The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1896-12-18


ing condition in the spring and thel
fatten on grass.
This last method has always beer
looked upon by m as more or les:
doubtful as to its good results. | have
tried, more than once, keeping two lots
of steers. putting one lot in the stabl,
and feeding each day to them small
grain ration in addition to the rougl
food, and then turning the other lot il
an open yard where they had free ac
cess to water and shading and feeding
them rough food only. In the spring
both lots were tur:s1d together to pas
ture, and by October lst no man, wht
was not familiar with the cattle, coul(
have picked out one lot from the other
Some of the grain fed cattle woulC
have done very well and so would some
of the other lot have done equally a.
well. If however enough grain wa.
given to give the cattle good start
by spring and so get them ready fo
market sooner then if deLehdent upor
grass alone, the farmer would have
the advantage Of an earlier market i
opportunity to sell offered itself. II
other words, if your cattle are ready
YOU can take advantage of an early
demand, if there is one. If there is nc
such demand you are none the worse
off. Now, the second method has the
advantage of taking less grain and less
grass, Of catching the June market
which is often one of the best market
of the year, and also the getting rid OF
ones cattle before the hot weather sets
in-when often the pastures suffer for
want of rain and when the flies and
heat prevent the cattle from taking on
flesh or fat. The first two or three
weeks after cattle are turned to grass
they do not gain much in weight, their
system is undergoing a change from
the dry to green food, but after that
time, if the weather is favorable and
the grass abundant they will gain rap
idly until the hot weather and flies be-
gin to annoy them.
During July and August they suffer
" "ith eliC HStte anu uicS tllu 0tO IlOt I'LL
prove much. spending much of their
time in the shade, eating only enough
to keep down the pangs of hunger.
The first method is the one we shall
treat more fully, q d this is what we
understand by cattle feeding, viz
preparing them for the market from
the stall. The feeding of cattle is
much more scientific than the grazing
Of cattle. In grazing cattle nature
seems to supply all that is necessary
for the fattening of the steer in the
grass, and any one who has the grass
can engage in the business more or
less protitably ly-not so with the feed
ing of cattle. 1t is not natural for
cattle to be confined in stable. Like
all other animals they prefer freedom,
and do best when free to eat and drink
ut will. | believe, the correct way of
fattening cattle in winter is to have an
enclosure like the basement of Il house,
well protected from the cold and wet,
into which the cattle are to be put
loose, with plenty of fresh water, with
racks for feeding hay or fodder, and
throughs for feeding grain.
By keeping them constantly sup
piled with the necessary food and wa
ter, and allowing them the freedom of
the enclosure. think you comply
more closely with their material re-
quirements and get better results. Still
this plan is not practicable for most
farmers for these reasons-in the first
place it requires too much space; then
you could only put a limited number
in one place; then it would be necessa-
ry to have all steers dehorned, and
again, all steers in an enclosure should
be of one size-otherwise the larger
ones would prevent the smaller or
weaker ones from getting their share.
know gentleman Of Hartford Coun-
ty who fed Il lot Of steers in this way
last winter. He told me they gained
three pounds each per day.
Most of our farmers, confined the
steer in the stall, by chain, turning
it out once or in some cases twice Il
day to water, and taking advantage
at this time to clean out the stable and
put in fresh bedding. The habits of
the animals must be respected by the
skillful feeder, or his skill will not
lead to profit. Cattle that have been
raised i'll the open field without hand
ling, until two or more years old, will
rahnl oroinst tho confinement Of h
stall, and it will require time and kind
treatment to overcome this feeling.
On the other hand, animals that have
been fed as calves in warm stables,
have become familiar with their atten-
dants, and take kindly to their comfor-
table quarters. These animals may
be fed much cheaper and grow much
faster by continuing them in this COM
Portable atmosphere. The feeder should
always bear this in mind-that the an
imal is kept warm by the food it con-
sumes: its animal heat always repre-
sents food, and the amount of this
food is always i'll proportion to the
of the air surrounding the
animal. \ question of economy arises
here: Is it cheaper to overcome
the cold with food-that is, by con
suming an extra amount of food
in the blood Of the animal. or to keep
out the cold by artificial means?
A warm stable, say that can be kept
at temperature of 80 degrees, will save
Il large amount of food during the cold
season.
1t is therefore essential to provide
warm and comfortable stables, with
but free from cold draughts;
to he kind and gentle with the cattle,
to allay their fear and
make them content and satisfied. \
nervous, eNcitable steer will do but
little good and might as well be turned
out. The feeding of cattle may result
in failure rather than success, unless
one studies carefully the nature of the
animal-its habits-and its food re-
quircments. As have said before, the
steer prefers freedom and to contine
him hy tho noel, in one Mace for I hrpp