The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1870-06-10
The Mammoth Oxen-How to Feed.

The following extract from the re-
port Of q committee of the American
Institute Farmers Club, appointed to
visit the great steers, fattened by Geo.
Ayrault, of Duches county, N. Y, is
not only interesting to the general
reader, but possesses especial value to
the farmer and stock raiser, as giving
the mode i'm which these mammoth
oxen were fed, and also the correct
principles on which feeding should
be conducted. The committee says:
The beasts are of wonderful size,
the biggest OF them standing nearly
six feet from the ground. They are
as fat as they arc big-bOnea, and
weigh, as we are informed, from 1900
to little less than 1900, nearly two
tons. We expect to receive from Mr..
Labor precise returns as to their
weight on hoof, and the quantity of
dressed meat and tallow from each
animal In blood these beeves are
seventh-eighth short-horns, the other
eighth is of o large-boned native AMI
NAL. They are not pedigree cattle,
but have been bred for .fattcning quail
tiles. The sire of their mother was q
Kentucky bull, and the mother was
from 6 good herd in Western New
York. They were fed in the usual
way till three years of oge-that is
they had good summer range, and
sweet hay in winter, with little
grain, especially oat provender or
wheat shorts, on which their growth
were uninterrupted, but not very ra-
pid. At the age of four the fattening
began. They were given a peck Of
dry meal each day at two feeds. The
meal was mostly Indian, with some
rye shorts or oat provender to give it
iightness, and to furnish more gluten
and more bone phosphate than could
| be expected from the Indian meal
alone. They were also fed about the
same quantity of roots as they receiv-
ed of grain, nearly peck at feed
twice day. They had at all times as
much early cut, sweet, upland hay as
they could cat. In summer they had
two ranges for pasturage. one new
seeded and the other old bottom
They ranged over each lot every day,
and thus had ever val iety of grasses.
Moreover, they were fed with hay in
| the summer. 1t was found that, no
matter how good their pasture, they
never lost their appetite for lock Of
good, sweet hay, not even in July
As the object in fattcning an animal
is to induce him to cat and to assimi-
late the greatest quantity of flesh
making food, variety should be be
carefully studied. When he seems to
have enough of the best of hay. he
will cat roots with zest; and full as
an animal may appear to be of nutri-
tious grasses, he will eat good hay
with an avidity somewhat surprising.
| When these steers were four years old
and past, they weighed from 1900 to
200. The year following they gain
about 500 all around. And their
weight was from $500 10 300 and
over. The year following, the last
year of their lives, though great pains
were taken, they did not gain as fast
Tho average being about $40 pounds
| each. He is o good feeder who can
| i'm twelve months get his herd TO take
on 400 pounds all around; but Ay-
rault has had beasts to take on 500
and 600 pounds. So far as profit is
is concerned he has gained nothing
from the last year OF their lives, ex-
cept in the fancy prices which ami
mails like this command, simply on
account of their magnitude. He
| thinks five years is the age when a
fattenipg animal is likely to yield the
most for the care and food which he
has REQUIRED. He is doubtful wheth-
er It paws, as a general practice, to
feed cattle to such immense sizc.-
Great care and watchfulness are re-
quired 10 keep the appetite free, o
constant wise variety of food must be
| given, and it is only an accident that
the cattle can be found SO wonderful
ly disposed to take on flesh. Your
| committee cannot but express a con-
viction that Mr.. Ayrault deserves the
thanks of farmers for having shown,
10 a degree never before reached in
this country, the results that may be
had by wise choice of animals to
fatten. and by constant care and skill
in feeding. He has proved also the
wonderful and exact adaptation of
the short-horncd stock for bccf-mak-
ing.
To REJUvINATE AN OLD GRAPE
VINE.-Thc editor of the Practical
Farmer says: Having OH our prem
Uses, planted by former owners, pro-
badly twenty-five years ago, half doz-
EN- old grape vines with large wealth
er-beaten trunks or stems, which
made annually but littlo new wood
and yielded but very poor grapes
| frro rnano,,e arro M a emf off the lI0nl ID :