The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1886-11-23

Fall the Most Favorable Time for Prepar-
in Animals for the Market.

dILheIS WHO Keep animals lney cA-
pect TO dispose of for the meat they af-
ford are likely to defer the proper feed
ing of them till quite late in the sea-
son. They observe the rule of not at
tempting to do but one thing at time
quite too closely. They stick TO the
work in the fields till it is all done with
o view of devoting their entire atten-
ton to preparing stock for market after
the frost has rendered most kinds of
labor on the farm impracticable. After
harvesting their grass and grain they
give nearly all of their time to cutting
up and shocking their corn. digging
potatoes, blowing for next years crop,
and hauling out manure. When all
these things are done they commence
TO feed hay, corn, and small grain TO
their cattle and sheep and to stuff their
pigs with any thing that they will ear.
They adopt for a time the feeding of
animals for the production of flesh and
fat as regular pursuit, and are not
''Slothful in business Pigs that have
not had their appetite fully satisfied
since they were weaned are now sup
piled three times each day with more
food than they can consume. Sheep
that were kept on scant pastures all
summer are allowed clover hay, corn.
oats and roots in abundance Cattle
are kept in stalls which are supplied
with the best flesh and fat producing
foods the place affords
As the farmer hurried TO get his land
planted and sowed to small grains in
the early spring, hurried to get his
corn planted so it would mature before
the frost came, hurried to get his hay
in the barn and his grain in stack.
hurried to get his fall blowing done,
so now he is in a hurry to get his
stock in a condition to take TO mar
ket He feeds his animals in the morn
ing before he takes his breakfast, feeds
them again before he has his dinner,
and goes to the barn with lantern
TO give them more food before he lies
down to sleep; he is never weary in
feeding his fattening stock. He does
not deal out food grudgingly. He
feeds with a liberal hand. If an ami
NAL does not eat as much food as he
would like to have it devour, he seeks
20 find some appetizer that will induce
it to eat more. If pigs decline to shell
corn from the cob he does this work
for them. If they do not eat as much
raw corn as he would like to have
them he does not hesitate to grind and
cook it before he places it in the feed
ing troughs. He might have been
neglectful about supplying his stock
with pure water during the hot and
dry weather of July and August, but
he is now careful that they have as
good drink as that furnished the
family.
The farmer, now that he is devotino
his time and energies TO getting his
animals ready for market, often stands
for hours in the barn and near the
feeding-yard and pig-sties watching
the creatures while they eat. He forms
calculations in regard To how many
pounds of meat he is making every
dav. If he has scales he weighs the
animals once a week To ascertain how
much each grows in weight. If the
price of beef. pork and mutton is high
he becomes impatient at what he re-
CARDS as somewhat slow gains. He
Becomes fearful lest there will be fall
I'm prices before his animals are ready
for the market. As the weather be-
come cold and snow falls he rcdoubles
his energies. He feeds more and better
food. puts the stock i'm better quarters,
and is very careful about allowing
them to be exposed TO storms. With
ali his pains he notices that they do
not take on flesh at best very rapidly.
Perhaps he discovers too late to take
advantage of it, that the severely cold
weather greatly interfercs with the
process of fattening. He finds that
much of the food is used as fuel for
keeping the animals warm and not for |
making flesh and fat. He learns that |
he did lot begin to feed his stock as
early as he should.
In this latitude October and Novem- |
Der are the most favorable months in |
the year for fattening all kinds of stock. |!
The weather is generally very favor !!
able for promoting animal growth. |
Cattle, sheep and hogs are comfortable |
in the open air. They can walk about |
without becoming fatigucd. There are /
few insects 10 modest them. the air is /
invigorating and there is generally an
abundance of water. In the summer |
they are likely to be tOrmented by flies
and to bc rendered uncomfortable bv |
the heat. In the winter months they |
often suffer from the cold. even if they
have pretty good protection. During
very cold weather a large amount of
food is required 10 produce bodily heat
There is then little or no green food
which is desired 10 keep up the appc-
tite and insure good digestion. In the
fall there is good variety of food.
There are, or at leas: should be. on
every stock farm roots, pun, 1kins,
squashcS and cabbages. as well a. green
clover and grass. Besides these ,uccu-
lent foods there is hay, corn and small
grains which can be fed 10 stock TO