The Red Cloud chief., 1875-12-23
Live Stock for Profit.

One Of the most intere sting questions
to the farmer. just now, is how he may
make the most out of his stock. The
common native stock of the country is
not sufficiently profitable. 1t produces
too little beef, butter, wool, mutton,
pork, and lard. and it takes too long to
produce what it does, 10 be profitable in
this rapidly moving age. Farmers must
float With the stream of Improvement, or
they will find themselves cast high and
dry upon the banks. Feed is the farmers
law material and his stock the machinery
from which he manufactures his wares.
No matter how skillful!y he feeds, il his
machines are imperfect or slow in &C
ton, bis wares must necessarily cost too
much. To improve his machinery, that
is, the stock which he feeds, is as need
full as 10 study how TO feed. All the in
designations aud experiments he, and
others for him, can make 60 for nothing,
il the animals he feeds cannot di est
and aseimilste the food in sufficient
quantity to turn it into sslsble material
fast enough. In order that this may be
done more rapidly. breeders have, for
years, been improving their stock. Cat
tie, sheep, and pigs of improved breeds,
come to maturity and reach double their
weight at half the age of the unimprOved
breeds. Unfortunately We are bewil-
dered when we hear and read OF the
marvellous prices at which some Of these
animals are sold. Clearly they are u
of the farmers reach. But it would lie
wrong to suppose that he is therefore
declared from improving his stock by
the use of improved animals. The past
month wei 1000 head of Short Horn
cattle have been sold at various public
sales. Many of these have been of the
fancy sort, valued at very high prices for
their pedigrees. No complaint can be
made if a wealthy man choose to give
$4,000 for one of these animals, any
more than if he gave the same amount
for a diamond. He Injuries nc one, and
does, at least some good with his surplus
money. But. fortunately, he has no
monopoly of the really good cattle. A
good Judge of stock would be equally
we'll, or better satisfied with an animal
that at the same sale brings but
5000 or $500, simply because its family
is not so fashionable, or it has not $50
sweet a head" Hundreds of valuable
bulls are sold every year at prices that
any prosperous farmer a afford to
give, and which viii bring him a hand
some profit. The prize milk COW at the
New York State FAIR, this year, was q
grade Short Horn, sired by a bull that
was not valued at more than $50, if so
much. The latest steer was of the same
kind. There were two-year-Old sheep
weighing $50 pounds, and yearling pigs
that weighed ove 800 pounds, and the
sires of these animate could have been
purchased tor $50 each. To use such
animals as these would in a short time
double the value of our farm stock. Let
no one then lie deferred from investi-
eating this matter of improved stock,
because some rich men choose to make q
fancy of a certain class of it, and give
what some may think ridiculous prices
for it. We gave g, "a ridiculous price
it was thought,O for our first pound OF
early rose potatoes, and the second year
we gave away more than IS worth to
friends, and sold $1a5 worth at 81 a
bushel from the produce of that pound.
Improved stock ought to be a better
thing to hsve thsn an improved potato,
and it is, provided it is used with judg-
ment aud we'll cared for.-1merican Ag-
ri~enltrrisf.