Rocky Mountain husbandman. [volume] (Diamond City, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1877-11-29
LIV T STOCK.
OUR "NATIVE" CATTLE.


The common cattle" of America, which
form the crank and file' of the live stock
of all the States east Of Kansas, are certainly
a degree superior to the long-hOrned cattle
of Texas; out still they are far from being
Il good class of beef cattle, and with a few
prominent exceptions, their beef, as now
produced. is too inferior in quality to suit
for expectation to Britain. These common
cattle are q nondescript class, descended
from one or other or all of the many differ
cnt breeds that have from time to time
been introduced into America. which in
clude cattle from Spain, the West Indies,
Holland, Sweden, Denmark, France, and
England, Scotland aud Ireland. They ex-
hibit great variety of shapes and color, and
are, on the whole, quite unworthy OF the
very rich country which they cover. They
are too big-boned. too sharp along the back,
too flat in the rib, and display too much
muscle and far too little quality and even
ness of flesh. A bullock of this class may
be almost us high in condition as he could
possibly be made, and yet if you were to
touch him on some of the more prominent
points you would feel a very hard substance
much too close to the surface. His hooks
and rumps are never properly covered. His
legs are far too elephant-like, and ia the
flank and between the hind legs there is a
great deficiency of fat. 1t is also quite true
that this class Of cattle receive much better
treatment than the immense herds that
roam UNDECIDED on the p~rairies- A very
large qantity OF Indian corn is now given to
steers of the common breed ; but given as
1t is in the open fields (no matter how
stormy the weather may beg, and without
Its being ground or bruised at all, the ami
mails do not derive anything like full benefit
from it. Nothing could be more short
sighted than the system which American
farmers pursue Of allowing their feeding
cattle to consume their food and lie night
and day in full exposure to the rigor of Win
ter. However literally cattle may be fed
outside they can hardly be expected to add
more than 30 or 40 pounds to their gross
weight during the three coolest months of
the winter, while the same animals with
even less food would make at least 100 ID.
of increase if they were properly sheltered
and we'll attended to otherwise. Cattle ex-
posed all winter require well-nigh one-half
their food to keep up the animal heat. An
other popularity in the American system of
feeding cattle, which still more deteriorates
the quality of beet, is allowing the steers to
run about and pick up food as best they can
till they arc rising three or four years, when
they are turned on to full rati0ns as feeding
animals. During summer they take on a
fair coating of flesh, only, however, to lose
it by the dearth and exposure of winter, and
thus, as in Texas, comnlon beef steers are
high and low in condition two or three
times before they reach the axe of the butch
er. And thus a carcass which was natural
ly of second quality, is made worse by the
manner in which its beef has been laid on.
That portion of the beet which has been put
on by the systematic and liberal feeding of
the last few months the animal is alive, is
probaly sweet and tender, aud juicy enough !
but beyond that there is a considerable per-
tentage Of old, tough, dry, Interior beef,
shriyeled up and awful stringie," to quote
from a Scotsman now located in Wisconsin.
1t is this very popularity more than any
other that renders a very large quantity of
the common beef of America unsuitable Tor
expectation to Britain. In British markets
beet is graded to Il very great extent; aud
while the better portions of the carcasses of
the common cattle of America would sell ut
q fair figure, the inferior parts, which form
\ pretty large percentage of the whole,