The Wichita daily eagle., 1897-12-18
The Kansas Cows Brother.


Secretary Coburn. Of the State Agricul-
tural society, having previously dwelt az
some length upon the value, to the Kan
sas farmer Of the cow and the hen, ana
of the hog and the horse as distinctive
sources of income, growing out of the fact
of our enormous corn yields and unending
pasture and hay lands, takes up the case
of the Kansas Beef steer with his quarterly
report ending with the present year. he
commences by quoting that AN nesn Is
grass and thereupon tells of the reiauVe
values of blue-stem, timothy, the cioVsrs'
millets, alfalfa and the grammas OF the
plains, ending with the assertion tnat Inc
premier and prince of all these IS Indian
corn, which IS a grass, for form- Ihese
her meats and milk and wealth are made;
from these annually, for two decades. sne
mas given to the shambles alone anlmais
having an average home value exceeding
% million dollars, or an aggregate Oh aeS
million dollars; out Of these and oy these
her future wealth and all it brings of good
must largely come. AS finished product
and raw material they are symboiized in
the beef steer, his sister, and the corn.
Proceeding with his estimate Of the care,
cost and profitableness of 'the beef steer
and MS sister," Mr.. Coburn goes on with
the following educed facts and observa-
tons:
The average length OF time those who
reported have been in the business OF oee1-
production in Kansas is 10 years.
The average of the ages they recommend
for the castrat:on of bull calves. ranging
from one hour to one year, is 81 days.
Their recommendation for the feeding OF
calves the first winter is wheat bran and
sheIled 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 horn
less cattle, and say that for the fatten-
ing lot such cattle have a 10 per cent
greater value than those with horns. Thit-
ty reports give them a greater value OF
II cents per 100 pounds; 2s place it at sos
per head. The higher price they say fat
cattle without horns are likely TO sell for
averages 1872 cents per 100 pounds.
The time required for properly and safe
ly changing cattle from grass to full
or maximum grain diet is e days, or from
corn-stalk fields, l6 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 advise keeping grain
constantly accessible 10 fattening cattle,
and IS per cent say It is best to feed twice
daily and only so much at each meal as
will be eaten before the next feeding.
Ninety per cent say it is profitable 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 grind
ing is not profitable.
Those who have soaked corn for fatten-
ing cattle say its value is enhanced q
per cent thereby.
Those who have fed wheat bran with
corn, esteem 1t mighty, saying it aids d:ges-
ton, lessons the quantity of other and
perhaps more costly foods required, and
hastens fattening. From Is to . per cent
(by weight of wheat bran fed with shelled
or ground corn is reported profitable, when
bran costs no more than ss4o per ton.
Linseed-oil cake meal IS praised by those
who have fed 1t with corn, and 40 feeders
say they are justified in using more or
less of it at a cost not exceeding $3.50
per ton, as a very desirable adjunct of corn
costing . cents per bushel. A smaller
number report fevorably on the use of I'm
tied quantities of cottonseed-meal.
The cost of grazing in pastures averaged
with that on open ranges is 81 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
objections offered to rock salt are, that
| cattle spend too much time licking it in Or
| der to satisfy their wants, and that in do
| ing so their tongues are likely to be made
| sore.
Using as a basis of comparison of value
prairie (blue-stem> hay at 81 per ton as
| forage or ''roughness" for cattle being fat
| tened with grain, the Kansas cattlemen
| on the average rate other forage with it
Ike this: Red cloyer, at $3.50 per ton; al
| falfa, 81; alfalfa straw (thrashed), s235;
| riillet, s. 90; sorghum or Kaffir-corn grown
| in hills, with the seed on. So; sorghum or
| Katir-corn hay broadcast or in drlls),
| $50; oat straw, 51.7o, and wheat straw,
| $1.05.
| The reports show with practical unanim-
| ity that, with her mild, dry winter ch-
mate abundant cheap grains and forage.
unequaled transportation facilities, and
| possessing within her borders the second
| greatest livestock market of the world.
| Kansas must be and Is the appropriate
and most suitable maturing ground for not
| only her own, but the vast numbers OF
range-reared steers from the southwest and
west, and a large proportion of those na-
| tive to the plains and valleys of the north
\ we'll