Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1885-01-22
LOCAL MARKETS.
How Farmers May Enhance Their Inte
ests In This Line.

ests In This Line.
Farmers and stock-raisers often conn
plain of the want of a local market for
the articles they produce. To some
extent the fault is their own that they
send their produce to distant market
to be disposed of. They do not look
about and see what kind of articles can
be sold near home. Many butchers
located in country villages send to
large cities to get their supplies of
meat. The proprietors of large
slaughtering houses and packing es-
adjustments in the city have orders for
meat from towns located in the best
farming and stock-raising districts In
the West. It has several times been
reported that cut meats have been sent
from Chicago to Lincoln, Neb. Many
of the hogs slaughtered in this city find
Their way back to the stations from
which they were sent. The farmers
dispose of their hogs early in the win
ter, and nearly all of them are shipped
direct to the Union stock-yards in this
city. There they are slaughtered and
cured. In the course of few months
there is a scarcity of picked pork,
hams, bacon, and lard in the dis
trict from which the hogs come,
and these products are returned
to help feed the people. This sort of
tradeis one of course beneficial to city
one of whose chief industries is the
slaughtering and packing hogs. 1t is
also very profitable to railroads. The
trade, however, is not beneficial to the
districts in which the hogs are raised.
If the hogs were slaughtered at home
and their meat properly cured and
packed then employment would be fur
nished many laborers at a time when
they have little to do. The cost of
transportation would also be saved, and
this amounts to very large sum. It
is probably true that many local butch
ers have not sufficient capital to enable
them to pack the pork they can dispose
of during the entire year and to carry
it till such time as they can sell it at an
advance. 1t would appear, however.
obtain money from local bankers in the
same manner that city packers do.
Farmers would do well to make ar.
rangements with local butchers for sup
plying them with the animals they will
require in their trade during the year.
A local butcher can tell with reason
able degree of certainty how many fat
bullocks, hogs, sheep, calves and lambs
he can dispose of during every month
of the year. He can inform the farmers
who are to keep him supplied with fat
animals when he will want them. By
being informed some time in advance
when they will be wanted they can be
put in the proper condition. A
farmer who has considerable milk
and has a supply of corn can con-
veniently turn off one or two fat hogs
every week during the year. A farmer
having a considerable flock of sheep
and a good feeding lot can make it
profitable to fatten mutton during all
the time that mutton will be in de-
mand. He can also arrange to have
lambs ready to turn off when they are
wanted. BY so doing he will be receiv-
ing money during the times when farm
ers are generally in need of it, Every
butcher desires very fine beef, mutton
and veal for Thanksgiving and the
winter holidays. Not infrequently he
is obliged to send to distant city to
obtain what he wants. At each of the
fat stock shows which have been held
in this city a large number of the ami
mails or their carcasses have been sold
to butchers doing business in villages
located in the best farming regions of
the West. The cost of transporting
these animals two ways, and the ex-
pense of feeding them several weeks
might have been saved by farmers who
lived in the vicinity. Farmers should
take pride in seeing the animals they
have raised and fattened displayed in
the towns where they do their market
ing on the occurrence of the holidays
that are celebrated by feasting. By
supplying the local butchers with choice
that will be of considerable advantage
to them. The butchers should en-
courage the production of fine meats
among the farmers who live near them.
Chicago Times.