St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1885-06-25

tinue to breed horses of the lighter and
| fleeter varieties. But the production
of butcher meat seems. certain To be
the main stay of the great majority of
! British farms. In the face of what has
! been seen and heard 1t foreign cOmpe
tition we still indulge the conviction
! that in the production OF butcher meat
| the farmers of this country viii con
| tinue to have a toleTably sure source of
profit. But even with butcher meat
times are certainly not as they have
/ been. Oar breeders aud feeders can
not take matters so easily as they were
wont to do. They have to contend
against most powerful opponents,
which were unknown few years ago.
The seasons aud other local circum-
stances have been adverse to them.
Their energy and enterprise have been
damped by recurring visits of disas-
trOus diseases. But with wheat grow
ing unable to maintain the former
rents and no prospect of succor from
the other cereal crops, what else be-
sides the production of beef, mutton
aud pork can they fall back upon
From the pursuit of dairy farming
or horse breeding some AS has been
Indicated may derive. advantage.
Both these however may easily he over
done and while undoubtedly in the
breeding of IL good class of draught
horses as well as IN dairy farming there
is room for great extension, 1t is mani
fest We think that butcher meat must
become more and more the staple pro
duet of British farms. But with such
strong foreign competition aud with
other stubborn obstacles to contend
against, farmers will find profitable
meat production no easy task. Old
fashioned slovenly methods must be
given up. Nowhere should there he
any waste. Every article of food must
he turned to the best possible account.
The varieties of food best suited for the
objects in view must be selected and
alike in the selection and use of food
the strictest economy practised. The
gOrging of stock with roots must he
abandoned and the roots given IN mod
Grafton along with more concentrated
foods. The vast amount of waste now
sustained through the want of shelter
for stock must be aVcrted. Above all
the animals Journey between birth and
the butcher must be made ~ short as
possible.
Early maturity accompanied with
the choicest of quality must be the one
great aim of the breeder and feeder
Within the past ten or twelve years
much progress has been made in the
earlier maturing of fattening stock.
In various parts of England and Scot
land cattle and sheep are being fatten-
ed one year and even in some cases
two years earlier than formerly and
the cry for young meat is becoming
universal. We have before us il very
interesting and suggestive pamphlet
in which Mr.. Henry Evershed gives IL
great deal of useful information and
advice as to the early maturity of live
stock. Mr.. EverShed is we'll acquaint
ed with the subject dealt with and we
have no hesitation in assuring our
readers that they may with advantage
consult his little work. The author
details the experience of Mr.. VIM.
Stanford of Charlton Court farm, who
finds it profitable to fatteD off bullocks |
ut the age of from l5 to Is months. |
Figures are given showing substan-
tial profit from the system and there |
are quotations from communication
from Sir John Bennett Lawes, in which !
that acknowledged authority cnforceS
the advantage of early maturity by re-
marking that ''as II certain amount of |
food is consumed every day by an ami
NAL for respiratory and other vital |
it is evident that the quicker |
an animal is fed for the butcher the !
less the total amount of food that will |
be consumed"
Sir John of course does not lose |
sight of the economical side and points |
out by way of warning against too
rash and injudicious early fattening,
that $1,000 lbs. of food consumed in
three years might cost less than I0,-
300 consumed in two years, the same
amount of meat being produced in
each case. Mr.. Evershed shows that
early maturity is not inconsistent with
the choicest of quality in meat, that
the system is applicable equally to eat
tie and sheep and that the breeder rs
we'll as the feeder can contribute to
early maturity. We have made much
progress, but there is still ample room
for Improvement. Young lean juicy
meat is the want of the age. 1t is
taste which we should endeavOr to
cultivate, for it can be better supplied !
by our own farmers than 10y those of
any other country London Live |
Stock Journal