Lamoille newsdealer. [volume] (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1860-1877, 1865-12-20
HOW MUCH SHOULD CATTLE GAIN?

young cattle. from D 10 years oId, Wouiu
probably gain during 8 months of winter,
if fed on good hay and from to quarts
of meal per day.
We do not propose to attempt giving q
definite answer to this question, but would
prefer to give the replies of several practi-
cal feeders, and hope some of that class
will favor US with their experience on the
subject. And We will venture to assert
that if fifty feeders should give US the &C.
tual results of fattening cattle, in definite
figures verified by weigh at proper times,
no two statements would coincide. So much
will the circumstances under which cattle
are fed affect the result
No other branch of farming requires a
more thorough knowledge more skill and
judgment to be used, to attain the highest
success, than does the fattening of stock
Ifyou put dozen steers into the stable on
the first day of winter, of nearly equal
weight and condition, and feed them just
alike for months it will be found on
weighing them that some have gained
much more than others-some have con-
verified more of the food into fat, others
more into manure This teaches the OBJ
servant feeder that high success will de-
pend very much on judicous selection of
stock-he must get those that will convert
a bushel of grain into the most meat.
Again it is important for him to ascertain
how much food each animal will consume
with profit. Some feeders consider they
arc doing best when they give a steer all
the food its appetite demands. Bot ex-
periments have shown that while an ami
NAL may consume certain quantity-say
4 quarts of meal per day-with profit if
the allowance be doubled, he will not in
crease in weight in proportion to the feed.
In other words the animal system is able
TO manufacture certain quantity of flesh
or fat, if supplied with the requisite food ;
but if an overdose be given it will be re-
jected and passed off with the excrcments.
The amount of weight gained in certain
period does not depend so much on The
quantity of food eaten, as it does on the
capability of the animal to convert that
food into meat under the favorable cir
cumstances with which the feeder should
surround it.
No feeder ought to be satisfied either
with his stock or his management of them,
if when he does his best his stall-fed cat.
tie will not gain, on an average, two lbs.
per day. On grass it is not difficult to
get this, and it ought not to be in the
stable. But otherwise good feeders often
fail in practice on two important points ::
first, they let their stock run down in the
month of November between the period
when the grass becomes frosted and sour,
and the time of stabling-and second,
they neglect feeding roots
1t is common remark among cattle
men that steer will not weigh as much
at Christmas, after he has had two weeks
feeding of hay and grain, as he did on
the first day of Nov. The popular reason
for this is, because he is changed from
ajuicy to dry food. The true reason is
want of sufficient nourishment. He has
begun to starve. No steer would thus fall
away if given meal through November, to-
gether with roots enough to supply the
lack in the frost-hitten and sour grass
AS an example of good feeding, and it,
results we cannot do better than to quot,
the statement of e V. Sacket, Senaca Falls
Thirteen head of cattle were on the frs
of Sept. put into pastures with good feec
and running water. During the month o
October they were fed pumpkins which die
not result to their benefit, az the owne
thought, on account of the effect of tn,
seeds. During Nov. they were fed on thu
grass, one bushel each of roots per day
Dec. Sd, they were put into the stables
fed what hay they would cat, and lively
quarts of corn meal ground with the col
half in the morning and half at night
The first day of September the thrice,
bead averaged sixteen hundred and forr,
pounds each; the sixth day Of February
--wheh driven away they averaged nine
teen hundred and seventy pounds each
thus each of them having ga;ned d,r;n