The Fort Worth gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-189?, 1891-04-09

| feeding hay l know that more than one
third of the value of each of our hay crops
is lost on account of the late cutting,
exposure to rains, dews and the sun,
and avoidable injuries while stacked or in
barns This is startling calculation when
| we come to apply it TO the whole hay crop
| of the country and yet from our own per-
sonal observation in the premises we be-
| lieve it TO be about correct. The hay har-
| vest usually comes in conflict with other
| harvesting operations, and there is liable to
| be q strong per cent of loss on account OF
| the grass becoming too ripe before il is cut
and then rain and dew and hot sunshine is
! liable to do great deal of further injury
| before it can be put away in stack or NOW ;
! as matter of fact there is not another ar
| ticle produced IN the whole agricultural
| field that requires as strict attention in the
| harvesting and handling as does the hay
| crop and no farmer or cattle feeder ever
| knows just what his loss is in feeding a
! given number of cattle with hay that has
been damaged in the harvesting" Tot is
| added by the writer of the article under
| consideration:
| After having watched closely during the
| past twenty years or more the current his
| tory of alfalfa as given in the papers, we
| have come firmly to the conclusion that il
| this forage plant can be sown upon the
| right kind Of soil, and when ready Tor har-
| vestiHg be cut at exactly the right stage in
! its growth. and be cured and moved in per-
! feet condition, it viii make the most profit
| able forage on the list, as il is equally good
| for every kind of livestock and for poultry
| as well. Stock of every kind has high
| relish for ii when il is in just the right con-
| dition; nothing better for dairy cows and
| the yield per acre OF succulent animal food
| IS in ordinary seasons equal to that OF any
| other article that can be produced, eSpecl-
| ally on the forage crop list.
While everything in the foregoing applies
as well to Texas as to any other portion OF
our common country, two points in particu-
lar are made which are of special interest
| to Texans. One of these is the pure water
| question. 1t is maintained that beef cattle
| cannot possibly be made to do their best
without an ample supply of pure water. 1t
must be admitted that as Il rule that thing
has heretofore been too much neglected by
the cattle raiser of Texas. He seems to
have thought that water enough to keep the
| animal alive, regardless of quality covered
every requirement, so he drove his cattle to
foul ponds once or twice day, giving him
self no further concern about the water sup
ply. In the days of great, wild and moving
herds this kind of thing might have been
passed upon rs the best that could be done,
but those days are now pretty well over,
owing to the fact that cattle of this charac
ter are Ceasing to pay. Such are the cattle
thar now bring only from 81 to Sl.5O per
100 pounds. In the palmy days of this kind
of cattle business-the days which made
great cattle kings''-low quality beef went
OIL on the market better than now, for there
was no important competition by scientific
cattle raisers to be bucked against, but at
last the producers of fine and well managed
stock have got in their influence upon the
market to such an extent as to vastly lower
tie selling value of common stock. They
have lifted the selling figures in their
own favor considerably above the
average of former times, and this
lift on fine stock has worked cor
responding depression on the common ar
tic!e; and there exists 10 kind OF promise
that it will be otherwise in the future.
Indeed it is but reasonable to suppose that
each succeeding year will find the selling
figures of the two qualities OF beef cattle
getting further apart. Under this view OF
the case the course for US to pursue must be
plain to every thinking person. Texas is
the finest cattle country in the world, btn
81
for results. We must give our cattle such
personal attention as shall throw in their
way every needed advantage for making
fine beef, and one of these-amOng the most
important-is good water. In the near fu
ture our cattle business will be strictly
local-no more immense herds constantly on
the move. There will probably be great
cattle ranches for considerable time yet to
come, but the cattle of those ranches
must be of good breeds or of good
grades and must have good arrangement to
make them profitable. 1t will not do to de-
pend wholly upon good grass in choosing a
location for those ranches. as heretofore.
Good grass is thing easily enough found
in Texas for it is everywhere, but good
and pure water is quite another thing. The
man locating his ranch with view to get
ting fair profits out OF his venturewill from
this time on have to look after the water
supply. If the locality cannot be made to
furnish an abundance of pure water then
| the chances will DE everything against it as
the site of profitable cattle ranch. And
of course this applies to the farmer raising
cattle for market with the same force as to
the ranchman. No more muddy and YER
| min-infested tanks for cattle expected TO
sell at the top of the market.
The other point referred TO can be found
in the foregoing verbatim quotation with
| reference to alfalfa. Texas has exactly the
right kind of soil for this forage plant, and
can grow it to perfection. She can further
more grow heavy crops of grain and every
thing needed for feeding stock. These
facts, associated with her many other natu-
raj advantages, must, should due amount
of correct management be added, enable
Texas through all future time, to rule the
nation so far as relates to the cattle bust
ness.
CROPS IN THE ORCHARD.
The California Chronicle says there is ap-
parently a never-ending discussion as to the
| proprietv and de STABILITY of planting crops
of one kind or another between the rows OF