Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1886-12-30

~ - Ai"i hoIcu III thb Idll mOntnS OF
September, October, November, and
some in December. Now if nearly
everybody is trying to get rid of their
surplus at that time, why had not we
better try to sell at some other time?
Earlier than they can get ready or later
than they can holdP That gives us the
benefit of the summer market-from
June 1st to the middle of August; and
again the winter market from Christmas
to the middle of March. ! say the
middle of March, because there is some-
times very bad market from the middle
of March till the middle of May, on ac-
count of great many corn-fed cattle
being sent forward to get them out of
the way before spring work. BY this
plan we can generally manage to have
few good cattle ready for the winter
market, and others following that will
be ready to sell in summer. But the
cattle that are intended to go onto grass
should be wintered with special care, to
avoid loss of weight in the spring. I
was early taught to believe that beast
intended to go onto grass in the spring
should not be crowded with high feeding
in the winter. My own experience has
demonstrated the truth of this.
If he has been fed too high there will
be dead loss for at least 80 days, and
frequently longer; especially if the sea-
son is wet and the pasture composed of
new seeding of timothy and clover. If,
however, it is old timothy sod or blue
grass sod, they will not fall away so
much, and when they once begin to gain
it will be very rapid.
To illustrate will give you my scale
weights, made upon three different
lunches, last spring and summer. 1t
will bring out one statement for which |
expect to be closely criticised, but my
scales have demonstrated for the past
eight years, and l am now fully con-
WINGED that, although clover is one of
our most valuable grasses, it will not put
on the pounds and ounces of thick
butchers meat, nearly SO well as our
old June grass. sod; or old timothy and
June grass mixed. We will go back to
our weights again, to show the gains
and losses met with upon turning cattle
out in the spring.
Last spring, on May 5th, turned to
pasture 25 head of steers that had been
fed pretty full rations, although not at
all forced. The pasture was composed
of timothy and aslike about four years
old. The cattle were from 20 to 26
months old, or what would commonly
be called two-year-olds in the spring.
The 25 weighed when turned out, %, 920
pounds, average 1,156fbs. We stopped
feeding them shock corn, but gave them
a noon feed of crushed corn on the cob
for about 20 days. On June LIST they
were weighed again. Just 26 days
from the previous weighing. The rs
weighed 30,560 pounds. gain 1910 lbs,
average l,222ibs; equal to gain of just
p pounds per day per steer.
This is fully better than an average
gain Immediately following turning
ouD for steers that have been pretty
heavy fed before going out But the
noon feed of crushed corn was of great
assistance to prevent their shrinking.
We have had meal fed cattle not gain a
pound on grass at first, even with their
rations kept up. We also put % other
steers outon an old blue. grass pasture,
and five others into clover field. This
bunch of 80 steers had been wintered on
moderate rations, of shock corn and oat
straw; they were what might be called
good thrifty stockers. The bunch of
twenty-five put on blue grass weighed,
when turned out "a, 800 pounds, average
975S. Their rations were taken entirely
off. At the end of &c days they weighed
27040 pounds, averaging 10Sls pounds.
This shows gain of 1850 pounds or
LOG pounds to the steer,in 26 days; equal
to 4tspounds gain per day to each steer.
The five that were put into the clover
field weighed when put in, $500 pounds.
They were taken out at the end of IA
days and weighed 5,240 pounds, show
ing loss of 60 pounds to the steer, in
IA days y pounds to the steer, or over
p of pound less per day per steer.
Our experience in turning into clover
in the spring OF early summer has nearly
always been on par with this. We do
not always get such large gains on old
blue grass, as with the above twenty
five head, that gained 4 fspounds per day
each, but we have always found it could
be relied upon to make steady rapid
gains, running from q to 81 pounds per
day and to develope thick meaty cattle
that always sold well and butchered
well.
| Permit me to leave my subject Just a
moment to call attention to another valu-
able feature of blue grass. In mid
winter when all other grasses are wlther-
ed and rotten, this grass, fresh and cured
like hay, lies upon the ground in great
thick mats from, 10 to Is inches long.
Until the latter part of winter when the
snow becomes deep, hard and crusted
this cured grass is worth its weight in
| gold for brood cows and brood mares.
The latter will live there comfortably
till near the first of March, and if al
lowed to they will go back in April as
soon as the bulk of snow is off and do
well until foaling time. This is not
theory. | have practiced it for some
years and it is very common in Ken
lucky. By this means keep my horses
at a cost of about sS5 per horse per
year and get strong vigorous colts.
From rs mares foaled last spring elost
but three colts, one from accident.
Now let us 90 back to our scales
again. These weights serve to illustrate
that if we intend to turn to grass in the
lspring and not market till midsummer,
our cattle viii do much better not to be
forced in the winter feeding. They must