Dodge City times., 1883-04-26
Stock Raising.

We are glad that we have twice re-
ferred to the unprofitableness of the
general winter feeding of cattle, for it
has set farmers to thinking and will do
good. If it is a fact that the majority
of our cattle actually lose in winter
and there is no chance to harbor
doubt of 1.-THE reason is to be found in
the lack of judicial care. The food and
fodder we give our cattle are good.
They contain the elements to insure
profit, if they are rightly fed and the
animal properly cared for. But is it
not fact that many of us simply aim
to get our cattle through the winter
alive and nothing more? Where the
pastures fail in the fall, do we not vir-
tually say: Now we must keep life in
the animal somehow until pasture comes
again. 1t would seem SO. There are
numbers of men who never think OF
buying any feed to keep their cattle
up. But the farmer who does not rea-
lize the absolute necessity of bringing
his cattle out in the spring in good con-
dition. even if he has to buy feed to do
it, had better sell his cattle when win
ter begins. A poor, weakened animal
in spring will have hard work to ''catch
up during the summer, and that fact
ought to be fully understood by every
cattle breeder But it is useless to expect
the best results from even the highest
feeding, if there is no care in other
respects. Good care is one-half the
battle. 1t is because it is saving of
feed. and consequently a saving OF
money, that has been one reason for our
frequent urging of the necessity of
securing help that will treat cattle
and in fact all lstock-kindly. Arough.
careless man about the cow-yard will
cost more than his head is worth, either
in winter or summer. Feed must be
furnished to supply what his roughness
and carelessness in the care of the stock
wastes. and it will not make good the
waste either. Every cruel blow that is
given an animal means loss to the owner;
all the boisterous language that is used
to confuse and excite cattle or other
stock must be paid for, and the owner
pays it. Especially is this true of mich
cows. Whenever man is harsh with
acow. and whenever man is en-
ployed who is never in hurry, eX-
cept when he is driving the cows, he is
taking money right out of the pocket of
the man that employs him; and when
ever the owner of the COWS is guilty of
such things, he is taking money
out of his own pocket and
throwing it away. The first thing
that stock owner needs to insure is
good treatment of his stock, and then
he should see to it that judicious
system of feeding supplies what may be
necessary to keep his stock in condi-
ton at any time of year. Thus winter
feeding will prove profitable.
1t is useless to expect good results
from stOck-raising unless we can keep it
in good condition from the start to the
end. Young stock is frequently ruin
ously neglected in this respect. From
one cause or another the mother has not
always sufficient supply of milk for her
Young. In such case the utmost care
must be taken to supply it from other
sources. The young animal that is half
starved will never make the animal that
it would if kept growing from its birth,
even if it should live at all 1t is often
expensive to raise young animal by
artificial feeding, but that has nothing
to do with the question of raising it
right If the expense is too much, don t
raise ii. When the milk of the ermother
is insufficient for the young-and that
is quite frequently the trouble with
young ewes-it will be found best and
much the cheaper to feed the mother
: liberally on such things as roots, ground
oats. etc, which will produce milk
Western Rur0l