Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1861-12-27

the snow, will be fed through the winter,
and in the spring the calf is really worth
less than the same animal would have
been ten months before in good condition,
so that all he has consumed has been to
the owner dead loss. He is now in this
condition at one year old, worth absolute
ly nothing, because man could make
eight hundred pounds of beef much soon
er and much cheaper by beginning with
a good calf one week old than with a
yearling of this description.
The little "runty" steer is now turned
upon sthort pasture with horses, hogs,
sheep, and geese, and lives until fat, but
is found at eighteen months TO be of less
weight than a six months old calf of good
stock that has been kept well. Perhaps
it may sell for six or eight dollars, but it
would be exceedingly dear at that.
1t may be said that but comparatively
few farmers starve their cattle to this ex-
tent. admit it; but what proportion of
the farmers of Ohio provide plenty Of
good pasture through the summer? !
venture TO say much less than one half /;
and yet it is perfectly certain that without
an abundance of coed pasture neither
cattle breeding nor sheep breeding can
ever be profitable, Is it not the common
practice for many farmers to keep their
calves and young cattle upon such short
allowance, summer and winter, that they
are never seen in good fesh-that we
often see steers raised by what are called
good farmers. weighing at 3 l. 2 years
old not more than 1000 or 100 pounds ]?
Such steers this year would not sell for
over $500 to S2,25 per hundred while
steer of good stock, we'll kept, at The
same age, would weigh 1000 to 100 lbs.
and sell for $3.50 per hundred pounds -
say 500 to $50 against So to $25 for
the badly kept scrub.
Now it is obvious that it would be pol
icy to raise one good steer rather than
two poor ones, even il the cost of breed
ing the good one should be equal to that
OF breeding the two poor ones. But
this is not so the food consumed will
not cost any thing like as much 1t is
much less trouble to handle one animal
than two; and the manure from a well
kept animal is worth twice as much As
that made by an animal poorly kept 1t
will be observed anywhere that the man
who keeps bis stock in good condition has
farm that is constantly increasing in
fertility while the man whose stock is
thin and "runty,' has farm that is con-
stantly running down.
70 sum up, then, our maxim should be
to breed good stock and keep it well, or
breed none at all. BY raising good stock
and keeping it always in a thrifty, grow
ing condition, and making such as Is as
signed for the butcher "fat ripe" we shall
always be sure of fair profit we shall
have, too, a fair reputation, the reputation
of being sensible and kind hearted men,
selecting and breeding With refined taste,
superior and attractive animals, and look
ing well to. the comfort of the dumb
brutes entrusted to our care.
But the man who breeds and starves
his "scrubs," not only loses money him
self, but his practice has tendency to
keep down prices in his neighborhood,
and is, Therefore, injurious to his neighbor
who breeds good stock. Stock dealers
who are in the habit of handling light,
rough cattle, are not apt to be posted as
TO the real nature of animals of fine quail
ity that are large and fat. 1t is therefore
generally true that the price of good cat
tie is generally highest in those counties
where good cattle are most numerous.
Fine quality and ripe condition are with
US valued much higher than they were
some years ago, but not yet so high as
they ought to be. To illustrate this if
a coarse three years old steer whose live
weight is 1000 pounds will produce 400
pounds of flesh, a steer of the same age,
fully ripe and of fine quality, would have
over 800 pounds of flesh, though his live
weight were but 1900. That is to say,
the offal and bones of the fine large steer
would weigh little if any more than that
Of the light, inferior one. When we es-
Innate in addition to this the superior
quality of The flesh of the fine steer, that
It is all tender and consumable, we shall
have some idea of the vast difference in
he value OF the two oanimals.-BUCKEYE,
Field Notes.
sS You need not tell all the truth,
1nless to those who have right to
know it all. But let all you do tell be