Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1896-07-28
CATTLE huSsANORY.
EARLY MATURITY.-GRowING CALVES
FOR BEEF.

specially noticeable in the production OF
beef, aud In the place Of the mammoth
steer formerly sent 10 market we now
see the medium weight animal produced
in less time aud easily grown upon the
best of our New England pastures,
where the former type could hardly be-
produced. The Rural World presents
the following interesting and authentic
account of the present tendency In beef
growing:
That the heavy steer must pass away
aud DE forgotten grows more and more
apparent as the days 60 by, and his less
ened popularity with buyers becomes
more striking The place that has
known him so long-;he market-will
know him no more. and In his stead We
will have the younger, early matured,
handy-weight beef, toward the p'odue.
ton of which the breeder and feeder
must bend his best efforts.
This condition of affairs has not been,
Ike .louah's gourt, The growth of
night. For years there has be- progress
ia his line, and the theory OF early ma
turitv has been tried and not found
wanting when put into actual practice
The aim has b. en- tn mature At as early
an aye as possible, without in any way
injuring the animals usefulness or i'm
pairing the quality Of his beef. The re-
suit has been a marked success. In"
consumer ha. ben quick TO appreciNt4
the fine and delicate flavor and quslit'
Of baby beef" and II has had the effect
of completely reyolutionizjng the trade
~ market centerS.
"Some wears ago no one won hr red to
see i00 pound steer. Now one tht'
weighs 9OO0 pounds excites some degre'
of curiosity, and the buver SAYS he i
JOO pounds too heavy. No matter what
the season of the year u 1900 pound steer
for the markets l. heavy AZ it should ever
be- made. This is the positive statement
even old BUYERS make, who might be eN-
pected 10 still retain some regard Tor thr
heavy beeyes they have known so well
in the wears that have gone.
Quality is not always the first ani
foremost demand Of the buyer. or late
the medium quality, medium weigh'
steer. such a. sells from four cents down
ward. has been rather the best seller.
There are strange ebbings and ilowings
IN the tide ot public opinion, whims and
toibles that have 10 be regarded, and -
pecisllv so is this the case with the peo-
Piles appetites. Cheap beef l. heard
during times of money stringency. hut
when the sun of returning prosperity
begins 10 shed his rays abroad tastes are
changed, and the better article Is none
too good. Il would be folly 10 say that
medium quality beef will continue TO sell
rather best in proportion.
There is no time when bunch of
we'll finished 1900 10 1900 pound oeeves
will not sell. but there are occasions in
Vulnerable when the heavy weights suffer
severe Discrimination, and are easily out
sold by their lighter companions. The
steer for the market Is necessarily the
best produce, and In these times he Is OF
the choice, handy weight, early matur-
iug type.
GROWING CALVES FOR BEEF.
The Iowa station finds corn meal and
ground oats better than oil meal TO add
to skim milk for calves. On this ration,
six calves gained Sj7 lbs. in ninety days
AZ "A cost OF two cents per pound, vsluing
skim milk at fifteen cents per 100 lbs
aud grain and hay at market prices.
These calves gained one pound for every
six los. Of dry matter in their food
while bulletin 80 of Ohio station shows
by compilation from eight experiment
( stations testing 1872 head of cattle, that
the average OF ; and 1 years old i one
pound gain 10 every 10 IL lbs. dry mat
/ ter in the food consumed, and the ex-
periments of Iawes aud Gilbert in Eng
| land show that cattle there average one
pound gain for every III lbs. dry matter
[ i'm the food consumed.
These figures forcibly Illustrate the
I Importance snd economy OF early matGr-
itv. and putting on all the gain possible
while the animal is young. These six
calves were in good marketable condl-
t;on AZ l. IN nths old, and an offer was
procured for them then for the purpose
Of comparing with the sale price when
'hev should be marketed AT twenty-four
months old, the bidder being Ignorant OF
this purpose. 4 careful ac>ount oil the
cost Of feeding till they were twenty-four
months old Was kept and deducted from
the price they realized. The net proiit
would have been s64 - greater had they
been sold AZ seventeen months old.
They were weighed AZ home (Ames,
Iowa. and shipped to Chicago, being
eighteen hours on the road, and were
kept one day on full feed al d water in the
/ chicago stock yards before weighing,
still they showed shrinkage OF forty
pounds per head. They dressed out 20
per cent OF dressed beef; q IL per cent
hides: and : - per cent tallow, show
ing only Il per cent OF offd, which /.
quite a. good AS the choicest aged oeei
ever did. The experiment proves that
calves may be profitably mitured on
skim milk for beef purposes.-Mirror
and Farmer.