Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-11-22

food available at a reasonable cost
| to feed to beef cattle of all ages dur
| ing the winter months. If we COM
| blne this corn with the various 9TH
| er concentrates mentioned a very
| cheap and efficient grain ration is
| OBTAINED. The amount of silage we
can secure and the cheapness with
which we can preserve it makes it
possible for us to provide a winter
roughage ration which costs us as
little as that essential to the main
tenance of beef cattle in any Sec
ton of the country.
Corn Versus Velvet Beans AS Food
for Cattle
G. w. W., McRae, Ca, writes:
I wish to know the relative feed
ing value Of velvet beans and
corn in the shuek, I can buy
corn in the shuck for fifty cents
per busheI.
Velvet beans may be fed with sue
cess to beef cattle. In most of the
experiments made to date they have
been fed in the pod. In order to
make their mastication more com.
plete and easy, it is good practice
TO soak them so as to soften them
before they are fed.
We believe that velvet beans and
corn might be fed with advantage
to beef cattle on the basis of fifty
parts each. Certainly this would be
good practice during the first part
OF the feeding period. During the
last part of the period possibly it
would be better to feed two-thirds
corn and one-third velvet beans. This
would result in finishing off a finer
quality of beef no doubt, and induce
more complete and rapid fattening
OF the animals.
In tests made in Florida. where
velvet beans and corn were fed in
association with cottonseed meal,
larger gains were obtained where
corn and cottonseed meal, or cotton
seed meal alone, was used. This
indicates that the velvet bean is a
very valuable adjunct to use in the
dietary OF beef cattle. In many
places in south Georgia cattle are
grazed on velvet beans during the
winter. They can be fattened in a
period of 80 to 100 days.
The velvet beans as a rule are
grown in association with corn. The
corn is generally snapped off and
the fodder and the beans then make
up the primary part of the ration
which the cattle maintained on the
land secure as food. .
I do not believe that cattle can
he satisfactorily finished out as
No. Us in the manner Indicated,
but they certainly can be carried
through the winter successfully and
fattened sufficiently to send to the
butcher. This would be very cheap
way of maintaining animals of this
class.
Feeding Cottonseed Meal to Dairy
Cows
]. w. R., Atlanta, Ga, writes:
Is cottonseed meal a good feed
for dairy cows, and how much
should be fed a day?
Cottonseed meal may be fed to
dairy cows with great deal Of sat-
isfaction. This class of animals re-
quire IA ration rich in protein, the
element which builds up flesh and
is largely considered in the produc-
ton of milk. Dairy cattle probably
need more of this element than any
other class of live stock. Cottonseed
meal is very rich in digesttible pro-
tein, a high-grade of it containing
between four and five time as much
OF this element as corn meal, and
about three times as much as wheat
bran. 1t is such a concentrated food
that 1t should, therefore, be fed in
association with other food stuffs
in order to secure the best results
and the most economical returns
from it's use We have fed it for
many years to dairy cattle both
alone and in combination with other
materials. It is our firm convic-
ton that the very best results fol-
low it's use in ration made up. say
Of one-third corn meal. one-third
wheat bran and one-third cottonseed
meal. 1t can, of course, be used
with equal parts Of bran, and it can
be fed with equal parts of corn. We
have fed it alone for considerable
periods of time, but do not recon-
mend this as the most desirable prac-
tice. Velvet bean meal may be made
to replace the wheat bran with con-
siderable success, This is a local
product, and therefore helps the mar
keting of one of Georgia's surplus
crops in a desirable manner. About
a pound and a half of grain should
befed per 100 pounds of live weight.
There are times, when the milk flow
is low, when the ration should be
materially reduced. and there may
be occasions when it should be in
creased above the figures indicated.
We judge of the amount of grain
to feed our dairy cattle by their
performance at the pail.
All rations of the character indi-
Gated should be combined with a
succulent form Of food such as good
silage constitutes. In sections where
winter grazing can be provided
through the use of winter cereals,
the silage is not so important. In
any event there should be plenty Of
roughage for dairy cattle. 1t should
be of a reasonably nutritious nature,
and fed in such a form as 70 make