam in supplying the progeny with milk
after birth. She is almost certain to loose flesh at such
a time and all the more so if she is a generous milker. This
loss in some instances is not less than roo pounds within
say 150 days of tke time of calving even though the feeding
is generous. This means that to some extent she draws
upon certain of the organized constituents or materials of
her system, particularly the fat to furnish food for her young
offspring. The more fleshy she is at the time of parturition,
the more of this reserve is there to draw from, the less
will she suffer from emaciation, and the more generously
will the progeny be maintained. Third, it is almost im-
possible to prevent some loss of flesh in a generous milk-
ing dam for a time at least, during the early part of the
milk, giving period, howsoever liberal the feeding may be.
If such a dam is in low flesh at the time of parturition, the
further loss of flesh which follows lowers her vital energies
to suck an extent that her progeny is not so well sustained,
and her future usefulness is so far lessened. Her system
must be built up again before profitable conception will
follow.
When pregnant dams are immature, a threefold burden
is put upon them. The first is, that of maintenance; the sec-
ond, that of nourishing the embryo, and the third, that of
GENERAL FEEDING 445
further development. It is very evident that more food rela-
tively must be given to such an animal than to one mature,
and that it should also be richer relatively in protein to sus-
tain properly the dual development that is required. With
such a division of the energies of the system, poor feeding
would be doubly harmful. ,
It would seem correct to say, that when pregnant ani-
mals are supplied witk food rightly balanced as to its nutri-
ents, and with proper adjustment between the roughage and
concentrates, they are not much likely to accumulate flesh
to the extent of working harm to themselves or to their
young. It is when the nutrients are not rightly balanced
that such harm occurs. This may and does happen, when
sows for instance are fed mainly on corn while pregnant,
or when cows in a similar condition are. fed mainly on
carbonaceous food, such as rye and corn fodder. In ad-
dition to possessing a large proportion of protein, the food
for such animals should be of such a character as to keep
the digestion correct. Constipation is to be carefully
avoided. The judicious feeding of such supplements as
bran, oil cake and field roots at such a time is to be strongiy
commended. Instances may also occur when the animals
would become so fleshy as to disincline them to take enough
exercise for the well-being of their unborn progeny, but
usually this occurs only when the carbonaceous elements in
the ration are in excess.
Feeding the first milk.—The properties of the milk
first drawn from the dam after parturition are very differ-
ent, in degree at least, from those which it possesses when
normal. This milk, known as the colostrum, is more dense
in its consistency and yellow in color than natural milk.
The protein, that is the casein and albumen, in the first millc
of the cow, is about five times the amount of these products
in ordinary cow’s milk and may considerably exceed the
proportions named. But it is much lower in milk sugar and
is also lower in fat. The composition of the first milk is
a provision of nature to meet the needs of the newly born
446 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
progeny. In addition to providing nourishment, it tends
to cleanse the intestines, and thus to pave the way for
the natural processes of digestion.
The importance of giving such milk to the young ani-
mal as its first meal cannot be over-estimated. In its ab-
sence, constipation is likely to follow, whick will terminate
fatally, unless relieved. No substitute can be given that
will in every respect take the place of colostrum. Even
though it is known that the dam is tubercular, it would
be a mistake to withhold her milk from her young calf,
until the processes of digestion have been properly begun.
The laxative properties of the milk would seem to make
such feeding safe.
But it sometimes happens that colostrum cannot be ob-
tained from the dam of the young animal, as in instances
when the dam dies while bringing forth her progeny. In
such instances, if colostrum can be obtained from some other
dam of the same species, it will usually effect the end
sought. This, however, is seldom possible, hence, it may be
necessary to administer some substances that will cleanse
the digestive tract before any food is given. Castor oil is
generally used for this purpose. The ordinary dose for a
colt or a calf is an ounce; for a lamb, a teaspoonful, and
for a young pig, about half a teaspoonful. Sometimes an
injection of warm water will effect the end sought. In
other instances, an injection should accompany the ad-
ministering of the purgative, as the latter, especially in
the case of foals, will not in all instances effect the end
sought without such aid.
When accident occurs so that the dam’s milk cannot
be given, the substitute on which nearly all domestic animals
must be reared is cow’s milk. This differs materially in its
constituents from the milk of other domestic animals. Cow’s
milk is much richer in casein and albumen, also in fat than
mare’s milk, hence, when it is substituted for mare’s milk,
it is customary to add one part water to two or three parts
of the milk, and also to add a teaspoonful of common sugar
GENERAL FEEDING 447
to each quart of the milk thus diluted. Ewe’s milk is much
richer in protein and fat than cow’s milk. When cow’s milk
is substituted, cream added is helpful as intimated previ-
ously, but the strippings from the cow will probably be
even more suitable. Sow’s milk is richer ir all constituents
than cow’s milk, hence when the latter is fed to pigs quite
young, the addition of some cream and sugar would
probably make it more suitable for them.
It should be noticed, however, that such reece ap-
plies to the first days and it may be weeks of feed-
ing, rather than to giving the first meal. The additions
mentioned will not make cow’s milk to closely resemble
colostrum in its properties. It only makes it to approximate
the milk of other animals in its constituents under normal
conditions, hence the wisdom of the treatment referred to
when colostrum cannot be obtained.
Food for maintenance.—Food for maintenance means
the amount of food that will keep an animal from gaining
or losing when at rest, that is, when not producing in the
form of meat, milk or labor, and when not taking more
exercise than is really necessary in order to maintain
health. It is frequently referred to as the food of support.
To find the food for maintenance, as practically applied to
animals of all classes and ages, furnishes a complicated
problem, owing to the variation caused by growth and in-
dividuality. Because of this, experiments in regard to it
have been conducted more frequently with mature animals.
However, the following may be safely affirmed with regard
to it: (1) It increases with reference to the total nutrients
required with advancing age; (2) production is not pos-
sible, unless the food given exceeds the amount required
for maintenance; (3) the profit from food consumed is
proportionate to the amount of the same that is properly
assimilated when suitable in kind.
That more food would be required for maintenance
up to maturity is apparent, from the larger bulk in the
animal economy to be maintained. That more is required
448 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
also after maturity has been reached and as age advances,
is evident as a result of the less perfect assimilation of the
food consumed as the animal grows older. Individuality
also exercises an influence, as animals of the same breed,
sex and age, differ much in their ability to assimilate food.
Armsby, quoting from German investigations, gives the
following with reference to the food of maintenance called
for to support 1,000 pounds of live weight with oxen and
sheep: Oxen required daily, 0.6 pound digestible protein
and 7.5 pounds digestible non-nitrogenous nutrients. The
coarse wooled breeds of sheep required, 1.2 pounds and
10.8 pounds, and the fine wooled breeds, 1.5 pounds and
12 pounds respectively, of these nutrients.
That production of any kind is not possible unless the
amount of food given exceeds the amount for maintenance
is self-evident. Notwithstanding, the instances are frequent
on the farm where the food of support is all that is required.
Such is frequently the case with horses that are being car-
ried through the winter. There may be instances when it
is judicious to feed a quantity somewhat short of main-
tenance as when animals designed for breeding carry
an excess of flesh, or when show animals are to be reducea
temporarily, subsequently to the season during which they
have been exhibited.
That the profit from the food consumed is proportion-
ate to the amount that is properly assimilated, is also self-
evident, hence the wisdom of feeding animals in excess of
the needs of maintenance, according to the production re-
quired of them. Pregnant animals must be given more
than the food of maintenance to develop the fcetus which
they carry.. Horses at work must be given food in
excess of maintenance according to the work required of
them. Cows in milk should be given all the suitable food
that they can properly digest without overtaxing the di-
gestion, and the same is true of animals that are being
fattened. Growing animals should be given enough suit-
able food to produce full development and proper in kind
GENERAL FEEDING 449
within the shortest period that this may be attainable. To
withhold rations from animals up to the limit stated is false
economy. In the aggregate the amount thus lost in the
maintenance of live stock is very great. More than hali
the food fed to live stock is used as food for maintenance.
Growth and future production.—lf maximum produc-
tion is to be obtained from domestic animals, they must
be fed and managed at all times with reference to future
production. This principle applies: (1) To the nourish-
ment of the foetus carried by the pregnant animal; (2) to
periods of arrested development at any time prior to ma-
turity ; (3) to the growing of animals with reference to the
production of milk, meat or labor; (4) to the foods used in
making growth with reference to future growth, and (5) to
the over-taxing of the physical powers, whether digestive
or muscular.
Unless the young animal in utero is properly sustained
through suitable food taken by the dam, it begins life
with a handicap, which no food or care subsequently can
ever completely overcome. The food and management of
the dam, therefore, during tke entire period of pregnancy
will exert an influence on the producing capacity of the
progeny during the whole of the life period. (See p. 124.)
For the discussion of arrested development and the in-
fluences that result from it, see page 65.
If the heifer is to produce milk abundantly in the dairy
during development, the habit must not be encouraged of
laying on fat beyond a certain limit. But this idea in
practice must not be carried to the extent of in any wav
hindering a vigorous and robust development. On the
other hand, if the young animal is grown to furnish meat,
good steady growth which carries along with it a reason-
able amount of fat will influence favorably future produc-
tion. If food is insufficient in quantity or nutrition, or
excessive in both respects, the influence on future produc-
tion will be unfavorable. Likewise if the growing colt is
fed improperly for the end for which it is being grown, the
results will be disappointing.
450 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
The influence which food has upon future develop-
ment is very potent. Ieed a young animal on food low
relatively in mineral matter and protein and the framework
is deficient and weak, while it carries too large a propor-
tion of fat. The outcome is dwarfed development. Corn
when fed to excess produces these results. This has been
abundantly shown by experiments at the Wisconsin station
and also in the experience of individual feeders. Swine
grown largely on pasture, succulent and nourishing, as
clover, alfalfa or rape, will make greater and more pro-
longed gains than those grown entirely on grains. Suc-
culent foods also put cattle and sheep into that “sappy,”
condition of flesh that is favorable to quick gains and pro-
longed fattening. Present results, therefore, are not the
only returns obtained by feeding certain foods. The skilled
fitter of show animals feeds foods that will insure size, and
enough but not too much of flesh to ripen the animal too
soon. It is thus prepared for the highest pressure feeding,
until within a reasonable time of the show season. Such
feeding is reserved for the last spurt, as it were, since if this
were done too soon, the necessary bloom, that is fine ap-
pearance, could not be maintained.
The influence of driving the machinery of the digestion
at too rapid a rate is discussed elsewhere. (See p. 115, al-
30 p. 377). Overwork in the young animal hinders develop-
ment and correspondingly hinders useful performance.
Overwork in the mature animal lessens future usefulness
and shortens the period of the same.
Foods vary in adaptation.—Foods vary in their adap-
tation not only for animals of the same class at different
ages, but also for animals of different classes. Due recogni-
tion must be given to those variations by those who are
to make a success of growing live stock. That foods vary
in their adaptation for animals of the same class at dif-
ferent ages is self-evident, but the precise nature of the
adaptation calls for careful thought and forethought, that a
proper supply of each factor may be on hand when wanted.
GENERAL FEEDING 451
It is important, for instance, that calves shall be given hay,
fine and well cured. Cattle one or two years old may utilize,
without any loss, fodders much coarser and rougher. To
have a supply of such hay for calves, calls for forethought
in growing the same, in cutting it at the proper stage of
growth, in curing it, and in storing it so as to be accessible
when wanted. The same is true of food provision in other
lines.
The variations in foods for the different classes of live
stock are much greater than for those of the same class.
They are: (1) Such as grow out of the necessities arising
from original bestowment; (2) such as relate to digestive
peculiarities and the needs growing out of these, and (3)
those which are at least measurably qualified by the nature
of the production required. These are additional to varia-
tions called for by variations in age.
Nature made the ox graminivorous, hence, grasses and
grains are the proper food of cattle. Likewise it made the
pig omnivorous, kence, swine may properly be given a much
wider range of foods than would be suitable for cattle. Ani-
mal food may be fed with advantage betimes to calves in
the form of blood meal, but flesh is so foreign to the needs
of cattle that it is ill-adapted to supplying these. Not so,
however, is it in regard to swine. Tankage has proved
a profitable food for swine, and it is possible to maintain
them on the offal of slaughter-houses alone. Nature has
made the sheep dainty as to the condition in which food
is given to it, hence, unless good in quality, it will reject it,
except under the pressure of hunger. On the other hand,
swine will consume offal to such an extent that they may
be regarded as scavengers.
The greater relative ability of cattle and sheep to di-
gest bulky foods as compared with horses, and especially
with swine, is discussed elsewhere, (see p. 456). Experience
has shown that meal is best administered to cattle in the
dry form, but to swine after having been soaked. It should
452 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
be given to swine directly and without admixture, where-
as for cattle, it is deemed preferable to mix it with a cer-
tain amount of more bulky food. Nearly all kinds of grain
are ground before being fed to cattle, a process of prepara-
tion not deemed necessary when feeding them to sheep.
The kind of production called for has a powerful in-
fluence in determining how foods may best be used. Tim-
othy hay, for instance, has high adaptation for feeding
horses, since it is well adapted to furnishing heat and
energy, and is not so laxative as alfalfa and some other
foods. As a fodder for horses, it is considered inferior to
clover. For cows it is not considered equal to clover, and
for sheep its adaptation is considerably lower, especially
if coarse and harvested late. Succulent food such as soii-
ing foods, corn silage and field roots, are admirable for milk
production, also young grass, whereas to give the same in
large quantity to horses. when hard at work would be very
unwise. In furnishing pasture such adaptation should also
be studied. The rape plant, for instance, is probably with-
out a rival in its adaptation in providing pasture for sheep,
whereas, it is ill-suited to providing pasture for horses at
work. The importance of using foods in the best line of
their adaptation cannot be easily over estimated.
Foods that influence digestion favorably.—(1) Some
foods in addition to the sustenance which they furnish, ex-
ercise an influence on digestion so salutary as to place
their value as foods far away above what is represented by
the nutrients which they contain and the digestibility of
the same; (2) the influence thus exerted tends to correct
the harmful results that grow out of constipation or wi-
due laxness of the bowels, according to the kind of food;
(3) because of this, when used mainly to give proper tone
to the digestion, the real value of such foods is usually far
above their market value; (4) when fed mainly for such a
use, small and moderate rather than large quantities should
be fed.
GENERAL FEEDING 453
The list of these foods includes all kinds of field roots,
as turnips, rutabagas, mangels, sugar beets, carrots, and
parsnips. It also includes such by-products as wheat bran.
oil cake of various kinds; such fodders as alfaifa and
clover; such green foods as grass and rape; -grass in dif-
ferent stages of maturity and condiments of a salutary
character, as salt and mixtures that act as atonic when fed.
All kinds of field roots, bran and oil cake have a
tendency to relieve constipation and are possessed of high-
est value when fed with dry food, as straw for instance,
in winter. The real value of these foods fed to animals
on succulent pastures would therefore be much less than
the value when fed witk foods that tend to constipate. Al-
falfa and clovers tend to correct digestion according as
they are fed. When fed along with a food too constipating,
they exercise some influence in correcting such a condition,
but when fed along with green food such as tends to
produce scouring, the effect is the opposite. Grass, rape
and also alfalfa and clovers fed in the green form in suit-
able quantities all tend to counteract constipation, but grass
more or less matured, on the other hand, tends to correct
scouring. Salt, though not a food at all in the sense of
furnishing nutrients, exercises, nevertheless, a salutary in-
fluence on digestion when fed in due proportion, (see
p. 521). And the condiments referred to’ tend to stimulate
the digestive organs to increased action (see p. 469).
The real value of such foods will vary in proportion
to the extent to which they tend to correct digestion. When
the necessity for such a correction is not present, the nu-
trients which they possess and the digestibility of the same
is the true measure of their value. Because of this, the
aim should be to feed them in a way that will add to their
value. Field roots, for instance, may be fed to the extent
of being a chief source of nutrition, but when so fed they
will probably prove relatively an expensive food, whereas
if they were fed in limited quantity as a corrective to di-
gestion, they would be found relatively a very cheap food.
454 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
The wisdom, therefore, of feeding foods when thus
used in moderate quantities will be apparent. The amounts
required will of course vary with the necessities which each
individual instance gives rise to, hence no hard and fast
rules can be formulated in regard to feeding them. it
would seem approximately correct to say, however, that
from one-fourth to one-third of the amount fed on the
basis of the nutrients contained, will usually effect the
end sought. To illustrate: Should a dairy cow be fed 8
pounds of bran when bran is fed alone as the meal portion,
from 2 to 3 pounds along with other meal would act as
a regulator of digestion.
When to feed concentrates.—Nutrients in the form
of concentrates are usually more costly than an equal quan-
tity of the same in the form of roughage. The supply of
the latter is also generally more abundant on the farm
than the supply of the former. Because of this, practical
growers of live stock have erred in the extent to which
they have fed roughage and withheld concentrates. This
is especially true in corn-growing areas where much of
the fodder grown is never reaped, and in grain-growing
areas where much of.the straw grown is still burned. It
is important, therefore, to know when to feed concentrates
and when to withhold them.
It will always be in order to feed grain: (1) To foals
that are nursing and especially at, and subsequent to the
weaning period; (2) to dams that suckle them when not
on pasture, plentiful and succulent and (3) to horses when
at work. If the pastures are particularly good, nursing
foals may do without grain without detriment, till toward
the weaning season, but grain fed to them would not in
any sense be wasted. With good protein fodders and corn
ensilage in winter, nursing dams may require but little
grain. The amount required by horses at work is gauged
chiefly by the character and amount of the work done. It
will usually be in order to feed a limited amount of grain
to foals that are growing in the winter season, more es-
GENERAL FEEDING 4 455
pecially during the first winter. The amount called for will
depend chiefly on the character of the roughage fed, but
the necessity for feeding more than 2 to 4 pounds per
animal seldom exists. As a rule mature horses that are
idle do not require grain until within a few weeks of the
time labor begins.
It will in nearly all instances be found profitable to
feed concentrates to cattle under the following conditions:
(1) To calves that are being reared on skim milk and to
all calves from the weaning period onward for a time; (2)
to young animals that are being grown to furnish baby
beef (see p. 402); (3) to cattle that are being fattened
under all conditions of fattening; (4) to cows in milk
during the entire period of lactation. A liberal supply will
be in order for calves grown on skim milk (see p. 404), and
those grown for baby beef should be given practically all
they will consume without injury. The amount fed to
cattle that are being fattened may be much reduced when
they are on good grass, and possibly withheld for a time,
(see p. 398). The necessity for feeding large amounts
of grain to cows in milk on good pasture is still in a way,
an open question (see p. 440), but it is about cer-
tain that to feed a limited amount to cattle that
are being fattened and to cows in milk will be at-
tended with some profit. It will usually be profitable to
feed calves 2 or 3 pounds of grain per animal per day the first
winter, and also the second winter, if they are to be finished
on grass the following summer. It may not be profitable
to feed grain to young cattle after the first winter where the
grazing is abundant. It is not usually necessary to feed
it to heifers intended for the dairy, except for a time, sub-
sequently to weaning. Nor is it usually necessary to feed
grain to cows not in milk.
Sheep will profit from being given concentrates under
the following conditions: (1) It will always be in order to
feed grain to lambs before the season of grazing and subse-
quently if they are to be sold as milk lambs; (2) to lambs for
450 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
a_ time subsequently to the weaning period under arable con-
ditions, unless they can be provided with rich pasture such as
rape furnishes ; (3) to pregnant ewes when inthe yards and
also after parturition and (4) to sheep and lambs that are
being fattened except when grazed on rape. Milk lambs
may be given all they will consume, and pregnant ewes a
small allowance before lambing, but liberal feeding subse-
quently. Whether grain will be profitable if fed to sheep
and lambs that are being fattened on rape, will depend
upon such conditions as relative values. Shearling ewes do
not usually require grain winter or summer, nor do breed-
ing ewes ordinarily need it when on good pasture.
It will be found profitable to feed grain to swine at all
times, with one exception. The exception is that of ma-
ture, brood sows on good pastures, when only one litter is
required of them each year. Young pigs that are nursing
and for some weeks subsequently should be given all the
grain that they will take. Later when on good pasture,
about half the normal grain ration that would be necessary
were they confined will suffice. During the fattening pe-
riod, they should be given all they will consume with a
relish.
Proportion of concentrates to roughage.—In dis-
cussing this question it may certainly be assumed: (1)
That roughage has a mission in addition to furnishing
nutriment to animals; viz., the proper distension and en-
largement of the digestive organs in all animals, especially
ruminants; (2) that roughage is more plentiful relatively
than concentrates and because more plentiful it furnishes
nutrients relatively more cheaply than grain and (3) that
because of the above the aim should be to utilize roughage to
the greatest extent consistent with highest profit in the
live stock so fed.
The necessity for feeding roughage to horses, cattle,
sheep and swine is based on the need for proper distension
of the digestive organs to enable animals to consume. larger
quantities of food than would otherwise be utilized. The
GENERAL FEEDING 457
necessity for feeding it in relatively larger quantities to
ruminants than to horses or swine is indicated in the rela-
tively greater capacity they have for storing it and also
for grinding large quantites of it in the process of rumina-
tion to prepare it for digestion. When young animals are
given too large a proportion relatively of concentrates dur-
ing the growing period, for want of sufficient distension in
the digestive organs, they are unable to take sufficiently
large quantities of food and especially of roughage, com-
patible with highest production. This is evidenced in the
want of largest attainable growth, even in swine that are
reared entirely on a concentrated grain ration in addition to
the food furnished by the dam during the nursing period.
Such distension is of highest relative importance in the
dairy cow, because of the necessity that requires her to
consume relatively large quantities of food in proportion”
to her weight to properly sustain the milk flow. It is pos-
sible to sustain ruminants that are mature for considerable
periods without apparent injury, as was shown several
years ago in tke experiment of Mr. Linus W. Miller of
New York, who successfully wintered during several sea-
sons dry dairy cows on a ration of corn meal and water.
But that such feeding is practical is of but little economic
importance, because of the greater cheapness relatively
of roughage.
The greater plentifulness and subsequently greater
relative cheapness of roughage arises, first from the fact
that large quantities are furnished along with grain when
growing the latter; second, large quantities may be grown
and cheaply which furnish little or no grain relatively, as
in the case of corn fodder grown thickly; and third, the
entire grass and hay crops consist of roughage without
grain, except when grown to provide seed for sowing.
Roughage, therefore, will always furnish nutrients rela-
tively cheaper than concentrates with rare exceptions. But
this is in some degree offset by the higher relative diges-
tibility of concentrates.
458 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
The wisdom of trying to utilize roughage to the great-
est extent practicable will be apparent from what has been
said. It is simply impossible to lay down rules that wiil
apply in every case as to the proportion of roughage and
concentrates that shall be fed respectively. Much must be
left to the judgment of the intelligent feeder, but some
things may be said that should prove helpful to the less
experienced. These include the following: (1) Young
animals including foals, calves, lambs and pigs should be
provided with all the roughage that they will consume from
the time when they begin to feed upon it to insure the
requisite distension in the digestive organs; (2) to encour-
age them to take such food, it should be provided for them
superior in quality and possessed of high palatability; (3)
with animals grown for future breeding or labor tke rela-
tive proportion of roughage to concentrates should increase
until they are matured; (4) the proportion of concentrates
to roughage in feeding mature horses may extend from
none at all with idle horses to considerably more than 50
per cent in digestible nutrients with horses at hard labor;
(5) the proportion with mature cattle that are being fat-
tened or with those nearing maturity may run all the way
between 33 and 66 per cent according to the character of the
nutrients in the roughage and the duration of the feeding
period; (6) the proportion with cows in milk may range
between 33 and 50 per cent of all the nutrients, according
to the nature of the roughage fed, but when on pasture
it may be less than 33 per cent even to the extent of not
feeding any; (7) the proportion with sheep that are being
fattened should range between 33 and 66 per cent of all
the nutrients, also based on their character and the duration
of the feeding period; (8) the proportion with swine be-
tween weaning and fattening should be in the neighbor-
hood of 50 to 65 per cent of all the nutrients, and for all
other swine, save breeding animals when not producing, it
should run from 75 to 100 per cent; (9) roughage fed in
GENERAL FEEDING — 459
the form of legumes of high palatability lessens the re-
quirement in concentrates in proportion as the former are
fed; (10) this reduction may in some instances be fully
50 per cent, as when cattle and sheep that are being fat-
tened and cows in milk are being fed freely on high class
clover or alfalfa hay.
It is to be borne in mind that the figures submitted
above are to be regarded as only approximate. They are
intended to be general rather than specific guides. _
Changing foods.—In discussing this question, it is safe
to affirm: (1) That any marked change in the diet of
farm animals should be made gradually; (2) that a change
from dry food to pasture in the spring will result in a loss
in live weight if made suddenly and (3) that changing
from plentiful pastures in the autumn to dry feed will also
result in lessened gains for a time, unless made with great
care.
Sudden changes in the food given to animals are to
be avoided, for the reason that the digestive system has
in many instances shown that it is unable to accommodate
itself at once to such a change, hence digestive derangement
follows, which in all instances means loss. Such changes
sometimes result in scouring, as when animals are changed
suddenly from a dry to a watery diet, as for instance from
winter to summer food, or when large quantities of field
roots are quickly added to the winter ration, also when
large quantities of the tops of field roots are added to the
autumn pastures. Sometimes they induce constipation, as
when changing from autumn pastures to a diet without any
succulence in it. In other instances they overtax the diges-
tion so as permanently to weaken it, as when animals unused
to grain are too quickly led up to a full feed of the same. If
the change is gradually made, after the lapse. of a sufficient
time, the system can digest without kazard or harm, quanti-
ties of the newly introduced food elements that would as-
suredly have produced serious digestive derangement had
they been given at the first.
400 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
Moreover, such changes affect the quality of the mill
of dams to such an extent as in some instances to be seri-
ously harmful to the young which they are nursing. This
may happen when the change is made to a diet that is well
adapted to the production of good milk. Should brood
sows, for instance, be suddenly put on abundant clover
pasture when young and fresh, the danger is present that ”
scours will affect the young that they are nursing. It some-
times happens also, that when ewes nursing young lambs
are quickly changed from dry food to abundant pastures,
the change in the quality of the milk and its superabun-
dance lead to derangement in digestion so serious that
death may follow.
When herbivorous animals are changed suddenly from
a dry diet to one of succulent pastures, the change is prob-
ably accompanied in all instances by a loss of weight. This
results from the lax condition of the bowels. This loss
may be so serious as to call for three or four weeks grazing
before the weight is recovered that was thus lost. Even
though the change is made prudently with animals on a
full grain ration, the gains will probably be lowered more or
less for atime. Cows also will be reduced in flesh somewhat,
notwithstanding that the milk flow may be greater.
The change, therefore, should be made from dry food
to succulent pastures very gradually. It is considered good
practice to turn cattle that are being given a full grain ra-
tion out on pasture just after the noon meal has been
consumed, and to leave them on the grass for not more
than an hour the first day. The period of grazing is then
lengthened each day, and not less than 15 days should be
covered in making the change. The grain ration is in the
meantime continued, and the animals are encouraged to
eat fodder suitable in kind. If, however, the fresh young
grass is mixed with dead grass uneaten from the previous
year’s growth, the time occupied in making the change may
be shortened, as the tendency to scouring will not be so
marked, me
GENERAL FEEDING 461
A second method sometimes adopted is to turn the
animals onto the pasture so early in the season that they
cannot eat grass to excess, because it is not present in
sufficient quantities. This method may be commendable in
some instances with sheep, whick are usually benefited by
taking much exercise, but it is not to be commended in
the case of cattle, as they injure the pasture by poaching.
They hinder growth through too early cropping, and the
over exercise taken by them is adverse to increase in flesh.
The change from autumn pastures to dry food is less
difficult to make. If the animals have been given a daily
supplement of dry fodder on the pastures before yarding
them, the check to increase should be but little felt. A
constipated condition of the bowels, however, should be
guarded against by feeding some food, as oil cake or field
roots in sufficient quantity to prevent such a result.
Adjusting foods to the needs of animals.—The prop-
er adjusting of foods to the needs of the animals so that
they will be fed with the greatest economy as to the utiliza-
tion of food and the utmost benefit to the animals, requires
much forethought and judgment on the part of the feeder.
It calls for the adaptation of foods: (1) To animals of
different ages; (2) to those of different classes and (3)
to the purposes for which they are kept.
With reference to young animals during the milk pe-
riod, in nearly all instances it will be profitable to supple-
ment the milk with grain or meal that will promote the
proper growth of bone and muscle, and to feed in addi-
tion, unless in the case of swine, fodder, the finest and
most palatable that can be obtained. Subsequently to the
milk period the grain ration should be increased and the
quality of the other food maintained for several months.
The period between the age of, say one year, and maturity
in the case of foals and cattle, eight months and maturity in
that of lambs, and three months and maturity in the
case of swine, is the period when they can be fed most
cheaply, because of the small amount of grain required
462 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
relatively and of the extent to which the more coarse fod-
ders can be fed. The only exception is in the case of ma-
ture animals that are not producing. When kept to that
age beyond which the teeth begin to fail, then foods richer
and prepared so as to reduce the labor of mastication are
essential. It should also be noted that, viewed from the
standpoint of age only, the necessity for foods rich in pro-
tein and mineral matters gradually decreases with advanc-
ing age, hence, the nutritive ratio widens proportionately.
With reference to the different classes of animals, it
may be said that cattle and sheep can profitably consume
larger quantities of bulky foods relatively than horses and
swine, owing to the greater relative capacity they have for
storing the same and to the better equipment they have
for thoroughly masticating the food when preparing it for
digestion. The average capacity of the stomach of the
horse has been given as 19 quarts, of the ox as 266.9, the
sheep 24.7 and the hog 8.5. To some extent, however, this
is offset by the greater relative intestinal capacity of the
horse and the hog. It follows, therefore, that horses re-
quire as a rule, more concentrated food relatively than cat-
tle and sheep, and that because swine are not so well equipped
as horses for masticating coarse fodders, they require
a still larger proportion of concentrated food.
With reference to the various purposes for which ani-
mals are kept it may be said: (1) That horses at work call
for increased concentration in the food fed with increase
in the amount and severity of the work done; (2) that
with cattle, the need for protein is greatest during the
milk taking period, that the diet of cows in milk must be
richer in protein and possessed of more succulence than
that for cattle that are being fattened, and that the food of
the latter must be increasingly rich in the main in fat
producing elements as the fattening process advances; (3)
that the same reasoning applies equally to sheep and swine
and (4) that while swine between the weaning and fatten-
ing period can utilize pasture to much advantage the food
GENERAL FEEDING 463
should be concentrated and rich in protein during the
former period, and in carbohydrates during the latter. It
may also be added that mature animals not producing re-
quire but little grain, hence, the aim should be to maintain
them on relatively cheap foods.
Foods home grown or purchased.—Whether the
foods fed should be entirely grown upon the farm or pur-
chased in part or in whole will depend upon several con-
siderations. These include: (1) The relative area of the
land holdings on which foods may be grown; (2) the rela-
tive values of foods; (3) the natural adaptation of the
country for certain lines of production, and (4) the neces-
sity for applying fertilizers from some outside source.
It is evident that where the holdings are small, the
amount of live stock kept cannot be large, unless foods are
purchased in addition to those grown. The purchase of foods
to supplement those grown may in certain instances not
only be necessary but also commendable. Nevertheless the
fact remains that the profit from feeding home-grown foods
should be greater than from feeding those purchased. It
will probably be correct to say that the home value of foods
is 20 per cent less than the value of the same on the mar-
ket. In other words, other things being equal, a food can
usually be grown for about 20 per cent less than it can be
purchased, hence, the advantage to the grower and feeder
of live stock of being able to grow all or nearly all the
food which he needs. This should be his aim to the great-
est extent possible, but of course all the food needed can-
not be grown on small farms when they are keavily
stocked.
The relative value of foods exercises an important
qualifying influence on the amount and kinds that it will
pay to purchase, and also on the conditions under which
they may be fed. In some instances, as when the prices
of food products are low, when live stock of suitable age
and at moderate prices for feeding can be obtained and
when the demand for the properly finished product rules
404 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
reasonably high, it may be possible to buy both food and
live stock and feed them at a profit.
Feeding sheep and cattle at stockyards and other
centers has been made possible under the conditions named.
More commonly such feeding has centered at various points
in the Mississippi basin and in proximity to the great grain
growing centers of the central west and northwest. Sheep
especially from the western ranges have been thus fat-
tened oftentimes in very large numbers and on screenings
taken out of the grain and supplemented. Fattening animals
thus, of course, effects a saving in labor. But, viewed from
the standpoint of the influence which it exerts upon farm-
ing in states where it is practiced, it is open to the fol-
lowing objections: (1) It centers feeding at a limited nuim-
ber of points which should be done on the farm, because
of the profitable employment that it would furnish to the
farmers on many farms during the leisure season; (2) it
consumes fodders and frequently grains drawn from the
farm which should be fed on the same for its enrichment;
(3) the fertilizer made at the various feeding centers is
usually in a large degree wasted.
In certain sections, it is possible to grow one product
in great abundance for a certain kind of feeding, while its
best complemental food does not grow well there. Under
these conditions, it may be profitable to buy that food which
helps to balance the ration. In alfalfa areas in the western
valleys, it may pay well, under certain conditions, to buy
corn and other grain to feed with tke alfalfa. In corn-grow-
ing areas where protein is muck wanting, it may pay well
to purchase some protein food as bran or cottonseed meal
to feed along with the corn. In other areas which may be
made to grow corn ensilage in food form but which produce
grain shyly, it may be well to purchase the latter to add
to the silage rather than to try to grow them.
When it is necessary to supplement the fertilizer made
on the farm by purchasing fertility, this may sometimes
be obtained more cheaply through foods purchased and fed
GENERAL FEEDING 405
than through purchasing the fertilizer directly. Where
the soil is low in fertility, this may frequently answer the
purpose much better than the application of commercial
fertilizers, since the manure resulting will act as a mulch
and also as a fertilizer when spread on the surface, and
when buried it will furnish the soil with.humus and also
with fertility. Commercial fertilizer only enriches the soil.
It does not act as a mulch nor does it supply humus. One
of the best methods of enriching soil thus is by feeding
to sheep on pasture some supplemental grain product, rich
in fertilizing elements (see p. 398). The pasture may be
composed of grass, clover or other plants sown for the
purpose.
Relative food values.—It has been stated elsewhere
that the aim should be to grow the foods fed upon the
farm to the greatest extent possible upon the same. (See
p. 463.) But it frequently happens that foods need to be
purchased to make it possible to feed them in balance. It is
also necesary in some instances to purchase them to make
production profitable in the highest degree, because of the
limitations in the variety of the foods grown in the locality.
In such instances a due regard should be had, first, to the
relative values of foods, and second, to their relative suit-
ability for the end sought. In yet other instances, because
of a difference in the relative values of foods, it may be
profitable to sell grains grown upon the farm and purchase
other products to feed in lieu of those sold.
A due regard must be had to the relative values of
foods. These vary with the seasons. In one instance, bar-
ley may be low in price and corn relatively high. In an-
other, the opposite may be true. This may be brought
about by some peculiarity in the weather during the period
of growth. One season is may be more profitable to pur-
chase corn, another season, barley, and yet again rye. In
some instances, oil cake may be freely purchased and fed
with profit, and yet again the cost of this food may put it
out of the reach of the feeder. The same is true of other
406 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
by-products. In some instances bran may be purchased and
fed with great advantage. In other instances it would be
fed at a loss. But because of the favorable influence of
bran and oil cake and some other products on digestion apart
from their feeding value, it may be profitable to purchase
and feed them in small quantity when the price gets be-
yond the value of profitable feeding based on the nutrients
which these foods contain.
The relative suitability of foods purchased to the use
that is to be made of them should be duly considered when
purchases are made. The cheapest concentrate viewed
from the standpoint of nutrients may not be the cheapest,
because it does not contain the requisite nutrients to furnish
a balanced ration along with the other foods already on
hand with which it must be fed. In yet other instances,
the food thus purchased may not be the cheapest, though it
is the best balancer of the ration, because of its relative ex-
pense. Another food which does not furnisk so perfect a
balance may be cheaper because of its low price or because
it exercises a favorable influence on digestion.
Grains may sometimes be sold with profit in order to
purchase other foods to feed in their stead. The grower
for instance may have an abundant supply of oats and be
short of corn for feeding. Oats may be relatively high and
corn relatively cheap. In such instances profit may result
from selling oats and buying corn, rather than from feed-
ing oats without corn. Another who is a swine grower
may have an abundant supply of both corn and oats. Since
neither of these fed alone is suitable for young pigs as
the sole ration, and since the same is true of them when
fed in conjunction, it will usually be profitable to sell a
certain amount of one or the other of these grains and to
purchase wheat middlings to be fed in its stead. That, of
course, should be sold which will bring the best price. But
when these exchanges, so to speak, are made, a due regard
must be had to the cost of transportation of the food sold
and also of that purchased.
GENERAL FEEDING 467
Sustaining power of pastures.—The sustaining power
of pastures is a question of much moment to the stock-
man. With reference thereto it may be said: (1) That
it will be found to vary greatly with varying conditions;
(2) that under average conditions, it may usually be greatly
increased and (3) that the effort to increase the carrying
power of pastures in this country has seldom been given
that attention which its importance demands.
The sustaining power of grazing lands will vary with
climatic and soil conditions, with the grasses that grow
on them, with the method of grazing and with tke fertiliza-
tion bestowed. The sustaining power of the best grazing
lands of the United States and Canada has apparently not
been tested in a systematic way. It has been estimated that
from 10 to 30 acres of land comprised in the western ranges
are required to graze a mature cattle beast through all
the season, practically through all the year. In striking
contrast is the statement of Sir J. B. Lawes, to the effect
that in a certain pasture in Leicestershire, England, which
comprised 14 acres, 17 oxen were grazed throughout the
entire season and that from 500 to 600 pounds of increase
was secured from each acre. The averge fertility of the
range lands referred to is probably greater than that of the
Leicestershire grazing lands, the difference in the outcome
being caused mainly by lack of rainfall. In support of this
statement it may be mentioned, that Prof R. S. Shaw se-
cured 904.8 pounds of increase per acre in one season at the
Montana experiment station, from grazing young cattle on
alsike clover pasture subject to irrigation.
A mixture of grasses will usually produce the largest
amount of pasture, since these grow more or less at dif-
ferent seasons and they usually occupy the ground more
fully than one variety. Such pastures, however, should be
permanent in character, and they should only be made on
soils good and naturally moist, and in localities favored
with occasional rains during the period of growth, because
of the expense and time required to secure them.
408 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
The method of grazing exercises a most important in-
fluence on the production of pastures. This is particularly
true of pastures essentially composed of blue grass. In
practice they are usually eaten too bare. When not cropped
too closely, the covering of grass tends to shield the ground
from the evaporating rays of the sun in summer, and from
the severe freezing of the roots in winter. By prudent
erazing, the sustaining power of pastures may certainly be
considerably increased, but the author has not been able
to find figures bearing on such increase.
Nor can data be found based on American experience
to show the increase that may be obtained in pastures from
suitable fertilization. Reasoning from analogy, however,
it would seem correct to assume that the fertilization of
pastures would increase production relatively as much as it
increases the production of meadows in the same locality
similarly treated. In many instances, the production of
New England meadows has been increased two-and three-
fold, by dressing them annually with compost, farmyard
manure or commercial fertilizers, or with two of these or
all three combined.
The prevailing pasture on arable farms in the northern
and central states is blue grass, in the southern states,
Bermuda grass, and in the Canadian Northwest, Russian
brome. The claim has been made for all these, that in some
instances one acre has been found capable of sustaining a
cattle beast between the ages of one and three years dur-
ing the period of grazing, that is for, say six months. This
would mean that one acre of such grass would furnish
from 300 to 400 pounds of increase. Usually, however,
it would seem correct to say, that from two to three acres
are required to carry one such animal through the season.
One average acre of well-grown rape will produce from
200 to 250 pounds of mutton. One acre of irrigated alfalfa
with a suitable grain supplement will make from say 600 to
goo pounds of pork in a single season, to be credited to
the alfalfa.
GENERAL FEEDING 409
It would probably be safe to affirm that under average
conditions on arable farms, the sustaining power of pastures
could be doubled, and that this would be. possible of ac-
complishment in a way that would add much to the revenue
accruing. Securing meat through pasture to a very con-
siderable extent eliminates costly labor.
The little attention that has been given to increasing
the sustaining power of pastures has doubtless arisen in a
measure from the extensive character of the farming. Along
with the advent of intensive farming, it is reasonable to
suppose that the improvement of pastures will be given that
increased attention of which its importance is deserving.
Condimental foods.—Condimental foods are certain
preparations added to the usual food ration for longer or
shorter periods. They are mixed with some kind of
meal as a basis and certain ingredients added. Some of the
latter are of the nature of spices, some possess medicinal
properties and yet others possess both. Of the first class
is ginger; of the second, gentian, and of the third, anise.
They are thus blended and fed usually with concentrated
food to increase the relish for the food and to tone up the
system. As put upon the market they are proprietary, and
are generally sold as “Foods” or “Stock Food,” with some
distinguishing name prefixed to indicate the ownership. In
many instances, the claims made for them are extravagant,
and they are frequently sold at a price unreasonably and un-
necessarily high.
The foods more commonly used as the basis of the
mixture are corn meal, wheat middlings, oil meal and
locust bean, but other kinds of meal are also used, alone or
mixed. The ingredients added more commonly include
several of the following; viz. gentian, fenugreek, ginger
caraway, anise, cumin, saltpeter, common salt, charcoal,
and sulphur. Sometimes they include others of a similar
class. It is absolutely necessary to use some common food
as a base, otherwise the mixture would have so little bulk
that it would not be practical to spread it over prepared
470 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
food or to mix it with the same in order to improve its
palatability. As the amount fed is usually not more than
a tablespoonful at one time, and in some instances it is
less, the necessity for such blending will be apparent.
At the present time, it is popular to write and speak
against the use of such foods. The more vehement char-
acterize them as absolute frauds. The more temperate
argue that when animals are in health and provided with
good wholesome food, condiments are not needed, and
that since wholesome food is always accessible, they are
never needed. As a result of various experiments con-
ducted to test their worth, the conclusion has been reached
in some instances, that they are practically valueless, and
in nearly all instances that to feed them is unprofitable.
In the judgment of the author, all three classes have erred
in the conclusions reached. To grant the correctness of
the first view would be to assume that no honest person
could engage in compounding them, a conclusion that is
not tenable as some of these foods have merit for certain
lines of feeding as is shown below. To grant the correct-
ness of the second view, would imply by parity of reasoning
that foods are always good, that animals are always healthy,
and that when members of the human family are ailing,
they should use no stimulant or tonic to promote recovery.
To grant the correctness of the third view would be sub-
stantially to sustain the correctness of the first and second
views.
The author believes that these so-called foods as a
rule contain ingredients that are seldom, if ever harmful,
when judiciously fed to animals, and that on’the other hand,
they may be so fed that they will be helpful and in some
instances profitable, dependent on the conditions that at-
tend the feeding. They are appetizing, stimulating, and act
as tonics, consequently, they should not be fed when animals
are in good health. But when domestic animals are ailing,
or unthrifty, a suitable condiment given to them for a time
will frequently aid in restoring normal conditions. Some
GENERAL FEEDING 471
of these foods fed for a short time may prove very helpfui
in fitting yard horses for spring work, in stimulating the
milk, flow in a cow whose stomach is out of tone, and in
toning up the digestion of cattle and other animals near
the finishing period, when it has become deranged through
over-heavy feeding. No sooner, however, is the object ac-
complished, than all such feeding should cease. Tonics
long continued cease to be operative both in men and lower
animals.
The findings of the experiment stations would seem
to be based on the untenable view that they are foods,
and tkey have so been fed to animals in good health. The
idea of feeding them as foods is far from correct, as the
amount of nutriment which one feed contains is not worth
mentioning. But those who compound them have no right
to complain, as they usually speak of them as foods.
Nearly all feeders of long experience use more or less
of such ingredients, but not necessarily in the proprietary
form. More frequently probably they buy two or three
of the more important ingredients and compound them at
home. Such preparations should cost less than proprietary
foods, but the makers of the latter have a very great ad-
vantage in the opportunity they have to purchase wholesale.
In any event it would seem that such foods should yield a
reasonable profit to the owner when sold in large lots at
not more than 5 cents per pound. It is not necessary to
use more than a few pounds of the costlier ingredients to
make 100 pounds of the mixture.
The place for self-feeders.—Self-feeders have been
used in feeding cattle, sheep and swine, but more com-
monly they are used in feeding sheep. They are simply
covered boxes of any desired length and width, but wider
at the eaves than at the base. They are supported by legs
or frames and may be stationary or movable. They have
troughs along one or both sides as desired, the bottom of
the trough being on a level with the bottom of the box, and
472 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
of suitable height to allow the animals to eat without dis-
comfort. The food comes into the troughs as fast as
eaten, through an opening along the side, and just above
the bottom of the box. Cattle are frequently fed in flat
boxes with low sides, the meal or corn being replenished
to the extent of always keeping food before them.
It has been found practicable to fatten live stock when
fed thus, with results that have been, at least, fairly but
not eminently satisfactory. It has been practiced more
commonly at feeding centers, where animals are fattened in
a wholesale way, and to a far greater extent with sheep and
lambs than with any other class of live stock. The chief
object sought is to save labor. The roughage fed in such
instances is also replenished in suitable racks, so that it
also is constantly before the animals.
To this method of feeding there are the following ob-
jections: (1) Animals may not be fed thus with safety
until that time is reached when they are on full feed, that
is on a full allowance of grain. To feed them in this way
at the beginning would disturb digestion to their serious
detriment (see p. 377). This period of preliminary feed-
ing usually covers several weeks, in some instances one-
third of the entire finishing period. (2) It is less economical
of food. Animals fed thus will live chiefly on concentrates,
and just to the extent that they do, they consume a less
amount of roughage, which in nearly all instances, furnishes
nutrients more cheaply than is furnished by concentrates.
In areas where concentrates are relatively high and rough-
age cheap, as is usually the case where alfalfa grows at
its best, such feed would add materially to the cost of
increase. (3) The increase made is not usually quite so
satisfactory as from the other system of feeding. Such
has been the trend of the results of trials at the ex-
periment stations. While taking the food, the animals
breathe on more or less of the unconsumed portion, which
makes it less appetizing for them and leads to decreased
consumption. (4) Digestive troubles are less frequent when
GENERAL FEEDING 473
the food is proportioned out from meal to meal, and in
quantity just sufficient to keep the appetite in tone. In
this way surfeiting is prevented. The author found wken
feeding sheep at the Minnesota station, by the two systems,
digestive troubles were much less frequent with the ani-
mals on a limited grain ration.
While it is quite practicable to fatten animals on unlim-
ited feed, from what has been said above, it would seem
undesirable to follow this method on the arable farm or
western ranches, where alfalfa grows abundantly. Where
animals and more especially sheep are congregated at feed-
ing centers, and where screenings of grain are used as the
chief concentrate in fattening, it may be the cheaper method.
Finishing on the farm, however, is to be encourage:
rather than at feeding centers, because of the favorable in-
fluence which it exerts on fertility, and also for other
reasons, as furnishing employment in winter that should
prove profitable, and utilizing coarse foods that may other-
wise be to some extent wasted.
Relative profits from domestic animals.—The rela-
tive profit from producing milk, beef, mutton and pork
has been discussed, and frequently to but little purpose.
With reference to economy in production the following
conclusions will be found correct: (1) Judged from the
standpoint of the return in nutrients for food consumed, the
cow is the most economical producer of food for man, but
(2) the relative profit in producing milk or meat is in a
marked degree the outcome of conditions, hence (3) un-
der some conditions, the time is never likely to come when
milk, beef, mutton, or pork cannot be produced at the
zreatest profit.
That the cow is a more economical producer of food
‘or man, than the steer, the sheep or the pig, cannot be
questioned, if considered only from the standpoint of the
nutrients consumed in producing the same. Lawes and
Gilbert have shown that in the milk of a cow giving 10
quarts of milk daily, there are 6.6 pounds of nitrogenous
474. FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
substance, 6.33 pounds of fat and 1.35 pounds of mineral
matter produced in one week, whereas during a similar
period a steer gaining 2 1-7 pounds daily will produce
1.13 pounds nitrogenous substance, 9.53 pounds of fat
and 0.22 pound of mineral matter. The cow also pro-
duces 8.32 pounds of milk sugar for which there
is no equivalent in the ox. The ox will call for as
much food as the cow, if not indeed more, while thus
producing. The showing made is strongly in favor of the
greater economy in production from the cow.
It should be noticed, however, that the comparison re-
lates to production from mature animals, which is, so far,
against meat production. Meat is usually produced much
more economically by the cattle beast not yet mature. It
makes no allowance for maintenance while the cow is dry,
which usually covers from one-sixth to one-fifth of the
year. Nor does it consider the items of labor, which is
greater in the case of milk production. The necessity also
for meat in the human dietary, will make its production
imperative in progressive communities.
That conditions largely govern profits in milk and meat
production cannot be gainsaid. Under range conditions,
meat is produced at a very low cost, whereas, in the very
nature of things, milk cannot be produced at all under the
same conditions. On the other hand, nutrients can cer-
tainly be produced more cheaply in the form of milk under
intensive conditions, but even under these, much coarse
food can be made into meat, not well suited to making
milk.
That the time will never come when producing beef,
mutton or pork under all conditions will be less profitable
than producing the other classes of meat, or less econo:ni-
cal, will be evident to the reflecting mind. A small flock of
sheep, for instance, can be kept during the grazing season
on the average farm on the food grown in by-places. This
food in the absence of sheep would probably be wasted.
The nutrients in mutton thus grown are furnished more
GENERAL FEEDING 475
cheaply than they could be furnished in the milk of dairy
cows kept on the same farm. Again, suppose swine are
grown largely on alfalfa pasture and fattened on peas which
they harvest in the field, while being fattened, food nutri-
ents will doubtless be furnished more cheaply in the pork
thus made, than they could be furnished by harvesting. the
food and feeding it to other animals. It is not wise to con-
clude, therefore, that because as stated by Lawes and Gil-
bert, a mature cattle beast calls for 12 to 13 pounds of
dry matter to make a pound of increase, and mature sheep
call for but 8 to 9 pounds to make the same, growing mut-
ton is under all conditions more profitable than growing
beef. Under some conditions beef can be profitably grown
where mutton cannot and vice versa. Again, there are
conditions where either can be more profitably produced
than milk or milk products. The important matter is to
produce each of these products with reference to highest
adaptation for producing them
CHAPTER XX.
CONSIDERATIONS THAT RELATE TO THE
CARE OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS.
Prominent among the considerations that relate
care of domestic animals are the following.
t, She teeder’
2. Regularity in caring for stock.
3. Water for domestic animals.
4. Amount of water required.
5. Furnishing water to animals.
6. Shelter from weaning onward.
7. Shelter for young animals.
8. Protection for stock in summer.
g. Temperature in stables.
10. The sources of litter.
fi. “thewises of litter.
12. Preparing and using litter.
13. Amount of exercise.
14. The season of breeding.
15. The dam at parturition.
These are discussed in the order given.
The feeder.—The importance of adaptation in live
stock to the end for whick they are kept, and to the environ-
ment surrounding them:has already been discussed. (See
p. 31.) It is further discussed-on page 74. The sade
vantage from feeding foods in approximate balance has
also been pointed out. (See Chapter X.) But no matter what
the adaptation may_be, or the suitability of the foods fed,
adequate results will not follow unless the feeder, who has
the animals in charge is in every respect at least reasonably
qualified for his work.
The qualifications of a feeder are many. They in-
clude: (1) Some knowledge of animal physiology and
476
CARE OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS 477
cnemistry; (2) an industry and patience that are untiring ;
(3) a fidelity that is unswerving; and (4) an innate love
for the work.
The feeder who has some knowledge of animal physi-
oiogy is better qualified to adjust the foods fed to the
needs of the animals than the feeder without such know-
ledge. He will understand better the necessity for main-
taining relative adjustment between the proportion of con-
centrates and bulky fodders fed. He will also kave a more
correct idea of the treatment suitable for ailments and
diseases not sufficiently important to call for the skill of
the veterinarian. Some knowledge of chemistry will
prove valuable in the compounding of the food factors
of the ration and also preparing them for feeding. This
does not mean, however, that some men are unable to
make their mark as feeders without such knowledge. This
has been done in instances not a few. But it does mean
that, other things being equal, the feeder possessed of the
knowledge referred to should succeed better in his work
than the one not possessed of it.
The successful feeder must be a man of industrious
habits. His work, like that of woman, is in a sense never
done. Her ministrations to the needs of humanity are
never ending and his likewise to the needs of the live stock
which he feeds are continuous. Giving food and water to
the animals which he has in charge, though an important
part of his work, is by no means all of it. The necessity
for attentions in various ways is ever present during his
waking hours, and at certain seasons, as when animals bring
forth their young, giving these attentions frequently de-
prives him of his accustomed slumbers.
In no line of work“is fidelity of greater importance.
This is owing to the ever present necessity of furnishing
the animals in charge witk food and protection. In some
lines of work the neglect of one day may in a considerable
degree be made up the next, but in caring for animals it
478 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
is different; with them injury resulting from neglect is al-
ways attended with loss, and in many instances, it cannot
be atoned for even by extra care subsequently. So im-
portant is fidelity on the part of the feeder that without it
he cannot make a success of his work.
An innate love for the work is an important bestow-
ment on any feeder, on the principle that a liking for the
work in hand is a great aid to anyone prosecuting a definite
line of work. Its importance is enkanced in the case of
feeders by the influence which it exerts on the degree of the
‘attention bestowed, and the character of the same, and on
the self-control of the individual. The feeder who has no
love for his work does it in a perfunctory way. Food
is fed by rule regardless of the individual needs of
the animal. He is much prone also to be impatient with
waywardness in animals, in some instances to the extent
of being positively cruel. The feeder who loves his work
has a most careful regard to the individual needs of the
animals. If any is to wait for a meal beyond the usual
time, it will be himself rather than the animals under his
care. He will be gentle, though firm in dealing with them.
The animals in charge will go to meet him on his approach
rather than flee from him as in the case of the other type
of feeder. It has been said that feeders are born, not
made, and there is a large measure of truth in the adage,
but a love for feeding may also be cultivated to a marked
degree.
Good feeders are always in demand. This is one of
the lines of work which is never over-filled. It is shunned
by many when deciding upon their life work because it is
in a sense confining work. It calls for continued atten-
tion during much of each of tke 365 days in the year,
and it is exacting in the long hours called for and at certain
seasons additional hours are taken from the usual time for
sleeping. To such an extent is this line of work shunned
by the average American youth, that his adventurous spirit
prevents him from choosing it. As a result, it would seem
CARE OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS 479
safe to say, that a majority of those in this country ex-
clusively engaged in feeding animals have come from
certain countries in western Europe, especially Great
Britain, Denmark, Holland and Germany. The demand
for this class of work is likely to continue, indefinitely, and
the remuneration will be more, relatively, than is paid for
other lines of physical labor. The calling 1s also less
subject to change than in any other line of work, since a
change of feeders frequently brings with it more hazard
than change in many other lines in which animal life is
not a factor. The skilled feeder is practically assured of
work, liberal maintenance, and in some instances compe-
tence through all the changes of the times.
Regularity in caring for stock.—The importance of
regularity in everything that pertains to the keeping of
live stock cannot be easily over-estimated. While this ap-
plies to every phase of management, it does not so apply
equally. While giving food and salt irregularly are both
to be deprecated, animals will take greater harm from ir-
regularity in supplying the former. This source of hind-
rance to well doing is especially. significant when it applies,
(1) to the giving of food; (2) to the giving of drink; (3)
to the milking of cows and (4) to the working of horses.
Opinions do not always agree as to the number of
times that food should be given daily. This probably should
be gauged by the age of the animal, by the nature of the
digestive organs, and by the amount of work performed.
There can be no question but that young animals should be
fed more frequently when young than at a later period, ow-
ing in part, at least, to the greater activity of the digestive
organs. Animals with relatively large stomach capacity do
not of necessity call for food supplies so frequently as those
in which such capacity is not so large. Two feeds a day have
been found sufficient for cows, even when in milk, and also
for animals well grown that are being fattened, though
a considerable number adhere to the practice of giving a
light feed of fodder in the middle of the day in addition to
480 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
the morning and evening feeds, whick should be given 12
hours apart, as nearly as may be found practicable. The
stomach of the horse and pig being less capacious than
that of cattle and sheep, would seem to demand three feeds
per day, rather than two, and given as nearly as practicable
six hours apart.
But there can be no disagreement with reference to
the wisdom of giving food regularly. The digestive system
of animals is such that it adapts itself at least measurably to
the system of feeding adopted. To change that system for
even a single meal, produces more or less of digestive
disturbance in the animal, as in the individual. If food
is not forthcoming at the accustomed time, animals will
proclaim their sense of deprivation, each in its own pe-
culiar way. . The neighing of the horse for food, the low-
ing of the ox, the bleating of the sheep and the squealing
of swine, are simply echoes of the outcome of the desire
for another meal. Undue fasting is followed by taking
an excessive supply, which in turn calls for excessive drink-
ing, hence, digestive disturbance follows. The effects from
irregular feeding and changed conditions are well brought
out in the fact that animals usually lose in weight when
making the circuit of the autumn fairs.
When water is withheld beyond the usual time, a sense
of deprivation is felt, then it is taken to excess. Disturb-
ance follows in secreting the digestive fluids, and just in
proportion to the irregularity will be the loss that follows.
Warm temperatures and hard work may and do call for
taking water more frequently than at other times, but
under normal conditions, the aim should be to supply it at
stated times.
Nowhere in the management of domestic animals is the
importance of regularity more clearly shown than in the
milking of cows. A single instance of milking deferred for
any considerable length of time will be followed by decrease
in the next milking and in some instances in several milkings.
It has been noticed that to defer milking for an hour or more,
CARE OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS : 481
as for instance on Sabbath morning, will tend to diminish
the yield perceptibly for more than one milking immediately
following. For the discussion of other influences that af-
fect milk yields, see page 419.
The exertion of work calls for more food and for tak-
ing it more frequently than when animals are at rest. Be-
cause of this, while horses that are idle and that are simply
being carried through the winter, may fare well enough
on two feeds a day, it is imperative that those at work ai
have three feeds, and it is important that food shall be
given on time. Work carried beyond the usual time for
taking food means a more rapid expenditure of energy than
at other times, and this means so far a lowering of digestive
capacity when food is given. Hence it is, that irregularity
and want of uniformity in feeding are always followed by
results not entirely satisfactory.
Water for domestic animals.—Water is furnished to
domestic animals for the three-fold purpose of aiding the
digestive processes, cooling the body and allaying thirst.
Of these uses, the first is probably the most important. Be-
fore food can be digested that portion of the nutrients ap-
propriated by the body must first be reduced to a soluble
condition before they can be so utilized and to effect this
end, water is usually necessary in addition to that contained
in the food. Where the supply of water is insufficient for
the needs of the body, the tissues are not kept sufficiently
moist, nor is there enough to maintain proper action in the
excretory glands of the skin, consequently the temperature
rises and thirst is induced in proportion as the water supply
is insufficient. In hot weather, water applied externally
to the bodies of swine tends to cool the same in a_marked
degree and is, therefore, conductive to thrift.
Thirst is always present when the supply of water is
insufficient. It is a source of irritation and unrest. It also
hinders more or less the digestive processes and so far
hinders performance. When animals become thirsty be-
yond certain limits, they drink abnormal amounts of water
482 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
and this also is adverse to performance. The necessity,
therefore, for furnishing them with an ample supply of
water is ever present, notwithstanding that water is in
no sense a food.
The primary source of water is of course the clouds.
The natural channels by which it is conveyed to animals
are two-fold; viz., directly, as in the act of drinking, and
indirectly in the plants consumed as food. The sources
of supply from the clouds may be classed as natural and
artificial. The natural sources include springs, running
streams and basins made by nature. The artificial sources
include ordinary and artesian wells, cisterns and_ basins
made in tke earth. The supply furnished in plants is con-
siderable. The amount thus furnished is influenced by the
class to which the plant belongs and the condition in which
it is fed. Succulent grass, green corn and field roots con-
tain about 90 per cent of water, speaking roughly, and the
concentrated grains about 10 per cent. The amount of
water called for from other sources will of course be re-
duced in proportion as water is present in the food. Be-
cause of the amount of water in the food, some classes of
animals may not need water from other sources. This is
true in some instances of cattle and sheep that are fed a
large amount of roots, and of sheep grazing on succulent
rape pasture.
Water is helpful to animals in proportion as the supply
is abundant, sweet, pure and of the right temperature. The
necessity for a plentiful supply is self evident. Water is
sweet when it does not contain any chemical substances
distasteful to livestock. In some areas of the range, water
is so strongly impregnated with alkali and other sub-
stances, that animals will not drink it. Water is pure when
it does not contain any foreign substances that render it
in any degree unwholesomnie.
The sources of the purest water are springs, running
streams and, in some instances, surface and artesian wells.
When first collected in cisterns and in natural or artificial
CARE OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS 483
basins, it is pure, but when it remains long in these, in a
stagnant condition and without renewal in the supply, its
purity lowers, unless in cold latitudes. Motion is necessary
in water under normal conditions in order to maintain its
purity. Of the sources of supply named, water obtained
from artificial basins or ponds, as they are sometimes called,
in which large numbers of animals are allowed to drink
from time to time, is the most impure. Such water will
not furnish good flavored milk when drunk by cows, and
it is prejudicial to the health of sheep. The same is true
of water in basins into which the soakage of or seepage
from barnyards finds its way. Nor is the stagnant water
which collects in marshes wholesome in hot weather, and es-
pecially late in the season. Such water is especially injurious
to sheep, since it seems favorable to the growth of parasites
which prey upon them. Swine seem to be less injured
by impure water than other animals, but unquestionably
pure water is best for them also. They are oftentimes
greatly wronged by the impurities in the water given to
them.
Amount of water required.—The amount of water re-
quired by animals is influenced: (1) By the character of the
food; (2) by the nature of the weather ; (3) by the copious-
ness of the dews and (4) by the nature and extent of the
performance. Sometimes these influences act singly, but
more commonly they act more or less in conjunction.
Food influences the consumption of water more
through the presence or lack of succulence than in any
other way. But the proportion of protein in the food, it is
thought, exercises some influence, and the same is unques-
tionably true of salt. Salt increases the circulation of the
juices of the body and thus favors increase in protein con-
sumption. Many experiments have shown that the addition
of field roots, corn ensilage or soiling food reduces the
consumption of water in at least approximate propor-
tion to the extent to which they are fed and to the
amount of water they contain. Such food may be given
484 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
under some conditions to the extent of satisfying the needs
of the animals as to water. Experiments conducted at the
Kansas and also at the Wisconsin station showed that in-
crease in the protein in the food increased the consump-
tion of water. Salt consumed in excess by animals salt
hungry, will invariably lead to the consumption of a large
amount of water.
But there is something in the nature of certain foods
that influences the consumption of water apart from tke
amount of water they contain. Corn and barley, for in-
stance, contain virtually the same amounts of water and
in experiments conducted at the Wisconsin station, it was
found that the swine fattened on barley meal required about
3 pounds of water for every 2 pounds required by those fed
on corn meal. The water used in soaking the meal is in-
cluded in both instances. Bran and oil cake when freely
fed lead to increased water consumption.
The weather exercises a potent influence on the con-
sumption of water. The quantity of water consumed in-
creases as temperatures rise, other things being equal. This
is owing in part at least to the greater activity of the ex-
cretory organs especially the glands of the skin as previ-
ously intimated. The necessity for water is so great in hot
weather that it is probable no diet, however succulent, will
completely obviate the necessity for taking it.
The copious character of the dews or the opposite ex-
ercise an important influence on water requirement, ~ but
no amount of dew will preclude the necessity of any class
of domestic animals for taking water when the grazing has
but little succulence.The moistness or dryness of the atmos-
phere exercises an influence on the consumption of water
both directly and indirectly. The indirect influence comes
through increase or decrease in the succulence of the plants.
The same plant grown in a dry atmosphere has less of
moisture in it than if grown in a moist atmosphere.
It would seem correct to say that the consump-
tion of water increases relatively with increase in per-
formance. A horse at labor takes much more water
CARE OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS 485
than one at rest or that is idle, and a horse severely
exercised will take more than one moderately exer-
cised. A cow giving milk will drink more water than
one dry. A steer that is being fattened will take more
water than a store steer and tke same is true of sheep and
swine when going through the fattening process, as com-
pared with animals of the same class that are simply being
grown. More water is called for as exercise increases in the
horse to replace the amount lost through a corresponding
increase in the activity of the glands of the skin and of the
respiratory organs. With cows giving milk and animals
that are being fattened, the increase is due to increase in
food consumption which calls for corresponding increase in
water consumption to carry on properly the digestive proc-
esses.
From what has been said, it will be apparent, that it is
not possible to state the exact amount of water required by
animals. It has been claimed that cattle require about 4
pounds of water for eack pound of dry matter in the food
and that sheep call for half that amount. A number cf
experiments have been conducted to throw light upon this
question and findings may be given, but why give them?
As a rule the water supply is unlimited. It is also certain
that under normal conditions, animals will not drink it
to excess. It is equally true that they should have access to
it with reasonable frequency and to the extent of their
needs. The important considerations, therefore, are not
such as relate to the amount that will be consumed, but
rather such as have a bearing on the abundance of the
supply, its easy accessibility and its temperature.
Tke temperature of water for stock is of considerable
importance both winter and summer. In winter it is too
cold for best use when ice forms on it. Especially is this
true of water for cows giving milk.. On the other kand,
experiments have shown that but little advantage comes
from heating water for dairy cows that is entirely free
from ice, when taken in 4 comfortable place. Water should
480 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
be heated, however, for animals when given immediately
subsequently to the time of parturition, lest a chill should
follow taking it when the system is thus fevered. In winter
water heated more or less will be found more suitable for
swine than ice cold water. In summer cold water is more
agreeable to animals than warm water, but horses in a much
heated condition should not be allowed to drink it in large
quantities at the close of a labor period, lest it should re-
sult in producing that stiffening of the limbs often spoken
of as “founder.”
Furnishing water to animals.—In the pastures, water
is best supplied from springs and running streams, also
by flowing wells, where one or the other of these can be
obtained. Next to these in suitability and convenience
are wells of limited depth, from which the water is pumped
up into troughs by wind power which works automatically.
When the supply must be secured from artificial basins, the
aim should be to construct these on elevations so high as to
admit of conveying the water by gravity to the place or
places where it is wanted.
In the winter when the stock is confined to stables or
sheds, the aim should be to have the drinking tanks or
troughs under cover as_ matter of protection for the ani-
mals while drinking in stormy weather, and also to insure
more warmth in the water. When the tanks are in the
yards, it will be found profitable to furnish them with
heaters to prevent the temperature of the water from fall-
ing too low. For the proper temperature, see page 485. When
the water is pumped by hand, if the pumping is done im-
mediately before the animals which drink are given access
to it, the temperature will be about right. The same is
true of water supplied automatically in basins in the stalls.
For work horses and cattle that are being fattened, this
method of supplying water is not really objectionable, if the
basins are kept reasonably clean, but it has been found
difficult to keep them clean enough to meet the needs of
dairy cows, because of the traceable adverse influence some-
CARE OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS 487
times exerted on milk flavor. For nearly all kinds of do-
mestic animals, water of swift current running through a
yard will meet their needs, and at a minimum expenditure
of labor. But sheep cannot always be induced to drink
from such a source. In large lots they are best supplied with
water in a low tank and where it will not congeal. Where
it does, the tank should be in a yard and supplied with a
heater. In small lots, the water is best supplied in a shallow
tub in each compartment, from pails or hose, and these can
be overturned in cold weather after the sheep have been
supplied. It is simply cruel to deprive sheep of water in
winter, except in so far as they can take it from the snow,
although: the practice is common. Water is usually supplied
to swine not on pasture, in conjunction with the food.
The frequency vith which water should be furnished
to animals is dependent upon such conditions as: (1) The
nature of the food fed; (2) the amount of performance
required as to labor or the production of meat or milk, and
(3) the temperature of the weather.
The food may be given so succulent as to entirely ob-
viate the necessity for giving water in addition, as when
sheep are grazed on succulent pastures. When animals
are fattened on field roots and meal only, with a very
small addition of fodder, they require but little additional
water. It would probably be correct to say, however, that
no class of domestic animals except sheep can be kept long
on pastures so succulent as to entirely eliminate the necessity
for giving additional water.
When labor or road driving is required of horses, they
should be given water more frequently than when at rest.
There are conditions when water supplied once a day for
horses is ample when at rest and the same is true of other
classes of domestic animals, but when exercised severely,
especially in warm weather, a moderate amount furnished
between meals in addition to what is furnished at other
times is helpful. Ordinarily work horses are given water
three times daily, that is, morning, noon and evening. Once
488 FEEDING FARM ANIMAJ
a day may be sufficient to furnish water to store cattle, es-
pecially when on moderately succulent pasture and in cool
weather, but when kept entirely on dry food, they should
lave it twice a day. When being fattened or fed heavily
for milk production, and largely or chiefly on dry food,
they should be given water at least twice a day to meet the
largely increased demand the increase in such food calls
for. Similarly the demand for water increases with sheep
and swine, with increase in grain fed. It is usually easily
possible to supply water to sheep where it will be accessible
much of the day or all of it, and this is the ideal way of
furnishing it to them. Ordinarily water is supplied to swine
in the slop fed to them, that is, it is given to them three
times a day, but generally when pushed as in fattening,
they should be given water additional tp the extent of their
needs.
The excretory organs, especially those of the skin, are
so active in hot weather that much water is needed to sup-
ply the loss. This means that it should be given more
frequently in proportion as the heat increases, otherwise it
is liable to be taken to excess.
Opinions differ as to whether water should be given
to horses before or after meals. The preponderance in
opinion favors watering before meals to avoid washinz out
much of the food too soon from the small stomach of the
horse, into the intestines. This would follow more or less,
watering deferred until after meals. Some persons favor of-
fering water before and after meals. With cattle, water is
more commonly given between meals. They seem better sat-
isfied when food is given before water. The stomach of cattle
and sheep being large and therefore capable of holding
large quantities of water, there would seem to be no physio-
logical reasons why water should be given at one time
rather than another.
Shelter from weaning onward.—The degree of the
shelter required from the weaning period onward, va-
ries in the different classes of animals. It is decreasingly
CARE OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS 489
necessary with swine, cattle, sheep and horses, in the order
named. It is more necessary for cows (see p. 438) than
for growing cattle beyond calf-hood, and more necessary
for growing cattle than for cattle that are being fattened.
In fact it is more necessary for all classes of growing
animals than for those of the same class that are being
fattened, as the food which produces fat generates much
heat, and the layer of fat underneath the skin is an ad-
ditional protection. Climate also exercises an important
influence. Stock exposed in latitudes where the air is dry
and where the sunshine is relatively abundant, will suffer
much less than animals exposed at equal temperatures
where the air is damp and the weather dark and gloomy.
Shelter for swine must be of a character to protect
them from draughts and also from low temperatures. The
temperature of the pens like that of the stables for dairy
cows should range from, say 40 to 60°. Trials conducted at
certain experiment stations show very clearly the benefit
from fattening swine with suitable shelter as against fatten-
ing under conditions the opposite. In a trial conducted at the
Kansas experiment station, it was found that swine fur-
nished with shelter during the 10 weeks of fattening, made
100 pounds of increase on 25 per cent less corn than those
exposed to yard conditions. The feeding began No-
vember 27.
The following includes some of the essentials best suited
to furnishing shelter for stock cattle: (1) A suitably ven-
tilated shed or dry and well lighted basement, warm enough
to practically exclude freezing temperatures; (2) doors on
the sunny side facing a yard protected from wind, and that
may or may not be left open; (3) a well bedded yard that
may at all times be kept dry. But even with these condi-
tions it may be necessary to tie some of the weaker animals
in stalls to adapt the food to their special needs. Succes-
sive experiments conducted with yearlings at the Missouri
station resulted markedly in favor. of such protection as
against yard conditions, with open shed. With cattle that
490 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
are being fattened it may be different (see p. 395), unless
care is taken not to keep the sheds too warm.
The following includes some of the essentials best
suited to furnishing shelter for a breeding flock of sheep:
(1) A well-ventilated building enclosed and facing on the
leeward side a sunny and protected yard; (2) except for
the lambing-pen it is not necessary to seek additional
warmth to that furnished by one thickness of matched
boards; (3) doors cut across the center and hung on the
yard side, to be kept open above or below as may be de-
sired; (4) a yard at all times dry and kept well bedded
when occupied. Jor sheep that are being fattened an open
shed will suffice.
An open shed will also suffice to furnish protection for
colts subsequent to the age of one year and for idle horses.
These should face protected yards, and the latter should
have communication with paddocks or pastures to enable
them at suitable times to take larger exercise. Work. horses
and foals need enclosed quarters in winter. The former be-
ing tied, usually profit by blanketing in addition.
Shelter for young animals.—The degree of the shelter
required for young animals, more especially during
the first few days of life, is much greater than in
the case of animals that are older. This is true of all classes
of animals, as foals, calves, lambs and pigs, but it is by no
means equally true of them. The smaller the animal, the
larger relatively the amount of surface for the radiation of
body heat, and consequently the loss of heat is relatively
greater. The leaner the young animal is also, the more
intensified is this condition.
Foals, of all young: farm animals, can best endure
cold, owing first, to the greater relative size, and second to
the naturally more active habits which they possess. But,
in cold climates, the protection of an open shed which may
be ample for colts more than one year old, would not be
sufficient for the sucking foal.
CARE OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS 491
Young calves would fare badly under conditions of ex-
posure that would bring no harm to cattle that are older.
If tied and thus prevented from taking exercise, the neces-
sity for protection is considerably increased. One course
of sheeting, in the absence of some additional covering as
tar paper, on the side of a stable, does not in all instances
make it warm enough for such calves. The necessity for
better protection continues until they have passed the first
winter, at whatsoever season they may have been born.
Lambs are much more tender than calves during the
first few hours of existence. When born in winter in cold
climates, it is imperative that they come into life under con-
ditions that will protect them from intense cold, as for in-
stance in a lambing-pen or apartment, or in some portion
of a dry basement. After lambs are a few days old, they
do not take much harm from low temperatures, and when
they reach the age of two or three weeks, they seem capable
of enduring about as much cold as the older sheep. The
explanation is found in part in the covering of wool given
to them by nature, and in part in their active habits.
Young swine are the most tender of the young quad-
rupeds kept upon tke farm. This arises in part from the
sparse covering with which nature has furnished them.
Under some climatic conditions, it may not be easy at all
times to preserve life in the newly born pig, unless the
apartment is specially well fitted to shut out extreme cold.
A division of a well ordered basement may furnish such a
place. In cold weather the quarters suitable for swine dur-
ing the suckling period should be at least as warm as those
suitable for dairy cows in milk.
It is especially important that young animals be given
the benefit of ample sunshine, that the places on which they
rest shall be well bedded and dry, and that they are not
exposed to falling storms, as snow, sleet or rain. The more
of sunshine they enjoy, the better relatively will they
prosper, but when they are to be slaughtered young, it is
not necessary to provide sunlight or even much light. Damp
492 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
sleeping places are greatly injurious, and exposure to a
cold rain or sleet storm may prove fatal. It should also be
remembered, that the degree of the protection required in
climates naturally damp is greater than in those naturally
dry.
Protection for stock in summer.—AlIthough the neces-
sity for protecting stock in winter is more important rela-
tively than in summer, yet certain forms of protection in
summer exercise an important influence on the returns
which they will give for the food. They require protection:
(1) From excessive heat; (2) from the disturbance caused
by flies, and (3) in some instances from prolonged storms.
Protection from heat in the case of horses, cattle, sheep
and swine, can only be secured by shielding them from the
hot rays of the sun, under conditions that will not tend to
check the movement of air currents. With swine, the addi-
tional provision of a wallow will add much to their com-
fort. Protection from excessive sunshine is secured by
means of shade in, or accessible to the pastures, and from
the same buildings that furnish protection in winter.
The ideal conditions for shade in pastures are found
in a natural grove beside running water. A remnant of
forest included in a permanent pasture and made accessible
to other pastures is very suitable for providing shade.
Clumps of trees are to be preferred to single trees, as they
interfere less with cultivation. In planting trees to furnish
shade, they do not virtually interfere with cultivation when
planted in the corners of the pasture or field, and when
planting them, those varieties should be preferred that
grow quickly and that send their roots so far down as not
to take harm readily because of the treading of stock. For
this purpose no other tree excels the American elm.
In the absence of trees, shade may be provided usually
without much cost, by making a flat roof of poles sustained
by posts and covered with straw.
The stables used for shelter in winter, when properly
ventilated, are usually cooler than groves in very hot
CARE OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS 493
weather. Basement stables are also cooler than ordinary
stables. The stable protection has the further advantages
of being less wasteful of the droppings and of protecting
from flies. Where it can be arranged, especially during
the season when flies are numerous, the ideal way for keep-
ing cattle and sheep is to house them in the heat of the day
and to give them the liberty of the pastures at other times.
When stock are housed to protect from flies the stables
or sheds must be darkened and yet ventilated. This is ac-
complished by opening the windows to make air currents
and by covering them at the same time with material, as
coarse sacking, that will exclude much of the light, keep
out flies, and that will at the same time, admit the air freely.
Much may also be done to keep down flies by promptly re-
moving the manure made which is a favorite breeding
ground for flies, and strewing lime occasionally where it
may do good around the buildings.
Cattle are sometimes further protected from flies by
spraying them every few days with some preparation, as
sheep dip, or kerosene emulsion applied as a very fine spray.
Where the number of animals is limited, it is applied with a
brush. Such offensive preparations as fish oil, have also
been used with good effect. These preparations are only
effective for a few days at a time, hence, unless special
apparatus has been fitted up for applying them quickly, as
in a narrow passageway through which the animals are
forced to pass, the labor involved is very considerable. To
apply them thus, however, has been found perfectly feasible.
Horses that are being driven are protected, of course, by
covering them with suitable netting. The darkened sheds
which furnish protection for sheep at the season indicated,
would seem to furnish a safe asylum from the assaults of
the gadfly, (Tabanus ruficornis), which is the source of that
trouble known as “grub in the head.’ The wallow for
Swine is a great source of comfort in hot weather, and is to
some extent a protection from flies.
494 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
Usually in the hot summer season, it is not very often
that such stock as horses, cattle, sheep or swine, need
protection from storms. In some instances, they may, how-
ever, when these are prolonged, and especially when the
rainfall is of the drenching character. In the late spring
and early autumn, storms sometimes occur so prolonged
and severe as to result in much harm to live stock that
are not housed during their continuance. The reference is
to cold rains. They are more harmful to stock than many
of the snow storms of the winter. Lambs and young
swine, and animals of all classes that are weakly, suffer
much from them. The pastures also may suffer much from
treading at such times, especially should the animals be
possessed of much weight.
Temperature in stables—The degree of warmth re-
quired by domestic animals differs: (1) With the species
(see p. 98) ; (2) with condition in the animals (see p. 395) ;
(3) with the age (see p. 490), and (4) with the climate
(see p. 79). In many instances those differences have
not been sufficiently regarded in the management of live
stock.
From what has just been stated, it will be manifest
that the proper degree of temperature to be maintained in
stables for domestic animals will vary considerably. For
work horses that are tied and blanketed, the temperature
should not go below,-say 36°, nor above 60°, with, say
about 48° as a mean. When not blanketed it may properly
range higher by a few degrees. When loose in box stalls,
it may be a few degrees lower. The degree of temperature
named would also be suitable for foals, while young animals
but older than foals would do as well or better with
temperatures a few degrees lower. The temperature suited
to dairy cows would run from, say 40 to 60°, with say,
50° as a mean.
For animals fattening it would run from 32 to 50°,
with 40° as a mean. The more advanced the fattening
period the lower should be the temperature. For calves
CARE OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS 495
the temperature should be the same as for cows, and for
young animals that are older about the same as for cattle
that are being fattened. For sheep unshorn, the nearer
the temperature is to the freezing point but without freez-
ing, the better. The aim should be to have the same range
between 32 and 50°, the latter being sufficiently warm for
even newly born lambs and also for sheep that are newly
shorn. For swine the temperature should be about the
same as for dairy cows, 60° being sufficiently warm for
newly born swine.
Of course, in practice, it is not possible to keep tem-
peratures within the ranges named either in winter or sum-
mer, but much may be done to approximate them to the
figures submitted, which are only given as general and
not as absolute guides. The temperature in stables may rise
higher than those named and no harm come to the animals,
but they should not fall in any instances below the freezing
point, where this can be avoided, except probably in the
case of unshorn sheep which will take no harm though
the temperatures should be lower. The lower the tempera-
tures can be kept without harm to the animals, the better,
because of the relatively greater abundance of the oxygen
supply.
To secure proper temperatures in winter in the absence
of artificial heat, is no easy matter, and to provide artificial
heat is not practical, Warmth must be secured through
proper construction in the buildings, and not through
air heated by the breathing of the animals in the absence of
suitable ventilation. The temperature will then be regulated
through ventilation, but the construction of buildings and
ventilation cannot be discussed in this work. It may be said,
however, that good ventilation in buildings is absolutely
essential to highest performance in animals that are housed.
To secure suitable temperature in summer is more
difficult than in winter. At certain times it may be im-
possible because of atmospheric conditions without. But
much may be done to regulate temperatures by keeping
496 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
animals in airy stables by day, and outside at night. Base-
ment stables are relatively the cooler in summer.
The sources of litter—The following are the principal
sources from which bedding or litter is obtained: (1)
The straw of cereals in all the varieties thereof used direct-
ly; (2) the rejected portions of straw and hay material
supplied as food; (3) the uneaten parts of. corn stalks and
the sorgkums when properly prepared; (4) refuse from
certain manufactures; (5) the leaves of trees; (6) certain
kinds of soil; (7) peat, in various stages of decay.
The straw of cereals is by far the most important
source of litter, and also the most suitable all things
considered. Viewed simply from the standpoint of suit-
ability, oat straw probably stands at the head, because of
its softness. Rye straw does not break up so much as
some varieties in threshing, is less soft, and is slower of
decay, hence it is so far less suitable. The straw of peas
does not shake apart so readily as the straw of non-legumi-
nous cereals, and this is so far against it. So convenient
and suitable is the straw of the cereals for litter, that to
grow an ample supply of this to be used alone or with
other absorbents, as loam and peat, is worthy of the care-
ful consideration of the grower of live stock: The fore-
thought which holds over straw for litter and properly
protected, from seasons when it is abundant against the
need of seasons when it is scarce, is to be commended.
Many kinds of straw are considered too valuable, more
especially in old settlements, and justly so, for being used
directly as litter. They are first fed and the refuse portions
are then used as Jitter. This applies most markedly to the
straw of legumes, which, when harvested properly, is
more valuable as fodder than hay overripe or damaged.
When hay is overripe at the time of harvesting, when it
is damaged in the curing to the extent of lessening much
of its palatability, and when it grows so as to be coarse and
possessed of many large stems, live stock well fed will
reject more or less of it. This may generally be used with
CARE OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS 497
highest profit as litter, although in some instances it will be
more profitable when cleaning out the feed boxes to give
such refuse to animals that are being carried through the
winter on a less palatable fodder ration. Hay rejected by
work horses, cows or cattle that are being fattened, may
thus be utilized by store cattle fed in sheds or otherwise.
The rejected portions of corn stalks or of the sorghums
do not furnish suitable litter when fed in the unprepared
form, that is, when fed as they grew. Because of their
stiffness and shape, they are not well suited for bedding,
and there is the further objection that they add much to
the labor in handling the manure. The objections to such
litter may be in a great measure, and in some instances
' entirely overcome, by shredding or cutting up the stalks
before they are fed.
Prominent among the refuse from manufacturing es-
tablishments used as litter, are sawdust, shavings and spent
tan bark. The supply of these is more or less limited. Saw-
dust has the merit of being clean and easily handled and
will absorb three times its weight of liquid, but it is low
in fertilizing ingredients, decays slowly and promotes fire-
fang in manure heaps when present in the same, unless the
contents are speedily applied to the land. Shavings do not
fork readily and decay slowly. Spent tan bark is quite
low in fertilizing constituents and may generally be better
applied as a mulch.
Leaves furnish suitable litter and rank considerably
higher than straw in absorbing liquid, but they are not
equal to straw as fertilizers. Moreover, the labor of gather-
ing and storing them is considerable. The profit from
using them, therefore, as litter, is sometimes to be ques-
tioned, unless where cheaper sources of the same are not
obtainable, or when they are necessary for the absorption
of urine, much of which would otherwise be lost. ;
Loam may answer for bedding in tke absence of other
materials, and may be used in conjunction with them, as
when used in stables to absorb the liquids. Humus soils are
498 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
also good because of their relative lightness and absorptive
power. Clay soils are ill-suited to such a use, because of
the tendency in them to bake when handling or tramped
on while wet. One chief objection to soil as bedding is the
labor involved in handling it.
Moss and peat are frequently used for litter. Both
stand high in their power to absorb liquids, but peat is
richer in the elements of plant food than moss, although
in this respect it varies much, dependent on the sources
from which it is obtained and the stage of reduction which
it has reached. It must, of course, be secured, allowed to
dry and stored, before it can .be thus used, which means
considerable labor, but there may be instances in which its
use, especially as an absorbent, is to be commended.
The uses of litter—The principal objects sought
in using litter are: (1) YToadd to the’ scone ses
animals, more especially when they are taking rest; (2)
to absorb the urine and to arrest volatile gases as ammonia ;
(3) to increase the quantity of the manure. The first of
these is, of course, primary, but usually all three are im-
portant.
Bedding or litter adds to the comfort of animals by
furnishing them with a soft and dry bed, and in many in-
stances by increasing the warmth of the same. From
choice, animals will soon learn to select places where soft
litter is most abundant, when given such liberty, thus plainly
indicating that benefit will result from furnishing them such
a bed. Animals also instinctively shun taking rest on a
wet bed. Rather than do so they will go for long periods
without lying down, hence the importance of keeping yards
well bedded and also sheds, when animals must take rest
in one or the other. Litter supplies warmth in cold
weather. It is particularly helpful in this respect when
animals in the stall must take rest on cement or concrete
floors, and when its presence in yards or sheds removes
dampness. It is also very helpful in increasing warmth in
swine when abundantly supplied.
CARE OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS 499
The liquid portion of the manure is very valuable, and
the plant food in it is readily available, hence the im-
portance of saving it in a way that will conserve its proper-
ties and make its application easily possihle. The old
method of draining it into tanks and drawing it from these
is objectionable, first, because of the expense and second,
because of the extent to which nitrogen is lost when it is
kept for any considerable time in these. It is considered
preferable to absorb the liquid by using some kind of litter
which may then be applied to the land. Certain gases,
as ammonia, escape from manure in considerable quantities,
especially from horse and sheep manure, and to prevent
the same through fixation, certain substances are used.
These are also used in cow stables to lessen the presence
of odors that are injurious to milk.
To absorb the liquids, straw is more commonly used
because of its plentifulness, but leaves, moss, peat, and dry
loam or muck, may also be used. Peat, loam, and muck in
addition to their absorptive powers also lessen the extent to
which odors are present. To prevent the escape of am-
monia, land plaster has been much recommended and used.
But the question of the profit resulting is not fully settled.
Some good authorities claim that acid phosphate is superior
to gypsum. Others claim that, cost considered, the use of
dry peat, loam or muck is superior to either gypsum or
acid phosphate.
In localities where fertilizers are much prized, the free
use of the absorbents named adds greatly to the quantity
of fertilizing materials saved and also made. The increase
is usually more cheaply secured than it would be by com-
posting, more especially when the manure thus made is
drawn at once and spread on the land. A saving is thus
effected. in labor, and the loss of plant food in the manure
through leaching and excessive fermentation is reduced
to the lowest minimum possible. But, of course, it is not
always practicable to apply manure to the land thus quickly.
Through the use of suitable absorbents, it should be easily
500 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
possible to more than double tke amount of the fertilizing
ingredients made and saved in the absence of these.
Preparing and using litter.—The proper preparation
for use will, gf course, vary with its nature, and the source
from which it is obtained. Prominent among the processes
to be followed are: (1) The proper housing or stacking
of straw; (2) the chaffing of straw and. the shredding of
the stalks of corn and sorghum, and (3) the storing of
earth, the gathering of moss and the drying and storing of
peat.
Wet litter is worse than none, as it is prejudicial to the
well-doing of all kinds of domestic animals. Straw may
most easily be kept dry by housing it, but frequently this
may not be practicable. When it is not, it should be stacked
with care and conveniently to where it will be used. The
“blowers” used so extensively in threshing, as generally
used make careful stacking almost impossible, with the
result that a large proportion of the straw is made useless
for bedding through the rain which penetrates it.
Straw of the small cereal grains is more commonly
used without being chaffed, but where this can be done
in conjunction with the threshing of the grain, the benefit
which results from the less quantity called for, and the
superior condition of the manure for immediate application,
more than pay for the added cost. When thus chaffed, the
length of the pieces are from, say 2 to 4 inches. Corn and
sorghum stalks are greatly improved as litter by shredding,
a process which tears them up into strips and makes then
in a sense like straw. The shredding is primarily done to
prepare them for food, and only tke rejected portions are
ordinarily used for litter. In moist climates it is not easy
to preserve fodder shredded thus, but it is quite practicable
in the more dry regions of the West. Earth must be drawn
and stored when dry to be properly serviceable, light loams
and humus soils are to be preferred and clays should be
rejected. Moss must, of course, be gathered and stored
when the condition of the marshes which supply it makes
CARE OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS 501
this practicable, and the same is true of peat. In some in-
stances, the peat must first be dried by laying it open to the
sun.
The mode of using litter will vary with its nature and
with the conditions under which the animals are kept. Earth
and peat are more commonly used as absorbents in con-
junction with other litter used to provide a suitable bed on
which the animals may lie. When tkus used, they are more
commonly spread in the trench behind the stalls in which
the droppings and urine accumulate. But in some instances,
especially in western Europe, these substances are used as
the sole sources of litter. They are placed in the stall to
the depth of several inches and are removed at intervals.
When straw or fodder is first fed, and the rejected
portion used as bedding, the source of supply is very con-
venient since the labor involved consists simply in removing
the refuse from the manger or food box and spreading it
in the stall in the one instance or in the shed or yard in the
other. Cattle that are being fattened or cows fed plenti-
fully on good food will not eat any considerable quantity
of straw, but this does not hold true of cattle or horses that
are being carried through tke winter, and it is even less true
of breeding flocks of sheep. When fed at the noon hour,
the refuse is ready for use as litter just when it is most
wanted, that is as night approaches.
When animals are confined in stalls the larger por-
tion of the day, care should be taken by the attendant to
throw back the droppings that may have fallen upon the
platform several times during the day, to insure greater
cleanliness. When they run at large in sheds and yards, the
frozen droppings should be removed occasionally, when
they cannot be deeply covered with litter. It is usual to
supply litter but once a day.
The amount of litter required will vary with the class
of animals, the food fed and the materials used. Horses
call for the least in proportion to their weight and swine
probably for the most in cold weather. Show animals
502 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
must be supplied plentifully with bedding. Animals loose
in box stalls, sheds or yards call for more than those tied
in the stall. The minimum supply of straw bedding for a
horse, has been put at 5 pounds by some authorities. For
a mature cattle beast in the stall, it has been put at about
one-fourth to one-third of the dry matter fed, or at, say
7 to 10 pounds. When earth only is used, as much as 150
pounds daily will be wanted. A bushel basket full of dry
peat daily per animal will usually suffice as an absorbent
of the liquids.
The season for breeding.—The season when the
young animals may be produced with best advantage will
depend: (1) On the use that is to be made of them, and also
of the dams; (2) on the conveniences available in properly
caring for them, and (3) on the time that may be secured
in giving them the necessary care.
Foals are usually born in the spring, a result that is
probably to be attributed to custom more than to anything
else. The reasons are weighty, however, why the aim
should be to have them produced in the autumn. In a
majority of instances idleness, from the very nature of farm
work is enforced on the dams in winter, and work is de-
sired of them in summer, wkich means that such mares
can better sustain their foals in winter and can also render
more efficient service in summer. The work thus given,
if not excessive, would be beneficial to the foal in embryo
which she might carry at such a time. There has been
complaint that conception in the autumn is not so sure as
in the spring, and it is probably well grounded, but if true,
there are no good reasons why this greater shyness of con-
ception on the part of brood mares at that season may not
be overcome.
The advantages of having cows produce their young in
the autumn include the following: (1) It secures abundant
milk in winter which is more profitable than at any other sea-
son; (2) more time can be secured for taking care of the
calves during the period of feeding milk, and (3) the wean-
CARE OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS 503
ing’ season comes at a propitious time, that is, when grass is
succulent. The second and third of these advantages ap-
ply equally to foals.
The season for lambs to arrive is from November
1 to June 1, according to the market for which they
are grown and as to whether they are grown for
breeding uses. Milk lambs are best in season when
produced between November 1 and February 1. Eas-
ter lambs are best produced from January 1 to March 1.
Spring lambs for the general market come most oppor-
tunely in March and April, and lambs for autumn and win-
ter feeding, from April onward. For breeding uses they
usually develop somewhat better when born in the early
rather than the late spring.
When but one litter of swine is reared in a season
it may be produced any season that may be most convenient
after settled cold weather is gone, which will give the pigs
time to develop sufficiently for the market for which they
are intended. When two litters are wanted, March and
April are auspicious months for the first litter, and Sep-
tember and October for the second. The earlier month in
each instance is to be preferred.
Where the conveniences are not at hand for properly
protecting young animals from inclement weather, or for
furnishing them and the dams with suitable food, they
should not be brought forth under such conditions. These
conditions sometimes exist on the arable farm and are very
frequently present in range areas.
Young animals, from the nature of their necessities,
call for more attention than animals that are older. The
time for giving it is less easily secured from the beginning
of seed time to the end of harvest, when farm work is al-
ways pressing. Because of this and for other reasons, the
aim should be to avoid having young animals brought into
existence at such a time.
The season at which young animals shall be born can-
not be completely controlled by the owner of the stock, but
504 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
usually it can. He can control the time of mating, but of
course, not in all instances the time of conception. The ex-
tremes in the duration of the period of gestation in the
mare may be set down approximately as 295 to 370 days;
in the cow as 265 to 300 days; in the ewe as 145 to 154
days, and in the sow as 110 to 118 days. The average dura-
tion approximately of the period of gestation in the mare
is 330 days; in the cow, 282 days; in the ewe, 149 days, and
in the sow 113 days. Usually when breeding animals are
in a normal condition as to health and flesh and are properly
fed and of sufficient age, they may be depended upon to
breed with much certainty and near to the time desired.
The dam at parturition.—The time of parturition is
a more or less critical one with the dam. Neglect or in-
judicious feeding at such a time may readily prove fatal
to both the dam and her offspring. With reference to it,
the following recommendations will always be in order:
(1) The food preceding parturition should be more or
less succulent and slightly laxative; (2) the owner or per-
son in charge should aim to be present when it occurs, and
(3) the dam should be fed with a prudent caution for
some time subsequently.
Succulence in the food is beneficial: (1) In the
tendency which it exerts on the digestion in preventing con-
stipation, (2) in the influence which it exerts in con-
sequence in counteracting all tendency to feverishness such
as a constipated condition of the system is sure to induce,
and (3) in furnishing in plentiful supply, food for the
progeny as soon as born. Some caution, however, is neces-
sary in the case-of cows known to be free milkers, lest the
strong tendency to superabundant milk secretion should so
react on the vital forces of the system as to result in milk
fever, that dread malady, which, until recently, proved so
fatal to dams when it appeared. In summer, no food is
superior to grass, and at other seasons, such food adjuncts
as field roots, wheat bran, oil cake and corn ensilage with
but little of the grain in it, are all good.
CARE OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS 505
The advantage from the presence of an attendant may
result from various occurrences. These include an abnormal
presentation which may call for assistance; feebleness in
the progeny such as may require aid without which it would
succumb; and in rare instances a viciousness on the part of
the dam which would result in harm to her offspring. In
inclement weather, the necessity for the presence of an at-
tendant is proportionately increased. The profits that oc-
cur from keeping live stock are probably influenced more
by the results at the time of parturition, than by those oc-
curring at any other period.
The condition of the dam at parturition is always more
or less fevered. This fever creates thirst. To relieve this,
water should be supplied to the extent of the desire of the
dam to take it. But in no case should the water be cold.
In all instances the chill should be removed from it to pre-
vent a chill being given to the system, which, at such a time,
would almost certainly prove fatal. This caution should be
observed for some time subsequently to parturition.
No harm is likely to result from allowing dams to eat
all the dry fodder they will consume after the birth of their
progeny. But in no instance should they be given large
quantities of concentrates for several days after parturition.
Feeding them thus freely at such a time tends to produce
disturbances in the udder which may readily prove fatal
to both dam and progeny. . Any excess of milk in the udder
should be taken from it by hand milking, where this is
practicable. The time required to put dams on a full grain
ration subsequent to parturition varies from one to three
weeks, according to the conditions present.
Amount of exercise.—Live stock cannot be grown to
maturity with highest success unless they are given the op-
portunity to exercise according to their needs during the
process of development. The necessity for exercise varies,
as also the amount of the same: (1) With the age of the
animals ; (2) with the class of the same; (3) with the object
for which they are kept, and (4) with the nature and
amount of the food given to them.
506 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
The necessity for exercise is greatest when animals are
young and decreases with advancing age. It is based on the
relation that obtains between exercise and the removal of
waste matter that would otherwise accumulate in the system,
and also between exercise and the firming of the muscles,
to enable them to fulfill effectively the respective functions
required of them. It stimulates the circulatory blood flow and
quickens all the vital processes. The necessity for taking
it is indicated in the eagerness with which young animals
exercise, and the amount of it which they take when the
opportunity for the same is furnished. Young animals,
therefore, should in no instances be closely confined unless
they are to be slaughtered at an early age.
The importance of exercise is greatest in the horse.
This arises in part from the fact that he is kept for pur-
poses of labor and travel. The measure of the ability for
botk has been found to co-ordinate in a marked degree with
the amount of exercise taken during development and also
subsequently. Exercise for sheep comes next in importance,
as a result of inherent original endowment. The sheep by
nature is much inclined to travel while grazing. Swine can
be reared with less exercise relatively than cattle, but they
also must be given large liberty to exercise if they are to
maintain sufficient health and vigor.
Animals kept primarily for labor require the largest
amount of exercise. Those kept primarily for breeding
come next, and those that are being fattened call for the
least. The necessity for proper exercise with horses is only
second in importance to the necessity for proper food. Ex-
perience has invariably shown that the larger the amount
of exercise taken by breeding animals up to that point at
which exercise would begin to draw on the energies of the
system, the more valuable are they as breeders, and the
more successfully do they breed. With animals that are
being fattened, exercise beyond a limited amount would
draw on the energies of the system, and as a result there
would be antagonism between exercise beyond this point
and the most abundant laying on of flesh.
CARE OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS 507
When animals are kept for purposes of labor, or for
breeding, or for both uses, it is very evident that a low con-
dition of flesh calls for less exercise than a condition the
opposite, sustained by high feeding. Every pound of flesh
in excess of the complete needs of the animal becomes
burdensome and should be removed by increased exercise or
reduced feeding, or both. On the other hand, a condition
of flesh below the complete needs of the animal should be
strengthened by increased feeding and curtailed exercise.
It is impossible to formulate rules for exercising an-
imals that will exactly meet the needs of all conditions that
may arise, but some things may be said that will in a sense
serve as a general guide under some conditions. Much
must be left to the judgment of the owner or attendant.
Tke aim should be to give young and growing animals,
grown for labor or for breeding, all the exercise they will
take voluntarily, under favorable conditions for taking the
same. Horses, when mature, if given liberty, will take
enough of exercise voluntarily, except it may be in the case
of pregnant draught mares (See p. 120.) Stallions should
be exercised daily, especially in the breeding season.
Draught stallions will profit by being walked half a dozen
miles a day, and other stallions will profit by a longer
journey and a somewhat quicker but easy gait.
All pregnant animals should be given the opportunity
to move about daily in a yard, paddock or field, except in
stormy weather, and the same is true of stock males. When
snow is deep, it may be beneficial to give sheep a part
of their food at some distance from the sheds, in a shel-
tered place, to encourage them to take exercise. Roads
may have to be opened in some instances with snow
ploughs. Likewise it may be advantageous to encourage
brood sows to take exercise by strewing grain in various
places that will give the sows exercise while gathering it.
Pregnant cows seem to take harm less readily from con-
fined conditions than pregnant dams of other farm animals.
508 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
In some instances, these have produced progeny with rea-
sonable success when tied in the stall uninterruptedly for
months in succession. It is questionable, however, if the
plan is a wise one.
The amount of exercise that cows in milk should have,
is in some respects an undecided question. When cut on
pasture, every step taken in excess of the needs of the cow,
viewed from the standpoint of good health is taken at the
expense of milk production. But in winter another factor,
viz., cold, has to be contended with. This beyond a certain
degree is antagonistic to milk production, even when cows
are taking outdoor exercise that would otherwise be bene-
ficial to them. The best solution of this question probably
is, to turn them daily into a well lighted and well bedded
closed shed, in which they may exercise daily i in cold weather,
and to give them access to protected yards in warmer
weather.
Animals that are being fattened for the block do not
require much exercise, and yet experience has shown that
even with them, some exercise is helpful rather than an-
tagonistic to increase, and that they also ship better when
given some exercise. The more forced the feeding, the
more beneficial will exercise be up to a certain limit. Ani-
mals with some exercise do not get “off feed” so readily as
those with none.
CHAPTER Jel.
MISCELLANEOUS CONSIDERATIONS.
Prominent among the miscellaneous considerations are
the following:
The weigh scale as an educator.
Weight of animals at birth.
Variation in weights of animals.
Influences that affect palatability.
Feeding subsequent to weaning.
Feeding for quick conception.
Salt and its uses.
Silage a varying quantity.
g. Feeding miscellaneous products.
These are efisse: in the order given.
The weigh scale an educator.—When animals are be-
ing fed large quantities of food with a view to the produc-
tion of milk or meat, it is of prime importance to the
owner that they shall give an adequate return for the same.
The exact nature of this return cannot be known, without
frequent recourse to the weigh scale. Even the skilled
feeaer may be deceived as to the nature of the gains, when
anizuals are being fed liberally, and more especially when
they are nearing the finishing period. The weigh scale,
therefore, aids in the economical feeding of live stock:
1) In making the comparison of foods possible and prac-
ticable ; (2) in indicating exactly the product resulting from
the food, and (3) because of the information thus given, it
tends to make the person who uses it a student of the
science of feeding. The benefit last named is by far the
greatest, because of the influence which it exerts on future
feeding and management.
Without the weigh scale, the feeder cannot tell exactly
which of two or more rations that he may choose from will
509
an le te a)
510 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
best suit his purpose. He may have an approximate idea
from the results obtained by previous experimenters in
feeding the same rations, in the same way and under the
same conditions. But, should the conditions be changed,
or any of the ingredients in the rations, or the amounts of
these fed, factors are introduced which will lead to different
results, how far different, the weigh scale only can ac-
curately determine.
In the fattening processes, the various foods fed are
usually relatively costly, so costly that the increase in live
weight seldom equals in value the foods used in making it.
(See p. 384). This result follows, even though the food
and feeding are both well adapted to the end sought. It
is greatly important, therefore, that the gains shall bear
a due relation to the cost of the food, and that they shall
be liberal and continuous. The daily cost of food for a
mature cattle beast, while being fattened, runs all the way
from 10 to 25 cents per day. Where only partial gains re-
sult, the loss resulting piles up rapidly. The same is true
when cows in milk are liberally fed without making cor-
responding returns.
In stables where the milk of each cow is weighed as
soon as taken throughout the year, relative capacity in
the cows for production soon becomes known. This of
course, does not tell the whole story, unless the food also is
weighed that is given to each cow, which is scarcely prac-
ticable in the ordinary stable. But it gives an approximate
idea of relative production in-proportion to cost of food, so
approximately accurate that it enables the keeper of cows
to weed out those-teast profitable and to supplant them with
others without the hazard of serious mistake. Likewise,
the weigh scale may be made to indicate the degree of the
return for food fed at any stage of development. But when
taking the weights alive, the liability to fluctuations in the
same must not be overlooked. (See p. 514.) When due at-
tention is thus given to the extent of the production that is
being secured, the invariable result is to stimulate the
MISCELLANEOUS CONSIDERATIONS 511
owner to increase these. To do so, he becomes a student of
methods. It would be safe to say that no person who
weighs daily the milk of all his cows will long be content
with low average production in his herd.
Weight of animals at birth.—The following are chiet
among tke influences that affect the weight of Gaal at
birth: (1) The size of the dam; (2) the age of dam; (3)
the breed of both sire and dam; (4) the food given to the
dam during gestation; (5) the performance of the dam dur-
ing the same period; (6) the number produced at one birth,
and (7) the size of the sire.
It is but reasonable to suppose that there is a relation
between the size of the dam and her offspring. This rela-
tion may not be uniform and constant, owing to the many
influences that affect size in the progeny. The belief in
such a relation on the part of practical breeders is shown
in the preference which they give to well developed dams
when seeking progeny of superior development. This fact
is also recognized by scientists who have studied the ques-
tion, when they seek to establish an approximate relation
between the weight of the dam and her offspring based
upon her weight.
It has been observed that the best averages in size have
been obtained in progeny from females in the meridian of
vigor and maturity. Since it has been noticed that progeny
of the first birth from a dam not yet mature is usually of
less size at birth than the progeny of future births, prac-
tical men are chary about rearing such animals for future
breeding. They give the preference to the former. That
progeny of animals yet immature or past the meridian of
vigor would be of less average size, is in accord with the
known laws of physiology. The food given to the former
is more or less diverted from the fcetus to complete growth.
That given to the latter is less perfectly assimilated than
at a later period.
That breed exercises an influence on the relative size
of the progeny at birth is in accord with the first law of
5i2 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
breeding ; viz., that like produces like. It is ony reasonable
to suppose that the average size of the progeny at birth»
would be larger from the Clyde mare than from the mare
standard bred; that from the Shorthorn cow, larger
than progeny from the Jersey; that from the Lincoln,
larger than progeny from the Southdown, and that from
the large Yorkshire, larger than progeny from the
small Yorkshire. And _ so it is on the average in these
respective instances.
It could not be otherwise than that the food given
to the dam during pregnancy exercised a determining in-
fluence on the size of the progeny at birth, since foetal de-
velopment is a direct result of the constituents contained in
the food. An excess of carbohydrates is adverse to develop-
ment and an excess of protein is liable to result in impaired
vitality.
Performance in the pregnant dam influences — size
through the diversion of the energies of the system. Nor-
mal and ordinary exercise of those energies is favorable
to foetal development, through the healthy influence ex-
erted by use in the various functions of the system. For
instance, regular breeding not excessive in frequency, will
produce more desirable progeny as a rule than fitful breed-
ing. But should the energies of the system be over-taxed
during pregnancy, as when the cow is carried through a
high pressure milking test, or the pregnant mare is over-
worked, or the pregnant ewe is put into high show condi-
tion, the influence is adverse to both size and vigor in
the progeny.
That the number produced at a birth influences size
at birth is sustained by the evidences of observation and
experience. Although the results are not constant, and in
the nature of things cannot be, the average weight of single
lambs at birth. is greater than that of twin lambs in the
same flock. This also is true of the average weight of
pigs in large litters as compared with those of small litters.
MISCELLANEOUS CONSIDERATIONS 513
That the sire exercises an influence on the size of the
progeny at birth has been denied. Of course, such influ-
ence is less on the part of the sire than on that of the
dam in the very nature of things. But that the sire does
exercise such an influence is clearly shown in cross breed-
ing where the size of the sire is much in excess of that of
the dam. The influence thus exerted by the sire, however,
in determining the limit of possible development in the
progeny at maturity is greater than in determining actual
size at birth because of the various influences intra uterine
in character that offset foetal development, and that cease
to be operative subsequently. In other words, ultimate
development, the outcome of influence exerted by the sire,
may be greater relatively at maturity than at the birth of the
progeny.
It follows, therefore, that possible size at maturity is
not fixed by relative size at birth, although there is doubt-
less some relation between these. Possible size at maturity
is determined by inheritance from both sire and dam, and
to some extent from the ancestry of these. Illiberal feeding
may result in possible development being unattained. But
no feeding, however liberal, can result in development be-
yond the limit set by inheritance, that is to say, feeding
more food than would be regarded as a sufficient ration will
not carry development beyond what it would attain by giv-
ing simply a sufficient ration, but it may reach such develop-
ment more quickly.
It is evident, therefore, that it is not possible to state
exactly the maximum, minimum or average weights of
young animals at birth. However, basing the _ es-
timates on records of weights that have been taken,
it would be approximately correct to say that the
average weight of standard bred foals whose dams
and sires range between 1000 and 1100 pounds would
be somewhere in the vicinity of 100 to 110 pounds,
and that draught foais would be proportionately heavier ac-
cording to the weight of the parents, in normal condition as
514 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
to flesh. The weight of calves runs all the way from 50
to 125 pounds, the average being somewhere in the neigh-
borhood of 80 pounds. The average weight of lambs, large,
intermediate and small breeds, is somewhere in the vicinity
of 7 to 8 pounds. The average weight of pigs of the dif-
ferent breeds is somewhere between 2 and 2% pounds.
Variations in weights of animals.—The live weight
of animals varies so much from day to day, that in experi-
ments which call for frequent weighings, it becomes a dis-
turbing factor to the extent of leading to incorrect con-
clusions, unless the weights are taken as the average of
several weighings rather than as single. These variations
occur in weights taken at different hours the same day or
on successive days, insomuch, that even with animals that
are neither gaining nor losing in flesh, the same weight
precisely can seldom or never be attained from weighing at
different times.
These variations are relatively more pronounced in cat-
tle and sheep than in horses and swine, owing probably to
the less relative capacity in the digestive organs of the latter
to hold large quantities of food, and to the shorter period
during which it is retained in the system. But even in the
case of horses, the difference in live weight from day to
day has been not less than 25 pounds, though weighed at
the same hour each morning and before any food or water
had been given to them. The difference in the daily weigh-
ings of mature cattle similarly weighed has, in some in-
stances, exceeded 50 pounds.
These variations are the outcome chiefly: (1) Of the
different amounts of food consumed and retained in the
system, and (2) of the different amounts of water drunk.
and also retained beyond the time when the weights were
taken. They are also influenced to some extent by the in-
crease or loss in flesh, by the water content of the tissues,
and in the case of animals in milk by the amount of milk
withdrawn.
MISCELLANEOUS CONSIDERATIONS 515
The variations resulting from food is caused more by
irregular movement in the evacuations than by a difference
in the amount of food consumed. The difference in the
amount of solids excreted by mature cattle at rest has been
found, in some instances, to vary fully 25 pounds per day.
With animals that are exercised, the difference may be
greater. It has also been noticed that the movement of
food in digestion is less regular when the diet has recently
been changed.
The difference in the amount of water consumed from
day to day is likely to be much greater than that in the
food consumed. It is more likely to be influenced by a
change of temperature in the atmosphere. It is also in-
fluenced by a change of temperature in the water itself.
When it is called to mind that the stomach of a mature
ox is capable of holding from 100 to 150 pounds of water,
and that the excretion of urine is more or less irregular,
it will be readily apparent how the amount of water con-
sumed may lead to variations in the live weight of animals.
These variations account for the extravagant gains that
are sometimes claimed for animals on full feed. A well
grown steer at the Kansas experiment station showed, in
one instance, a loss of 2 pounds as the result of seven days
feeding on a fattening ration. At the end of the following
seven days he showed a gain of 47 pounds or nearly 7.
pounds per day. They also show the necessity for the
utmost care in drawing conclusions based on weights while
conducting experiments with live stock that relate to in-
crease or decrease. Some stations have adopted the safe
plan of weighing three days in succession under exactly
the same conditions and taking the average of these as
representing the true weight.
Influences that affect palatability—The great im-
portance of palatability in foods has already been dis-
cussed (see p. 51). The influences that affect it
will now be considered. These include: (1) The in-
trinsic properties of the plant; (2) the nature of the
516 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
growth; (3) the inherent tastes of the animals to which
the foods are fed, and (4) the extent to which those tastes
have been cultivated by feeding upon plants different from
those to which the animals have been accustomed.
The intrinsic properties of the plants are influenced:
(1) By the class to which they belong; (2) by the amount
of leaf growth; (3) by the extent to which woodiness is
present or absent, and (4) by the aroma. Legumes are
usually more palatable than other plants but this does not
always hold true, as blue grass when young is more
palatable than red clover at the same stage of ad-
vancement in growth. Usually, however, domestic ani-
mals show a fondness for legumes. Sugar in plants
also affects their palatability. This in part accounts for
the fondness of domestic animals for corn and more par-
ticularly for sorghum, both of which are non-leguminous.
The more abundantly that leaf growth is present, the greater
is the degree of palatability in plants. This is owing 1n
part to the absence of woodiness, in part to the fine char-
acter of the growth, and probably in part to the higher
nutrition which they possess. As plants become woody,
they lose in palatability. This is very clearly shown in the
consumption of the leaves and finer portion of the stems
of coarse clover hay, while the coarse stems will be re-
jected in the same. The same is true of corn plants. In
nearly all instances, plants which are rejected by animals
for which they are the natural food when far advanced in
growth, will be eaten by the same when young. Foxtail
(Alopecurus pratensis) for instance, is readily consumed
by sheep when young, but when advanced in growth they
will not eat it at all if they can secure other food. The same
is true of some other plants even of plants as valuable as
timothy. The aroma of plants also influences their pal-
atability in a marked degree. The presence of this prop-
erty is conveyed through the yielding up or giving off of
certain volatile odors, which are gratifying to the sense
of smell. These are emitted in a marked degree by new
MISCELLANEOUS CONSIDERATIONS 517
mown hay. When much exposed, as by bleaching, or when
wet with dew or rains, these properties are dissolved or
washed out of the plants, and in proportion as they are
they lose in palatability.
The nature of the growth afecis the palatability of
plants: (1) Througk the rapidity or slowness of the
growth; (2) Weoneh the relative amount of the bulk pro-
duced, and (3) through the proportion of the stem to the
leaf growth. The more quickly that plants grow as a rule,
the more palatable are they, as quick growth is favorable
to succulence and adverse to woodiness. The more bulky
the foods are, the coarser are the fibres of the plants, and
the coarser the fibres are, the less is the degree of the pal-
atability. Slow growth is unfavorable to a large propor-
tion of leaf growth, and a large proportion of stem growth
is adverse to palatability.
The inherent tastes of animals have an influence on
the degree to which foods are palatable to them. The horse,
for instance, is fond of timothy hay, but the sheep does not
take kindly to it. The goat is more fond of leaves and
small twigs than of grass while sheep are much more fond
of grass, and cattle will consume leaves only to a small extent
except under pressure of hunger. Horses are usually more
fond of carrots than of otker field roots, while swine are
less fond of these than of any other varieties of roots. In-
stances illustrating this subject could be multiplied in-
definitely.
Palatability in foods may be influenced by cultivating
the taste so to speak of the animals which feed upon them.
Sheep grown upon the western ranges will usually refuse
to feed upon rape when first turned in upon it if they
have access to grass at the same time. Soon they become
so fond of it that they prefer it to grass. Cattle in north-
ern areas will not feed upon sweet clover unless compelled
to do so through hupger, but catttle in the southern states
in certain areas will eat it with more or less relish. The
518 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
liking for certain products may thus be cultivated to the
extent of engrafting it as a permanent feature of the or-
ganization.
Feeding subsequent to weaning.—The importance of
keeping animals intended for meat pushing without any
period of stagnation in growth, or even without any period
of seriously retarded growth, has already been dwelt upon.
(See p. 371.) Such a period is more likely to occur just
after weaning than at any other time during growth. It is
of considerable importance, therefore, that it shall be pre-
vented. This is quite possible where the necessary measures
are taken to prevent it.
The hazard at such a time arises, first, from cutting off
a supply of food that is greatly relished by the young ani-
mals, that the digestive system is accustomed to, that is
easily digested and that is very nourishing; second, sub-
stituting therefor a diet that is less relished, that the diges-
tive system 1s less accustomed to or not accustomed to at all,
and that is not so easily digested. Andthird, because the
weaning season frequently occurs at a season when the graz-
ing has lost much of its succulence and when cold weather,
with its rigors, is approaching. The earlier the age at
which the weaning occurs, the greater is the degree of the
hazard referred to.
Arrested development at such a time, may be almost
or entirely prevented, by gradually accustoming tke’ young
animals before weaning, as far as may be practicable, to the
foods that will form their diet afterward.
This may not be easily practicable in all instances, as
for instance, when cows suckle their calves on the range
or even on the farm, or when lambs are born in the
pastures, the dams in neither instance being given grain
during the nursing period. But, wken the dams are fed
grain, it is easily possible to get the progeny which they
suckle accustomed to eating the same, by allowing them to
learn to eat it, at first apart from the dam, and later if
thought best, as a matter of convenience, with the dam.
MISCELLANEOUS CONSIDERATIONS 519
The weaning will, in such instances, be so gradual that it
will not in any way hinder growth. When animals are
hand-fed, the conditions that relate to feeding may be easily
and completely controlled.
When weaning animals, the aim should be to secure
the following conditions, as far as may be practicable: (1)
Shutting off the milk supply gradually. This is most easily
done by giving it less frequently, as by feeding but once a
day instead of twice; (2) furnishing a liberal supply of
concentrated food such as is best adapted to the needs of
the animals. Oats should furnish the basic grain food for
foals and lambs, and even for calves when not too expensive,
but some corn and a small amount of oil cake added will be
an improvement. Shorts is the basic food for young swine,
but here also, corn will improve the ration, and it may be
freely fed along with skim milk. The supply of grain ought
to be liberal; (3) fodder of high quality should be provided
to encourage large consumption of the same, or if in sea-
son, the pastures should be succulent and nutritious. When
weaning takes place in the spring, as soon as the pastures
become abundant, the grain allowance may be gradually re-
duced. ,
In the case of young animals not accustomed to wean-
ing, the best that can be done is to place grain in the fields,
paddocks or stables in which they are kept. In time they
will begin to eat it, but not until some loss may have oc-
curred in development. If one or more animals of nearly
similar ages are turned into the enclosure, the example
which they set will lead the others to eat grain sooner than
they would without such example.
The age for weaning will, of course, vary. Foals
should be allowed to suck their dams for not less than
six months, and the same is true of calves. Lambs are us-
ually weaned in four to five months from birth. Swine
should take nourishment from their dams for Io to 12
weeks, unless when two litters per season are required
of the dams, in which instances, the nursing period is cut
520 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
down to eight weeks. . When calves are hand-fed, the
period of milk feeding is not usually extended to beyond
four months. The more completely the young animals are
accustomed to food supplemental to the milk taken, the
earlier the age at which they may be weaned without hin-
dering development.
Feeding for quick conception.—It is frequently a
matter of considerable itnportance that females shall breed
at a certain season of the year and within the limit of a
somewhat short period. The object sought is to meet the
demands of the market better than if the progeny are
produced at other seasons. These demands relate in some
instances to the progeny itself, and in others to the ac~
companying or resulting milk product. This may fre-
quently be attained, though not in all instances, by the na-
ture of the food given to the dam for a short time previously
to the mating season.
Mares and cows maintained in reasonably high flesh
will usually come in heat at regularly occurring periods,
beginning with the former within a few days subsequently
to the birth of the foal, and with the latter within three
to six weeks of the birth of the calf. But in a considerable
proportion of instances, cows do not breed that suckle their
calves until a considerable proportion of the nursing period
has passed. Ewes and sows will not breed as a rule, while
nursing their young. Nor will females of any class breed
when the condition of the system is reduced beyond a cer-
tain point. But when thus reduced and nourishing, suc-
culent food is given to the extent of making a marked im-
provement in the-vigor possessed by the animal, all the vital
forces share in such invigoration, and also all the functions
that may be operative at such a time, including those which
pertain to conception. From what has been said, it will
be apparent that it is much more difficult to influence con-
ception in animals already in good flesh.
To secure quick conception in cows of moderate or
low flesh, they should be given more stimulating and nour-
ishing food rich in protein. It is in a sense imperative
MISCELLANEOUS CONSIDERATIONS 521
also, that it shall pe possessed of a considerable degree of
succulence. Usually the object sought will be accomplished
within a few weeks from the time when such feeding be-
gins To secure the same in ewes, they are usually put
on rich and juicy pasture subsequently to the weaning of
the lambs. The pasture is supplemented with a fairly liberal
allowance of nutritious grain. For this purpose oats and
barley have been found superior to corn or rye. Wheat
also answers the purpose well. Rape pasture is particularly
adapted to such feeding and if well advanced in growth, it
may not be necessary to supplement it with any grain. The
result with generously fed brood sows, subsequent to the
weaning of the pigs, will be similar.
When females are well nourished and yet do not come
in heat, they may in some instances be made to breed by re-
ducing the flesh in a considerable degree, through with-
holding food and enforcing exercise, and then giving again
enough of suitable food to commence again building up
the reduced energies of the system. The success follow-
ing will be dependent on the cause or causes that prevented
the animals from breeding previously.
Salt and its uses.—The desire for salt in nearly all
classes of domestic animals is so strong as to amount to a
craving, if it is withheld from them for any considerable
period. That it serves an important end in the animal
economy would seem to be thus indicated by nature. Swine
seem to crave it less than other domestic animals, but they
also profit by its moderate use.
Salt is not a nutrient in the sense of furnishing food,
nor is it certain that it adds directly to the digestibility of
foods, as such, nevertheless, it plays an important part in
sustaining the animal by the influence which it exerts on
the digestive processes. When supplied in suitable quanti-
ties, it increases the energy of the vital processes. It does
so by facilitating the passage of albuminoids from the diges-
tive tract into the blood, and by increasing the secretion of
the juices of the body and quickening their circulation. In
doing so, however, it increases protein consumption. +
522 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
A second and important use of salt is the favorable in-
fluence which it exerts upon the appetite. It renders foods
more palatable and, therefore, when judiciously used in
preparing them, increases their consumption. But, to feed
quantities abnormally large would lead to harmful results
as shown below. Tke craving for salt is influenced to some
extent by natural location and also by the food. Animals
grazed near the sea frequently secure a sufficient supply
from the herbage upon which they feed. Relatively large
quantities seem to be required by animals grazing on plants
watery in character, as young grass and succulent rape.
A third action of salt is to increase the excretion of
urine, which may probably in part explain the craving for
much salt by animals on watery food. This explains also
why animals which are given much salt, drink much water.
The consumption of much salt accompanied by an insuffi-
cient supply of water, would result in diverting to the kid-
heys water that would otherwise pass off through the
organs of respiration, and in consequence there would be
a more or less quick loss of weight. When abnormally
large quantities of salt are taken, this is followed by the
drinking of abnormally large quantities of water, which re-
sults in a waste of nutrients in the body through increased
protein consumption. Death has even resulted from al-
lowing cows to drink large quantities of brine, which had
been used in salting pork.
It is particularly desirable, therefore, that domestic ani-
mals shall be given enough salt at all times to meet their
needs, and that they shall not be given an excess of the
same. It is scarcely possible to adjust the amount of salt
given to the exact needs of the animals in any other way
than by giving them constant access to it, that they
may take it at will. If supplied only at intervals, they
take it to excess, but not otherwise, although it has been
claimed that some horses will eat it in excess even under
the conditions stated above.
MISCELLANEOUS CONSIDERATIONS 523
That it would not be quite practicable in any other
way to adjust exactly the amount of salt given to the needs
of the animal will be apparent from the different amounts
called for by animals of different classes, different
ages, fed under different conditions as to performance,
and on different kinds of food. It would not be quite pos-
sible, therefore, to name amounts to be thus fed except in
the most general way. The amount mentioned as suitable
for a dairy cow is ‘4 of an ounce per day, and for a steer
of 1,000 pounds weight as I ounce per day when fattening
begins, and an increase of the same up to more than 1%
ounces before the finishing period. That the exact amounts
of salt required cannot thus be perfectly adjusted, however,
is not inconsistent with feeding salt in small quantities in
the food to make it more appetizing, providing it is. not
thus fed in excess of the needs of the animals.
This is not the place to discuss the exact mode or
modes of giving salt to animals. But it may be mentioned
that the aim should be to have it accessible to them at all
times, whether in the stall, the yard, the feed lot or in the
pasture. It is given in the form of common salt or of rock
salt. When given as common salt, it must be protected
from rain, which dissolves it. The objections have, in some
instances, been raised against rock salt that animals do
not always get enough of it and that sometimes the process
of licking it makes the tongue sore.
Silage a varying quantity.—Corn silage is one of the
most important fodders in feeding dairy*cows, and that it
will become more important relatively cannot be questioned.
But in feeding it to cows and also to other stock the fact
should not be overlooked that relatively its value varies so
much, that the character of its nutrients should be carefully
taken into account when deciding upon the other food
factors that shall be fed with it. These variations arise:
(1) From the method of growth adopted; (2) from the de-
gree of maturity at which the crop has been harvested; (3)
524 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
from the proportionate amount of the grain which it con-
tains, and (4) from the way in which it has been preserved
in the silo.
Tests conducted at different experiment stations have
shown that the method of growth has a marked influence
on the bulk product per acre. At the Illinois experiment
station, it was found that corn grown with the stalks 3
inches apart in the rows, the latter being 44 inches distant
from one another, produced 4.8 tons of stover per acre,
while corn with the stalks 9 inches apart in rows equally dis-
tant produced but 3.1 tons. But with the former, the pro-
portion of the stover to each pound of ears was 3.6 pounds,
and with the latter 1.5 pounds. The difference, therefore,
in the feeding value of equal quantities of silage grown thus
will be at once apparent.
The increase in the dry matter in corn between the
milk and the grazing stage is very great. At the experiment
station at Geneva, N. Y., it was found that the dry matter
in an acre of corn increased from 4,643 pounds when in
milk, to 7,202 pounds when glazed. When matured, the
dry matter was 7,918 pounds. Since it is claimed that a
pound of the dry substance of well matured ensilage has
a higher nutritive value than at any previous period in its
growth, the influence of maturity on the feeding value of
ensilage will be apparent. In some localities, corn cannot
be taken past the milk stage for ensilage because of early
frosts.
The proportionate amounts of grain and stover vary
exceedingly in ensilage. Corn may be grown so thickly,
that it will not produce ears at all, and yet it may make
good silage. Again, it may be grown so as to produce
nubbins, varying from ears not much below the normal
size down to very small. When grown to furnish a maxi-
mum amount of ears, more than half the weight of the en-
tire crop will be ears. Here again the difference in the
feeding value of a pound of silage will be clearly evident.
The bearing which this should have upon the amounts of
MISCELLANEOUS CONSIDERATIONS 525
grain or meal to feed with the silage should not be lost
sight of, more especially when feeding large quantities of
silage.
Silage differs considerably in the degree of the acidity
which characterizes it. The difference may be so much
as to justify the use of the terms, “sweet” and “sour,” as
applied to silage, with all manner of gradations between
these. The differences are usually owing in great part,
at least, to a difference in the stage of maturity in the corn
when it is put into the silo. In other words, it is owing to
a difference in the amount of water which it contains. Corn
so immature that it carries muck water is likely to make
sour ensilage, unless the quantity of this has been re-
duced by wilting the corn. Sour ensilage cannot be fed
with safety in quantities so large as sweet ensilage.
Feeding miscellaneous products.—Certain products
are occasionally fed as food to stock which do not constitute
a part of any regular ration in prolonged feeding These in-
clude eggs, weed seeds, sugar, oil of various kinds, and nuts.
Certain other products are sometimes fed for a time with
sundry kinds of food, to increase the supply of. some ele-
ment or elements lacking in the food. These include hard-
wood ashes, charcoal and bone meal.
Eggs contain all the essential elements of body growth.
Although too valuable as human food to admit of their be-
ing much fed to live stock, in some instances they are
fed to calves in the uncooked form as a corrective to scours,
and in other instances to improve the gloss of the coat.
For both uses, other ingredients may be used that are less
costly and even more effective. They are sometimes used
also in feeding stallions undergoing the strain of severe
service, and the benefit resulting will probably justify the
outlay.
Weed seeds are grown in large quantities in grain-
growing areas of the Northwest. Usually they are sold as
screenings and are largely used in feeding sheep, (see p.
272). Many weed seeds are rich in oil, and because of this,
526 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
should not be fed without admixture. The seeds of foxtail
(Alopecurus pratensis), more commonly called pigeon
grass, usually constitute a principal portion of the weed
seeds found in western grains. Experiments conducted at
the Wisconsin experiment station showed that this food
was not relished by swine when fed uncooked, that for such
feeding it should be both cooked and ground, and that when
so fed along with 33 per cent of corn meal, it is a superior
food to the latter when fed alone. All kinds of weed seeds
should be ground for swine and also for cattle, otherwise
many of them will escape digestion.
Sugar, such as is used in the human dietary, but of
lower grade, is oftentimes fed directly to live stock. When
so fed it is commonly mixed with the grain or meal fed to
them. Animals are very fond of it, and when fitting them
for exhibition it not only aids in quick fattening but also
improves the coat. Mixed with other food, it increases the
consumption of the same. For ordinary fattening, it has a
_place when not too costly, but it is thought to exert a dele-
terious influence on the breeding powers of both males and
females when fed to them in any considerable quantities, in
prolonged feeding.
Oil of various kinds has been tested in feeding differ-~
ent classes of stock. At the Massachusetts experiment sta-
tion, it was found that very small quantities of some kinds
of oil, as corn and cottonseed oil, could be fed to calves on
milk with benefit, but when any considerable quantity was
fed, indigestion followed. None of these are so completely
satisfactory for feeding calves as ground flaxseed or oil
cake. It has also-been ascertained that the fat in milk can-
not be permanently increased by feeding oil or tallow, even
when fed to the extent of affecting adversely the appetite
of the animals.
Nuts, more especially acorns, in some areas furnish
considerable quantities of food for swine. The same is
true of beech nuts. These promote quick growth and rapid
fattening when plentiful in supply, but the latter produce
MISCELLANEOUS CONSIDERATIONS 527
oily pork. In order to firm it such animals should be fed
for 20 to 30 days or even longer, on some such grain as
corn, barley or peas.
Ashes have been found highly useful in feeding swine
that are much restricted to a diet of corn. In trials made
at the Wisconsin experiment station, swine to which ashes
were fed freely with a reasonable amount of salt added,
the other food being corn meal, made increase much supe-
rior to that made by swine fed on corn meal only, with sait
added. The bones of the former were not only larger and
stronger than those of the latter, but they contained fully 30
per cent more ash. Foods other than corn and the sor-
ghums usually supply potash in quantities sufficient to
obviate the necessity of feeding ashes.
Charcoal serves about the same use in feeding swine as
wood ashes (see paragraph preceding). Swine, insuff-
ciently supplied with ash in the food, will consume con-
siderable quantities of charcoal. This in corn-growing
areas, and in these the principal need for such feeding ex-
ists, may be cheaply supplied by charring corncobs in a
hole in the ground of any convenient size, and covered with
a metal cover, after the mass of cobs have become suffi-
ciently aglow with flames coming up from beneath. Wood
charcoal or charred corncobs may be most conveniently fed
from self-feeders from which the swine may partake at
will.
; Bone meal when pure, fresh, and made from healthy
animals, may be fed with profit under some conditions to
both swine and cattle. It will serve about the same purpose
in feeding swine as hard-wood ashes, when about one-third
of the quantity is fed. When cattle are much prone to
chew bits of bone or wood, which happens in some in-
stances, it indicates an insufficient supply of phosphates
in the food. This deficiency may be made up by the ju-
dicious feeding of bone meal. The necessity for such feed-
ing, however, exists but seldom.
INDEX.
PAGE
Adaptation to requirement
HAM evap NIT Go Soy cE bBic 24
Albuminoids discussed 165
Alfalftay shay mci csstarceee 194
Or: (Cttle: Wt.5 fan eke 194
Hor SHOrses” scene 195
HOTi SHEED H Mrersereeo eee 195
Nor? ‘swine. hac csseceeer 195
Or PAaStlULe aac aac cero 310
Alfalmos defined! scars .ecene 194
Analysis of foods not a
complete guide ........ 51
Ash; (discussion: of. ss24- a0 169
Ashes, wood for stock 527
Assimilation, principles that
POVELMY cack I ciavare eee Ricks 89
Balancing rations, informa-
tlOn | CONGEEDIN Eee cke ee 172
Barley, vers eicisnsisct Sl eneheusieve eevee s 232
For calves and growing
GBULLE. 70.0 sd i soeiercte wisi cceyors 232
ior ™ beck, cattle eerie 232
Hor (COWS) anymore 232
Hor MHOrGSeS eta < cutee 233
Hor: (SHEED: (a. caciets sites ses 233
OTA S WANE Hits siete iene 233
Bean, common or field 243
EL OPSE, (in -cforers cteisncleveitisteus esate 246
SOY. ern Seo.cvee ee aheve s wehael ave 244
LAY? Hoke 'c ileloeiniticte sorta mtelsre iene 199
Hay for (Cattle: se scsi sis ses 199
Pay storanvOrsesmacser oe 200
Haves Lor SHEED) acerca eee 200
Hay fOr (Swiie ies, acct letste 200
Benefits from live stock .. 1
Body heat, influences upon 81
Bone development, influence
Of- LOOd UPON) ere ace ieee 78
Meal for (StoOCk) imerskete siete 527
Bran, wheat ..:.: ea ctataielig/as ON
HOT, CAlVeS iat .rtstdeteretetoenis 267
For cattle being fattened 268
Hor) COWS) 1m edn eres ters 268
HOE SHOLSCS acc. oie cia taieielotele 269
Hors SSHCCW) pateieietalelcketovereener 269
OT, SSWATIC) Jarsietcteieictatthalrerete 269
Breeding, food influences
jae ymobeyl Sey Ais Soo wot 122
Food influences helpful to 122
PAGE
Breeding—Continued.
Too high flesh adverse .. 127
Too immature harmful... 113
When sought too early 112
Breeds, beef and dairy con-
trasted) Ss. 52h ane. eee 40
Brewers’ *erains: “a, .1sciee cee 272
Mor seattle wane see 273
For, Norses &.3:30 ese eee 274
For -sheep! s3...0 26 eee V2
For .SwWine: J ascee cee 274
Broom corn Seed oases 262
Buckwheat) < ../. ae kaa cee 239
Nor Cattle... 206 oe eee 240
or -hersés ha -saceene 240
Mor. SHECD: 2.5 .<tistoceme 240
For swine. os..6 or eee 240
Butterniilkes. so. sane oe 294
By-products of
Barley: “2525.55 eae eee 272
Buckwheat <i... cs seers 282
Cereals; small- =. pee 281
Corn: 7. FORA cence oe eee 278
Cottonseed © Sucve eeee 282
fC: ae TI ee ears 5 acy = 275
Milk: |. scca.aijen oe tee ee eee 289
Miscellaneous’ .v.sccn .2me 297
IMOIaSSES) <.%: fiends he aoe ane 295
Oats” elas Waele wie lene ee 281
f Bf =}2 eee eC ocr Oc 281
RICE” ay sleieis t.clscaoele stem 282
RYC Mi as Barska. s ce ciecre enetemeiene 281
Sugar’ Deets: 5. -..-eeeee 287
"Wheat ~ ie) < (ns Seis ny operons tonemerciohe 266
Cabbage: © aetelcten seinen ens 340
Mor. cattle ti --s.cccn eerie 340
Hor NOrses! v..9 <1. somites 341
Hor> SHEED) © 24 siis.s'+ cee eres 341
Hor ‘SWine ik... cae eee 341
Hor pasture “2... eee eeu 3
Carbohydrates, influence of
in ~L£OOG! 5.0. wee eee 168
IDISCUSSEd «.'ceG ne ere 168
Carrots) <5 ssf cesta eres oaetele 331
For cattle RETO Otc Sok
For horses ..... AO Ora dec 332
FOr’ SSHEED™ iv sic « alelate =) etslere enone
Hor {Swine <0 « el ccecoteluietonenmenene
Cassavaleweetulets cis) ove! erates eis etoromeee
528
INDEX 529
PAGE PAGE
Cassava—Continued. Cotton seed—Continued.
IWOTIRCALCIO. teicccteic « aco lstore aus 338 HOr CALLE. sande se 251
Hor horses, mules! <0 0%)... 339 For cows’ in) milk 3.02. 252
PIGET = SIME CD a va si veloute aks fovsice St 339 Hon Shéepiet coe eee oe 253
URIS SILO ohare, wiepneue Rieck oe rece 339 HOLS WANG) a.7 fete ede ee 253
Cattle, difference in form Cottonseed™meall -...5-...200 283
between finished and HOD SCaUelLe. easier 283
AIDE SHEE! | Sos ,<icicreute cue ks 141 Hor dairy, (cattle 4.- 5540 284
What Vaiseussed). “o.oo s s%s 224 HOR CNOLVSeS) as cates cate 286
Chareoal for, stock) 7.0 2<.5.- 527 HOD SHEED 3% eas cake ee 284
Cheap foods and live stock 4 For Swine 9. 753 ssc oe 285
Clover hay, varieties ...... 192 ETUUISS Sieve shaders 8 spore apate votenete 286
OPI SCALTIO, A cack: cetearerire ates 12 = <COWDECAS'” 2 ctavase cose care mer ee 247
Horm sDOFSES, fore soled we < ace. oe 193 Hors cattle: ih... 0. cts cco 247
ROP ISHED 2/5 siccleterecsie sof 193 HOG NOSES AG esti oon 248
HOG AS WIE) a2 wists oe creo, 193 OTIS CED: cccrciese cir eternre 6 248
Clovers) for pastures! -...:.. < 308 HORS IS Wine. 2) is... 5 cists . 248
MUU E AG en cassia alin is. eas eee so S1Ow “Cowpea Haye % Sn woe wee 196
PASI OL ootehatk wiersi onrs.c 6 alansvon rs 309. Crudeatipre tz. creseiccscnee: 169
TEV0t Ee As an Oe ais Sid) EDairveattie type. ine eee 142
SCOMIMNOM! TEM ~\.). su sew are ee 308 Cows, indications of correct
TIN SOM oa yavc eee oe ka hev oars 310 form and function ..... 143
SUDAN cole cc/'s aie sles eta aes 311 Cows contrasted with
MICE TEITO ChE Ms 2 crc ictaye es ete oe 309 SITCS? poste see cee 146
SHIH white! ic... sete vas 310 Sires contrasted with
Cacoanut meal)... ose 300 COWS oki cic Gis ete ol cre relate tere 145
Considerations relating to Steers and production 39
care of domestic ani- Dams, condition at birth of
MASS nosis ethos cuaiceeeast 476 DEOLSENYH Paiiakoer tte oles es 128
Relating to general feed- Good condition during
MIRO ar Chee. terete meer tence 443 DLreenaneye Aa. vee cee 12)
Relating to meat produc- Decadence discussed ...... St
HOD Fiat eee 371 Definitions in feeding .... 164
Relating to milk produc- Dehorning cattle, benefits
LOU seat Se hare cists eae 409 FLOM Oras oe oo.c ee aree eee 106
Miscellaneous incharacter 509 Development and capacity 65
GorneoL maize sis tse hie ese 257 And decadence... .-. see 84
For calves and growing And decrease in relative
CAUElOy Wo ats ers tees eee ks 260 PAINS) as biostaete ele eieterodetens 62
OT CACELE. 55 cueneietops eects 260 VAN Gey LOOMS = Pa. x 3". ccotere teeters 74
Wor .cows “in milk <.%. 2. 260 And! inferiority: §c..o0< eek 86
IO DOLSES® cis sinc cickets avcnenete 261 And“ live: SStoChkew —, crc.reieiste ater
Ber SHEEP! sas se asiesise o> = 260 And more food! so. .e.ss% 64
ROT ESC WAUULe i ohelices eo hnlaralanesareia..6 261 AMG iP EMeSS. cleric. crete oO
MO Pasture, ox ..<lmcie aise sis 314 And wasted energy 80
Modder debned) 2.0.0. c. = <1 211 ie equilibritimie o.oo 87
SHOU I) too react ces ont ape eae 211 Influences that retard 66
Shakehe fetal = preg A paroere ce aioe 211 Principles that govern 62
COLI CEOGGET as wiass.c soe) os operwie 211 Digestion, principles that
OL CAlLWES) or ete. siee ne ruetsa rte 213 BOVETI Me ctevere cic oer 89
OTS TCALULEY Senerciciest sie ata e tate w 2s / Distillers’>STains) oie, ce ctercters 274
WOR NOGSES) co te cteistalcls «7c os 214 Domestic animals, care of 476
Hor, sheep. ..... areata 214 Amount of exercise for . 505
UOT ESWiTLO!s \esisisiers wierele eyelet Lk: Amount of water for .... 483
WOttONY SCCM! cierssieeeie.e8 21° © eee ais Dam at parturition ...... 504
VOT CALVES w nictejovsclaig cl etere oe LO INGCHEES LNG! winds se sciee ISG
530
FEEDING FARM
PAGE
Domestic animals—Continued.
Furnishing water to 5
Preparing and using litter
Protection for, in sum-
TVET | 5-5. Fa voarc ew eh moenslo ieee
Regularity in care of
Season for breeding
Shelter for, when young .
Shelter from weaning on-
ward
Sources of litter for ops
Temperature in stables
Wses) of litter tor sa...
Water for
Draught horses,
points
Dried blood
Flesh meal and meat scrap
scale
Dual purpose cows, correct
form and function .....
Dwarf Essex rape for
DAS CUT Conclave area totann ster elie’
Eggs as food for stock
Elementary substances for
growth in plants and
animals
Environment and live stock
And _ selection
TNE ePOWeTu Ol. a choncte roles tereie
Equilibrium, foods in ap-
proximate .......0.:.-
Changes in
Foods not in
In foods, age variation in
In food constituents ....
Influences that disturb
Exercise, amount of for
pregnant animals ......
And pregnancy ......-..-
And usefulmess' 1.5.0.2...
Injury from lack of
Farm life and live stock
Fat, discussion of ........
Feeding, general ..........-
Adjusting foods in
Changing foods when ....
Condimental foods
First milk
Food for maintenance
Foods, home grown
purchased
Foods that vary in adap-
tation eases eee earl
Foods that influence di-
— gestion favorably
486
500
492
479
502
490
488
496
494
498
481
156
298
298
ANIMALS
PAGE
Feeding—Continued.
For growth and _ future
production, Sect eee 449
Generous, during preg-
NANCY * = os cee ee ee 443
High pressure, injures
GOWS'S. © ee sci tahoe 115
Moderate® 035 o caterhe nee 115
Of concentrates. o...osrenr 454
Place for self-feeders in 471
Proportion of concen-
trates to roughage in .. 456
Relative food values . 465
Relative profits from do-
mestic animals in . 473
Sustaining power of pas-
tres: LOL, s.ivicd acer 467
Standard: | ssn cece atest eats 180
Standard, calculation of a. 181
Standards discussed...... 183
Standards, influences that
affect varying results in. 187
Stutts;, tables) Of = nies ae 173
Fertility and live stock .... 2
Hield beans)” sec nc eierereteiens 243
Mor cattle: Sciciec sueteresieete 243
Hor "Horses! ace tetereiors ~. 244
Hor sheep) Westie eceeterens 244
For SWING [ys cicstereereete 244
Roots and corn compared. 323
Roots, discussed :........ 324
Mish ‘SCrap is as - = cca cis aitonede 299
LC eR Rie res cu tO as CC + 249
Fors (Ca ttleiiee ercie te ean 250
MOR HOGSCS weaqicteielolstetars 251
Hor -Sheepy venice enetoletatstere 251
For Swine? 3.5.60 BOO OC 251
WLOUT | LCG GO Mare eie-lerciereterene 271
I vovo ks (ss MES Orc] Tomb ca 211
Broom: “CORME teres. seer 218
COrn - 5:5 25 ee 8c» esas 211
Jerusalem corn and durra 218
Non-saccharine sorghum. 217
Pearl Gmilletyy oer 218
Sorehumy oles ere 215
Straw: (soci ercienere ote atevenatovareee 219
Teosintel \skiasisseraelelletatens 219
Fiodders) fe. ssdaps. «| sities e eioketone 191
Chaffing and shredding 360
Excessive loss of mois-
ture in 353
Influence of dew and rain
UpOnt ence ioeieene mee
INDEX
PAGE
Food, influencing transmis-
SIGMILSSPe tote Oils, ores Gakeksre16 42
And foetal development 124
PARE Re SIAN CY, is aie) ates «<%= 124
MaActore Genneds w.cisx cos 165
From by-products ...... 265
From cereals and other
SCCOS eS Won tok eae she Siepeiole SS 225
From cured fodders ..... 191
From field roots and
EAU DETS = ei cacsrs atcpsiere. soleus ate 323
TOM, SPASLUEES |... <1. a's + 302
Influences of on meat pro-
IKCELODN sec. Sars eis ceascitere 74
- Influences of on milk pro-
IC EIONY aercrateatsl oe aiece a jele 76
Nutrient defined ....... 164
Or feeding ration defined 171
Of maintenance increases
WEL eh Gle vclarate c cvsieielels 63
Requirements and growth 53
Foods, nitrogenous con-
SLivuenes) OL” sierciete's wees. 165
Blending chemically 364
Blending mechanically 362
Bulk and concentration in. 52
Bulky, and concentrated 53
Cooking for stock ...... 366
Curing, dry ..-......-.. 352
Curing, green ........-.--. 350
Influence of cost on meat
chrvsleercenlles Pues, soi ome 65
Influence on development
and production ........ 60
Influence on other........ 52
Necessity for variety in . 58
Non-nitrogenous constitu-
CUES Ob) Ch s.ctom toes eel ate 166
Relative manurial value
AiR oa os Bey RIO Oo 61
Soaking for stock ...... 365
Sorin ee ack ot es oie: ler ieseleke 353
Suitability for end
SOUP ee ora sie eheie ere et 59
SAWhtler wbale aS mo ricrclocica. - 59
Wariet yi I ssjerc = eieteeie = «1 57
Form and function in dairy
COW Sie ae eae a oes inlet inp ote 143
And function in dual pur-
pose COWS .....---.-..-- 148
Gluten feed ......----+-- 280
Wlealls .. ays \asate eucleteta slo's, Wisier els 278
For cattle .....-.-.4-- 279
For horseS ..ceceseeees 280
531
PAGE
Gluten meal—Continued.
Hor (SNEED cise, «ore ae 279
Om SS Wan acete lee pray atoveere 280
Grain, grinding or crushing 355
Grasses, influences of, on
bone Sof JhOrsesiis.. ck 79
Ome DAStUNC terclasaiteree aero 304
ist deahtlot pees Sols seeaeee 306
Wraeucis seve erctetele ats a eal eee rae 308
JOWNSON” Eizisie sisie see i, te
Kentucky) Die) vee. «= ss 304
Meadow: @LESCUC) fiecisi<c clei 307
Orchard! >< wc fs sic os ee 30%
Quack n-s5. 8s cele a wcc bie eia 308
FRLCOEOW a eia i ale oo eretere siete 306
RMISSiam.- DEFOE: <5 cise ces 305
ADENOL VORNS) ino SOSA Orr 307
dubeaCiydninie Gea tio Omo.cho,4 on 305
WWIESECIM IRViGl. “avarstaccve ete riche 305
Growth and food required... 53
Habit, influences of, on di-
ECESEIONI Uteterecclsve-ctolerera siete 91
Modifications of, on di-
POESTION.. So 5.) 5) Sale e are Sisto os 92
Modifications, not equally
GAS Yoas vale ioe cia caters a here 94
Handling domestic animals
Gefinedweren los os sc es needa 30
Hay from’ grasses. other
than: timothy "oie of he 202
BAP eye secre ctor iecancters Rie a creke 207
Leja bree = Cats roto OGIO OS 205
Canadian blue grass ..... 204
Gereals! mired emcee errs 207
Kentucky blue grass...... 204
Meadow fescue ......... 203
WEIGE, Ge ic eeteterate ene s erokoteretene 209
@ats and vetches......- 208
Oats, peas and vetches .. 208
Oats tee eee eee ens 207
Orenardectasse sheacle se of) cits 203
Peas and vetches ...... 207
Peas ands (Oats) sorte siete tts 208
RGUEOD ia a ciete «sisi ete eetets 203
Russian brome ......... 203
Ry Gace si rotoreiers Siete otetef st a6
Small grains Sloctinor ose LAS
Speltzi- = scwiess leid aleleletetajernancuu
Wall oft TASS was cle ccleaner ao
Western rye grass ...... 204
VV ate = tai miersiaterens Biereetel at Lae
Wheat, oats, barley and
TAK qe scusiere Sivicletstelainietaisioiecel a
Wilde praivioccaslsiselsieisisiaist GUD
532
PAGE
Health, conditions of good
Indications and live stock
Indications of prospective
good
Horse bean .....
For cattle
For horses
For sheep
For swine
Horses, draught,
points
Light, scale of points ...
Industry and live stock ....
Inferiority and pre-natal in-
fluences
Influences affecting palata-
bility
Inheritance in selecting ani-
mals
Insects that cause unrest ..
Irregularity in caring for
SEOCK. Yale ccthsisorece tarehael opehove
Jerusalem artichokes
For cattle
For horses
For sheep
For swine
Kafir corn seed
For cattle
For horses
For sheep
For swine
Kale for pasture
Labor and live stock
When excessive in
horse
Litter, sources of
Uses of
Maintaining equilibrium in
fertility
Malt sprouts
Mangels
For cattle
For horses
For sheep
For swine
Marketing promptly whee
ripe
Meat production
Baby beef in
Cost of increase in
Duration of finishing pe-
Fakta Sgdonauooonoaos
Feeding in stalls, sheds
OF Yaras LOLs cme cn noe
S810 je [0 (0 wre 6 (080 eee
sie/e/\s ese) ek=! jee) (a) a @
©» <5 a mee 6 vee
©; jae, © 6 6's) «\s 0 (6) araye
Pe
a (e070) 0018 016) 4 a8
ce 6 eB a piiele ele pele
ey
a.¢ use, «view: 6( 9016 ©
a (eo aa (o! e)eiekeun ea eie
eee ee ee eee
recat heen) eG
a be ule) <6 \0 e(ule cals
eevee eeeeere
34
34
FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
PAGE
Meat production—Continued.
Financial returns from
purchased feeders in .. 400
Finishing on pastures for 396
Food consumed and 6 in-
CredSem aoe eee z 379
Gains when fattening not
worth their cost in)... 382
Growing bacon! soe 406
Increase at different ages
Tih’ os aks Ses ata ete ae ee 371
Increase during finishing
period in Aaekeeeeee 374
Leading up to full feed-
INS IN’ bs. ts eee s Oe 377
Loss of weight in market-
ing: ¢ for’ y5.c acct 392
Marketing when ripe in .. 389
Season for marketing in.. 387
Shipping finished animals
ho etree as oo. 391
Winter lambs in -.oaee 404
Middlings and shorts from
WHEAE ci2-aa0% eee 270
Milk, influence of succulence
upon production of..... 56
Undesirable fiavors in.... 78
Production) <2 a.-see see 409
Age and relative milk giv-
ins capacity ins. seni 435
Breeds’ and. i.s.4<s6 eee 427
Composition of milk in.. 411
Feeding grain to cows on
pasture “in sk wee 440
Hoods sand * icin a. ereteeeaie 413
Formation of milk in .... 409
Mmactkaclon) Sane eve loterereee 429
Large and small cows for 433
Cost; amd! -osis se cicconeetotereee 416
Protection for cows in
SUMMER. LOM 1h erderete 436
Quality: Hints cesses cetorere .- 424
AehMaAhseubi Iaoacie aca sess 418
Shelter for cows in winter
FOR: 5 oss bs sew orl eratet ie tonetone 438
Millet. Seed) 3 .hah eee 262
For calves and growing
Cattle) ....kaia te eee 263
For cattle being fattened 263
For cows in milk ........ 263
Hors NOVSES Gvevcre:otelelelcle: crates 264
Mor “Sheep }ct =s.crera ei nerenetene 263
WMOr {SWiANE | ececeteue a elecslctere eee 264
Miscellaneous considerations
in feeding live stock .. 509
INDEX 533
PAGE PAGE
Miscellaneous—Continued. Pastures—Continued.
Feeding for quick concep- Improved by drainage 322
ELORUM Petaicveds 1 Wein) oe oem oe 520 Leading grasses for 304
Feeding subsequent to SOUrCES' OF <i5./e ee eeeneere 302
MOANA TN ES Ye gees ewstre a, 21 avaRerene 518 Bermuday 165 stssse teense 306
Feeding miscellaneous Crab’ grass) iiaeaeso oe 308
TEP COUIECUS EF ciccen ns ofeeredete au 525 LObNSONS ETASS US ..5 os) ccrere 308
IMMGTASSESis leis ors ois also 4952 OE 295 Kentucky blue grass 304
ory sCatEle) G2i.% sc. 0152 arate 296 © Meadow fescue’.......... 307
HOMMNOLSES! trrsisicslaietae eee 297 Oxrchard= (erases (os. ss cee 307
LISI BID os cise: wet oate ress ferns > 297 Quacky PTrASSe jsc</e cee eek 308
VOM eS WINES ©. omccersytlm so shalevers 297 REACOPi sos we cela sees Seetae 306
Muscular exertion ........ ali (al RUISSiai: sDrome” ei ot ee 305
Nitrogen equilibrium ...... 167 Tall OaG eras). cae cee eer 307
Nitrogenous substances 170 AMO tHy ho seh e'slare fer ete tre ota 305
Non-saccharine fodders..... 217 Western rye grass ..... 305
OT CALELCY te charterseteleneneeters 217 Leading clovers for...... 308
REC OES CSS c.eic.chersiets tera: s: he 218 ALE DIG A Satetete scrapehehsveroe a ate 310
INO SHEED! .eéiscre cree ee ele rly AT SIE NSIS So cporatatanctenater ene 309
PENp Tea SS WALES Clewiercrexc fare. sketcteicl acne > 218 BB UTS: eS ies sie aoe Overton e 311
ErelW ee HAClON ics e «ce «ors erate alreré COMMOM VEG! isc ses eeu 308
Nuts as food for stock .. 526 Ciiblatt{erole MOG An ONO A Amcorc 310
MULE Meats honk lan Oe Gr oka eres, eee 228 Japan “NAb ahienjeca coca dene 311
For calves and growing Mia TAMIGtRy Fits chs Se. -ctetesevexe 309
RELIC) © ie we toh ces Pslini.e) Sisilole (ele Sa 229 SHIA SEALS yw eteetere etelleret oie: 310
HOT DCE "CALELe” Fa) ss c's + » PAE LeeVnanren ris ace oan oS ooy orc 301
Hor cows in milk <2 .0:... PRLS IESE, MORSE: 954 Sica ac. Sol 236
MOT OESCS. “rscccrs cosets oes 231 Gow. Sik see er Se 247
IPOMMSHECD wseie.s cle ous s siepe we0) Meant -mieales <6 cictec.ctets oe 300
Iplor! “sh Alas) Sooo ro ODSOO Wot MPCANUES Le motes oeavatetr di aislersicr ee 345
Oil cake and oil meal 275 NOT CAtELey jes te corer alee 345
Cake, old and new proc- Or a ROESES? 'si anclstelote wiele 346
SiS Sieur etoiees choice ditoccicnG 275 HOE SHEED) een ds cloaretercia siete 346
Caker lor iGAtkle raves. e116 ek 276 Or SWINE! Wor stevetensis che cone 346
Cake’ for” HOLrsess i si-is1- DUS SPCR Becehsters, Seis ete ete ele ionele ere 236
OBIRS ators Kyeleeny ss noc os ogo 277 For calves and growing
@aker LOreSWiINGs cr. co os» as 278 Cattlew Ae Ae iia iio oie atemeions 237
Oil as food for stock ..... 526 Hor beet) cattle) ..... - cue 237
Palatability, importance of 51 Hor Cows) in, milo foe. 237
Pasturing and fertility ... 6 HOrehOrses) A .tersisisterorebateats 239
Pasturing plants of Brassica HOT SHED! os aia ale else oie te = 237
ATLL yout eto terer senses te nededone 311 OD (SWAG) exe ete ofeia ince /siepetate 238
(SEN cakes. apo okad oF OaruoIOr ye 313 Potatoes, Irish ............ 332
Dwarf Essex rape ...... 312 For cattle ..... o elaisaters¥e te 333
LENS OR, ES CN An OR OIORP Ine 313 WOT» DOLSCS)) (eteaieletelelstereteie = 334
Saccharine and mnon-sac- WO GSHCCMi wcisie + abe Vie\elaieleiens 333
CHCA Cte ts fore crsteials, Srecsues) = 313 Hor SWine™ <2 cic. afd hae TOO ee
Sorghums, hazard from .. 314 Potatoes, sweet ....-+-+++-- 334
Pastures from small cereals 315 Nor: Gattle, cae. unc > cir 335
And fertilization ........ 322 OI WOTSCS aces ip etelein ce mistoinre 336
Avoid close grazing in lor SHEED) se sie fue wre - os 335
UIE UTAL tayetetate «te oo ; 320 WOE SWilles vice «erate ln on 336
Care’ OL = des a wevs «is ie e's\ 01.8.6 321 Pregnancy, principles relat-
From winter rye ....---:- 316 ine Viton An ee oe eaaterueys sss 21
318 And exercise siewieterciehy aL ao
Grazing of
534
PAGE
Pregnancy—Continued.
INiital <ideyolsl, Saeco cor Sue ela
And good flesh .......... 126
And impregnation ......- 123
INGits Pnshougb te Bg oo ooo TOO 128
And time of mating 121
Influenced by food and ex-
ercise
Influenced by parents .
avaie/se) oh bier ele tte tora sm see
Preparing foods for feeding 350
Prepotency, guarantees of
desirable ......«---<+- Nt
Definition of desirable .. 38
Preventing soil depletion .. 3
Principal points in cattle
for feeding ....-.---+++: 139
In sheep for feeding ..-.. 151
In swine for feeding 153
Objectionable in cattle
for feeding ...------> 140
Principles that govern feed-
theless “Geib deo Ho gu bIS s B00 ot 163
Governing selecting foods 43
Relating to restfulness . 96
Relating to prolonged use-
FULMESS slp cierete ecleer on 110
Relating to pregnancy 121
That govern selecting ani-
TIMERS) ote oes seein eMeel wimtaon® otcaye 24
That govern development 62
That govern habit in di-
gestion and assimila-
TLOT © choca cetsveretarorenssoes 89
Profits from live stock .... 2
Protein consumption .----- 167
Production influenced by
bulky and concentrated
fOOdS: . cece « S seloesei 55
Deferred and usefulness 110
When sought too early .. 112
Protection from eold and
SEONINS) selene eyelets 81
Differs with different
clasSeS ..---a@eeees Beas it
When excessive «.--:-> > 80
Pumpkins .-----: af Sr aNentereiesase 341
For cattle .....+-ess+«-*> 342
For horseS .-.--+++-**:::> 343
For sheep ..--+-+++ses**> 342
For swine ..--+-+cessss 343
Quality in live stock ....--- 29
In beef cattle .....+++::+* 31
In dairy cattle ..----s++:*: Bult
In ‘HOrS€S= «ewe serene 32
31
In sheep
FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
PAGE
Quality in live stock—Continued.
In swine Fae eo
Relation between farming
and live stock .......-- 3
Relative importance of in-
heritance and type or
FOP 6 ec eer sis Rare ete rch oR 29
Restfulness, principles re-
lating) EO sector igs eee 96
Ripeness in meat-making 79
Methods of determining . 71
Roots, pulping and slicing..
Rotation and live stock.... 5
Rutabagas and turnips 328
VOT CALCUL: | sues apatite 329
Hor WOLPSES — <:.%.< pe sieteteeere 330
Wor SHEED) s ~ « «1 oneeiele tetas 330
Hor “SWiINe) 2 sc. ssecereernl ees 330
Byes. <2 blot sce e oneuel tema 234
For calves and growing
Cattle, ike J.keieaeenereree 234
For beef cattle .......«-- 235
For cows in milk ....... 235
Wor WOFrseS) ..« + « « sc:csrensel=e 237
For sheep .....-.-- ; 235
For swine .....-. oh araranens 236
Salt and its useS........-- 521
Serub steers and produc-
tion) 6 nes Lea eens 39
Sheep, injury from ehasing 107
Principal points in feed-
ine | hese oe re eae 151
Objectionable points for
feedinye, Fjenieel-' > > ae 153
Shorts and middlings ....-.- 270
Silage a varying quantity... 528
Silo, ste ieic ereneatesouans ye youere 350
Skim milk .....%.--+-+-+5 289
And supplementary foods. 292
Sorghum seed, non-sacchar-
ime) cictepe enelous eteqarlekotet nena 256
Seed, sweet ..--++++-ee:> 254
1 apes (2) Sere Ge Ooo SC oy
Fodder for cattle....----- PALES
Fodder for horses .-.----- 216
Fodder for sheep ..------ 216
Fodder for swine ...---- 216
Sorghums, saccharine and
non-saccharine .----::-> Cilia:
Soy Peans) = ese serie 244
For cattle ....---+se::*: 245
For horseS .---+-+ssses:"* 246
For sheep .---- scare eens 245
.~ AGE
Soy beans—Continued.
MOE SWINE | o)S luis s s-avere,s A 245
RIPSULT WEST Mee Sons sore cree med ors 241
For calves and growing
CALULOIM closeted Gre cro) eee oleate 241
Gra CALLIO: Stacrsis fie seacs. nies 245
Hor cows.In omMilk 2... 242
RIOT IOL SES as caves core re eae od 242
OEE SNEED sate she ile sete ee 242
Ber ‘swine °..... 5, Oa Curae 242
RN EAICUS EN rarer Soto oye ser ecakane ciese é 343
OBA ORCELE ie ova faye trs ove-eocene ore 344
Ore NOrSGSi) (os Ascaiscs sis ee 345
HOEISDEED as oo see oes 8 344
TOPS MING © ayo ceo ceve steceuap ea 344
Standards for selecting ani-
ATUL SEI, Aire oy eres eheuatierore ave 26
Steers, scrub production... 39
Dairy and production 39
Straw, influence affecting
VALLI VSO L atetetaiecusionereterere </> 219
Difference in composition 220
HORE SLOCIS 8s», Saisarcieis Giese’ 221
TEs ined Veh le Ate Br poiC e et Pree e 222
Eee Se AE BOO Gon OUo.o 222
SP ieee iies resist ieae 6, tre levaionalie 222
OB e ate slosc tee Sie silevala ale ihe 222
Cay eae cheteraialere/ea, o dapesomaen 222
REV me env av nt ceed da ho facctene, cheeate toys 221
She) ae a ngs Gam aee Bone ofr 221
Atif] CVS} 1] Sateen pe aero. ec Ren aC 222
Succulence and milk pro- :
MUCHO. & ais Sa hoferae eae ue 55
And reproduction ........ 56
Succulent foods, list of.... 57
Sugar as food for stock 526
IBEGES DUD a, sic-cisars sistas 287
Beet pulp for cattle...... 288
Beet pulp for horses ..... 289
Beet pulp for sheep ...... 288
Beet pulp for swine ...... 288
HS GCESE Oe ep por ee eels ace tole 327
Beets LOTkGacttle cs eac = ole 327
Beets for horses ........ 328
Beets for Sheep ....0..06. 25. 328
Beets for Swine. ..... =. 328
Sundry -meals) 252. <eisinur cic 300
Sunflower cake and meal.. 300
SEGUG a ads Su cies So steel cyaie oneiehe 253
Swine, principal points in
POCO Gey a cie ios w onelku wiahee = 153
Points objectionable for
PECAN Ce erste aie cies aye = hele 154
Table of feeding stuffs dis-
CUASCE Ss jth aie stele testo eres 173
535
PAGE
Tables of feeding stuffs
only general guides .. 174
Table I, giving nutrients
and digestible foods 174
Table II, giving dry matter,
digestible food ingre-
dients, and fuel value in
FOOESs Fics cui it Se ee 178
Table III, giving feeding
Standards)+ 2c. eos eee 184
MaDe as re acetone aia chee cite 297
TNO EN | NY? 2 siols cote steieiciee 200
HOR COEEIG . aise ¢ «ions 201
Mor: ROPSESH ccc de see 202
Hor, sheep. i). 3...a0 sets oe 291
IROL? SWines oe cocsomee eres 201
Tops of roots and tubers .. 347
OLN CATTOES Heo, tate eines 348
Of mManeels Seva cew i seee a ae 347
Of peanuts and artichokes 349
Of sweet potatoes ........ 348
Ofisugar’ beets *ix «a. soe 348
Of -turnipsins soe aoe 348
Transportation of live stock. 8
Transmission and breeding
inks obi nt FP Sa Gia reruns 41
Bate ine milke cfs". sree eee 41
Influence of on digestion. 38
IVEUSSTOCIM sercrasucencieteretehers 37
Quaitiy era eee aeterdioreneetene 40
Wool production <~.2%...2: 41
Tuberculosis at Rockland,
Ontario’ 2 oes eee 35
Type or form in selecting
animalss he Ose scoters 27
A basis of classification... 135
And form contrasted..... 27
And form, discussed...... 133
And scale of points 135
And «Score Garas. 27. cpe se 135
And standards of excel-
NEN COWS asain eee ears 135
Extent to which sought 134
Inte dairny-: Gabtlen.,. eer 142
In domestic animals..... 133
ine draurht norses> 22 .a6% 156
In dual purpose cattle 148
In general purpose horses 161
in HeSRte WOPSes: ii. mineereiaiate 159
In relation to horses 155
In relation to cattle 137
In relation to cattle for
POCCOIN DO a akon eters elles is 138
In sheep for feeding 151
In swine for feeding.... 153
536
PAGE
Type—Continued.
Modified by condition....
Only general in showing
136
TSE nate, ee oe ata 134
Valuable as indication of
WET Ey“. aloncha coke Os ete rite 134
Unrest and improper feed-
PINE oreo eine ee iets ee 98
And undue exposure ..... 97
And insect pests ......... 102
ANG? Irresilaritys soc ctects ere 101
ANG LADO sate erehs elavenste ae 104
And methods of prevent-
ing sexual desire ..... 108
And yicious animals...... 106
From lack of litter ...... 100
From sexual desire ..... 107
Usefulness, age limit, not
fixable iscsi aos 119
And’ “EXEreise. cic ne.iemete 116
And moderate feeding 115
Deferred and production. 110
Extent of prolonged 118
Period) of “highesterc.. ae 85
Principles \OLe eee eee 110
FEEDING FARM ANIMALS
PAGE
Usefulness—Continued.
Prolonged benefits from. 110
Variations in weights...... 514
Veteh \haly) ss. ctckosenels cteciee oT
W@tches® olyacdsstane sc gsmeeee 248
Por: cattle ~ cteneniciemeee 198
For horses and mules.... 200
For oshéepi, “.s<, coce sens 198
Bor (Swine. © icimiseciess ees 198
Weed seeds as food for
Stok “on 22h. Grotcicreke ercueione 525
Weigh scale an educator... 509
Wheat a. sce 2 tone eee 225
Contrasted with corn..... 228
Hor Calves’... ics thkiavs sae 226
Kor beet “eattle” .a2a225ee 226
Hor cows In milk }2--.- 226
Hor. horses! “ycttac- 2 le ewretae PVH |
For sheep sievetancheuenencienene 227
MOT “SWinNGows «c.chetecctere etelote 227
Frosted . a sfabes yal cat seerees ry Gl
Sereenines’ (Uencistlcee eters 272
WHE Is ae faleusiercke an eeeleiet erates - 295
Winter rye for pasture .... 316
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Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
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Understanding 9/11