The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1895-09-20
FEEDING ESSENTIALS

T.
You have recently given an interest
ing symposium of me hods from pra:-
teal feeders. These are the methods
Of successful men and are wor' hv OF
study. The essentials towhich would
invite attention are those not uncomon-
" over ooked in the feed yard Through
1t is not safe they are not overlooked
by the feeder who makes SIX cent
beef.
Fatteniny cattle are too frequently
rated by tn gains made from given
amount of feed. While this Is aE I'M
portant consideration it is by no
means all. Investigation has Shown
that many Of the native steers, and
these of the milk breeds, and even the
despised scrubs are capable OF max
ing virtually lis many pounds OF oee1
from 100 lbs. of grain ration as the
average high grade Of ful-blood steer
of the beef breeds. | unaware of the
TACT that this statement may sound
ike heresy to the fai htul, but | make
it advisedly, aud We may as we'll face
the facts. FIRST let ME ask is there
any reason why the ss-called scrubs or
native eer should not gam as much
from given quantity Of feed as one Of
the beef type. Will the jersey breed
er admit, OF will the friend Of the beef
breeds successfully main ain that the
jersey as breed is incapab' OF ullllz-
ing as much OF Il ration as Shore
Horns This is one of tn. points OF
superiority claimed 70 the milk breeds
and if they are ctpab of assnllaflnS
the feed for milk, why not Il r beef or
at least fat:
\ cows digestive powers ought to
be as good when dry us when IN milk
and tn same functions /, Il seer OF ii
milk breed ought to be as good as
those of his ancestry. Experience
proves that they are, or nearly so.
The Holstein- Friesian Is also charac-
terized by remarkable viyor of appe-
tite. The native or scrub Is not de-
fcient i'll digestive power. On the con-
trary his appetite is keen. his diet
omniyorous and his digestion capable
of beng adjusted to almost anything.
Constitution and vitality are impaired
by confinement or overlooking, and the
scrub, Ike his human counterpart the
American tramp, is always IN order
for feed, and right we'll does he &C
quit himself. | fancy some may ask
if the breeder has labored since the
days Of BakewelI without avail. BY
no means. The sLperioty of the i'm
proved animals in much greater than
feeders generally realize. 1t would be
fortunate for the livestock industry If
this superiority was fully comprehend
ed The difference, hoSever, is not
nearly so much one of the pounds Of
gain in the leed-lot a3 Of ua/ne Of the
gain made and of the finished product
when put upon the market. For ex-
ampe in 1892 eighteen head Of steers
of nine breeds were fed at the Iowa
Experiment Station for nine months
and put upon he market and Il COM
paratlve test made. During this time
six steers, representing the Hereford,
Short Horn and An.rs breeds made
an average gain of 747 lbs. each or
2.76 per day. Credi'able as this re-
cord is the Observation-Disclosures fell short
only seventy-ei eht pounds in nine
months feeding and even the Jerseys
were only 1O2 lbs. less, and consumed
less feed, SO that there was not very
much difference between the cost OF
making a pound of Shout Horn, Here
ford of Angus beef and pound Of
Short-Horn, Hereford or Angus beef
and a pound Of Jels-y beef. All made
good gain and put on flesh economical
ly. But when the cattle Were sold
the formeI brought $3.50 per cwt,
live weight and the lat er on same
market had to 60 tor $3.50. v HE
the breeds were making gains III the
feed-lot at practically the same ex
pense the beef made by the st 'ers of
the beet type was worth II per cent
more than that by those of the other
type, and the difference applied not
only to the grain put on the feed-lot
bus the entire live light. This Is
the real difference between god cattle
and inferior cattle; between. ii good
responsive, well-bred steer and an an
gular and unshapely native. Quality
is everything in successful feeding.
A good steer can be fed to a finish and
will pay handsomely for a large out
lay, but the longer the native Is fed
in an effort to make prime be of the
more money he will lose. Cattle of
this kind must go onto the market
without much expense.
Here Were steers making gain III
the feed-iot at practically the same
cost for nine months, those of one
type netting ii profit Of about $50 per
head, while those Of another type We're
fed at loss of about S. per head. In
the light of these results thnre ought
not to be any doubt about there being
Il feeding type in animal form. There
Is most emphatically such thing as
milk type and beef type and 1t Is prac-
teal to study these types. | have thus
briefly called attention 10 the ess initial
Of quality and excellence in he finish
ID product 10 suggest that these quail
ties be more di igently sought after
by feeders who wish to realize most
for their product. Corn ut into an
animal OF his kind is sure of a good
market. Feed will do IA great for any
animal, but there are some things that
it will rot do. When the inherent
quality is lacking feed will not make
it in a few months or even single
generation. Successful feeding in
wolves starting right with the animal
capable of converting feed into a high
class and high-selling product: an
animals capable Of taking on a
superior finish and quality.
c. +. CrTiSS.
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