Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1897-12-23
C0BURN's REPORT.
Entertaining Facts About "The Eeef
Steer and His Sister"
Most Excellent Showing OF the Live Stock
Interests of Kansas-- Kansas tho Ma
turing Ground OF the Range
Crop Statistics.

TOPEKA, Kan, Dec. 6--The report
of the Kansas state board OF agricul-
ture for the quarter ended December,
1897, yesterday was made public There
always is a red line across the first
page of the quarterly agricultural re-
ports naming the most important
subject discussed. The line this time
is THE Beef Steer and His Sister"
Following is Secretary Coburn's intro
'duction to the report:
We are told "all flesh is grass and the good
Illness thereof Is as the flower OF the tleld. "
Nature and men, cooperating, have made Kan
sas marvellous blending OF pasture and corn
held-the domain Of grasses In luxuriance,
profusion, nutritious qualities and economy Of
production, hers are nowhere surpassed; this,
whether applied to the corn, blue stem, timothy,
clovers and blue grass Of her eastern half or
Sorghums, millets, alfalfa and unpretentious
grammas Of the fertile plains and higher alti-
.tudes beyond.
The premier, prince OF all these, is Indian
corn, From these her meats and milk and
wealth are made; from these annually, for two
decades she has given TO the shambles alone
animals having an average home value exceed
ing S29 ,OOOL0J, or an aggregate of 1888 900 900;
out OF these and by these her future wealth and
all 1t brings Of good must largely come. AS
finished product and raw material they are
ssyfnboi2ed in the beef steer, his sister and the
corn. TO their Improvement, best utilization
and proper recognition this work Is dedicated
Recognizing the tremendous significance Of
beef production as factor in Kansas agrlcul-
ture and Kansas prosperity, the state board Of
agriculture with view to gathering and dis
seminating practical information pertaining to
this important subject has interviewed several
hundred Of the men longest, most successfully
and most extensively engaged in cattle fatten-
ing especially in the various counties Of the
state.
The average length Of time those who report
ed have been in the business of beef production
in Kansas is 10 years The average of the ages
they recommend for the castration OF bull
calves, ranging from one hour to one year, is ID
days Their recommendation for the feeding
of calves the first winter is wheat bran and
.shelled corn, or bran and oats, in sufficient
quantities, with hay or other coarse feed, to
keep them thrifty and growing.
A large majority favor dehorned or hornless
cattle, and say that for the fattening lot such
cattle have 10 per cent greater value than
those with horns Thirty reports give them
a greater value of II cents per 100 pounds; 20
they say fat cattle without horns are likely to
sell for averages 1871 cents per 100 pounds. The
time required for properly and safely changing
cattle from u grass to u full or maximum grain
diet is % days, or from corn stock fields, 10
days
With two exceptions, all say, extra labor
considered, it is not profitable in Kansas to
keep fattening cattle tied in stalls Forty-four
per cent advised keeping grain constantly ac-
-cessible to fattening CATTLE and So per cent say
tbs best to feed twice daily, and then only so
much at each meal as will be eaten before the
next feeding. Ninety per cent say it is profit
able to grind some or all Of the grain; and the
average cost of grinding is given as IA cents
per busheL Ten per cent say grinding is not
profitable.
Those who have soaked corn for fattening
cattle say its value is enhanced 81 per cent
thereby.
Those who have fed wheat bran with corn
esteem it highly, saying it aids digestion, les
sens the quantity of other and perhaps more
costly foods required, and hastens fattening
From Is to % per cent 10y weight of wheat
bran fed with shelled or ground corn is re-
ported profitable, when bran costs no more
than IS 40 per ton.
Linseed oil cake meal Is praised by those
who have fed it with corn, and 4J feeders say
they are justified in using more or less of 1t mt
a cost not exceeding Sl9.70 per ton as very de-
.sirable adjunct Of corn costing % cents per
bushel A smaller number report favorably on
the use of limited quantities Of cotton seed meal
The cost of grazing in pastures averaged with !
that on open ranges is 30 cents per month.
Eighty per cent favor the use of loose or
barrel salt and 20 per cent. prefer rock salt for
the feed lot or pasture. The principal Objec-
tions offered to rock salt are, that cattle spend
too much time licking it in order to
satisfy their wants and that in doing so
their tongues are likely to be made sore.
Using as basis of comparison of value wild |
prairie (blue-stem) hay at az per ton |
as forage or ''roughness" for cattle being fat |
tened with grain the Kansas cattlemen on the |
average rate other forage with it like this: Red
clover, at S3S0per ton; alfalfa, "a; alfalfa straw
(threshed) ~ 80; millet $3.50; sorghum or
Katir-corn grown in hills with seed on, S3; sor-
ghum or Katir-corn hay broadcast or in drillS), |
~ 30; Oat straw, Sl.70, and wheat straw, Sl.05.
The reports show with practical unanimity |
that with her mild, dry winter climate album
dant cheap grains and forage, unequaled trans
portation facilities, and possessing within her
borders the second greatest live stock market
of the world, Kansas must be and is the appro-
pirate and most suitable maturing ground for
not only her own but the vast numbers of
range-reared steers from the southwest and
west and large proportion OF those native to
the plains and valleys of the northwest as we'll