The Bozeman weekly chronicle. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1883-1889, 1884-02-06
PABULCM FOR FARMERS.


feel the stringency of the times anything
like the man who is carryinga few thous-
and of debt on which he has to pay in
terest. Msking living Oh farm that
is paid for is quite different thing from
making living and interest on the in
vestment. 1t is true that any buriness is
a poor one that will not pay interest, but
if farmers charged themselves up with
wages and interest, there is not one in
twenty anywhere that could make a
reasonable showing.
By careful analysis of the Treasury
reports, it is found that the hog furnishes
more export material than all the fat
cattle, all the dairy products, all the
horses, all the mules, all the sheep, and
all the poultry and nnnltry products put
together. While the exported hog pro-
ducts for the year 1879 and 1880 amount
ed to the great sum of s1s6OOO, ,726, all
the products of other domestic animals
and the live animals themselves, amonnt-
ed to only $lO5, sc, 1892, making about
SIS, 100000 in favor of the hog, as against
all and every other domestic animal and
products from the same that found an
export market.
In France, where poultry breeding,
feeding and fattening has been reduced
to science, they feed very little whole
grain. A very popular feed is one-half
of bran and one-half of buckwheat, barley
or oatmeal made into stiff paste, and
fed to old and young alike twice day.
They claim that this feed is less expen-
sive and promotes laying. Whole grain,
however, will produce fat, when fed
abundantly, but it also produces
disease, by impairing digestion. Buck
wheat is regarded as the great egg-laying
stimulant. A system Of "liquid cram
ming" is practiced by many who follow
fattening fowls as trade. Barley and
milk mixed is crammed into the fowls
by means OF funnel. 1t is said that one
person can cram sixty fowls per hour,
and the fattening process only lasts two
or three weeks. At three markets named
upwards of six million head of fat poultry
are sold annually, all fattened by this
process.
Herd owners in all parts of the range
are watching the signs of the times for
anything bearing on the question Of the
future beef market. The above referred
to "signs of the times" all indicate good
prices for this years crop. The demand
for beef is steadily increasing, and that
increase is greater than the increase of
production. The crop for this year Is
comparatively light, for the reason that
a very large number of two-year-old steers
were sent to market the past fall. This
is true of all parts of Texas and many
portions of the northwest. Again, the
native beef in the corn-growing states is
being put on the market now, instead of
being held and fed during the winter.
This is because, in the first place, prices
are attractive, and in the second place,
the corn in many sections is soft, and
while it will sustain life, it puts OH no
tallow. Accordingly the supply of native
beef steers of heavy weight will be small
in the spring, and at an early day the
demand will have to be largely supplied
from range cattle. 1t is not necessary to
60 into the details of the reasons why so
many young steers were sent to the
shambles last year; the fact is undisput-
ed, and the results are sure to effect this
years market Stockmen can confident
IL look for fair rrices the cominu season