The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1877-08-23
Improving Livestock.

The present season offers opportuni
ties fer those farmers who nave uot
made beginning in tie improvement
Of their stock to do so, such has not
occurred heretofore, and may not oc
cur again for some time. We have
csas!autly tried to impress upon the
minds Of cur ag.Iyu!tata, .gie..ds gem
orally, the pecuniary advantage that
occurs from raising good stock. Ne
have shown that II costs to niuch to
raise and fasten inferior anlm,;is /; it
takes them too long tc mstore, snd
when they are iualiJ turned oif, the
margin oi profit IS very small as a
suIa. aud otten the balance is On the
wrong side of the ledger The diff
Guilty aith many has been that they
.e.f unaba to incur tie expenses ct
ba,ing znilaals with whion 10 make
a beginning. Pisss, in the case Of
cattle the prices of which improved
animals nave been held hitherto have
placed them beyond tbs reach of very
many farmers and in the next place
had the p.ices asked been more mod
crate. tie profits from farming among
nen Of small means would hardly admit
cf purchasing. But now tortuisors
conjunction Of circumstances places the
u.attlr in q very different shape. 1t
Is no ,onger difficult 70 obtain good
pure biooavd stock at figures within
the reach OF f,rmers generally. The
t,aryests already gathered have been
abuut4nt, and those 10 follow promise
also to be very fruitful. while the pros
pect Tor good prices were never moro
ti,tteriug tl,an at present.
Nyw IS the time 10 turn these favor
able circumstances to account. The
foundation ot good class Of cattle
may be laid By large number OF
farmers whose lands are adapted to
grazing, bat who thus far Eaye not
begun to improve their stock Fash
ioGable pei,2rcea and unitnportant
characteristics are net essential for
whiio these may serve useful pur
pose in many eases, the Individual
merit Of an aniuaI as determined BY
its useful qualities, is Of far more in
/ portance to the farmer.
We have repeatedly called attention
70 the fact that the foreign demand
for Auericaa beef requires the best
| class OF stock that we can produce to
compete With the English and Scotch
| in their own markets Besides, the
demands Of our people are becoming
more exac,iug. The relative cost of
producing beef from, improved and
, common cattle is so much i'll favor of
the former that it is simple great
sacrifice of food and time to feed and
ripen the latter for market The
foreign demand will doutless increase.
and the home demand for good beef
become still moro ezacting as time
passes, aud it behoves those who raise
| cattle 10 sci for beef to make a note
OF these things We have shown
heretofore how easy it is to improve
native cattle by co cooperaiion among
farmers in neighborhood; but a
good bull of an improved breed can
now be had from SlO0 to 5000, and
the price Of farm products this year
viii place large number Of farmers
in condition to buy such animals
without any division OF ownership.
4 score Of calves of the produce of "a
single animal in single year viii pay
for him.
/ What is true Of cattle at TIL. junct.
ure is also traa OF ether classes OF
stoc'S Itis a very favorable time to
/ begin in all departments Of stock hns
! haaQry that are adapted to farmer's
wants. if start has not been made
| Indeed there can be little excuse for
tolerating poor stock on farm, and il
very probable that far greater i'm
proveinent in this direction will be
made tne present season than has
been previously know at any time in
the history Of this country Il West
crn Rural.