The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-05-14

The shipper of live stock to any good mar
ket ought always to provide the best mems
Tor presenting his offerings in good form. AS
one walks through the stock yards at South
, St Paul. for instance he cannot fail, II he
Is possessed of expert knowledge with re-
spect to such matters, to note the lack of
foresight on the part Of shippers in regard
TO preparing their stock for market The
practice too often prevails of shipping ant
mails with feed and water before loading st
stations with the idea that the individuals
comprising the lot will go upon the scales in
this pulled up condition. On the contrary
this force-pump method often has the effect
OF reducing weight and the shipper is the
loser.
The true principles to be followed by c2tt,e
men is to ship animals when they are fat
That is TO say, when 4 feeder has seve al
steers already fat and In good condition for
the market, and has a few others which are
more backward, he ought not to wal. 70
the sluggards TO attain to the desired we ht
but should let so the pickings from among
the best. at once. Then a better opportunity
is offered to those remaining behind TO fat Ell.
There are always nervous animals among
steers, as among men; and these do net take
on flesh so rapidly those which are mora
mobile in their temperament and habits. Re-
moved from the exctation of herd they
will do vastly better through being left aiore.
There is no economy and no sign of the OK
istence of business instinct in a man who
hustles his entire herd to market simply
because two-thirds of them ready and the
remaining one-third IS not.
When animals be shipped SO as to
arrive in the stock yards between and
O'Clock in the morning after an all-night
journey they stand the best chance in the
market. Fed and watered on their arrival
and going to the pens contcnted ard dncle,
they are, if bought in the forenoon, driven
TO the scales properly filled with natural
nourishment If they have been over.ed at
the shipping and gorged with water the prob
abilities are that they will suffer from scours
on the journey, be restless and feverish on
their arrival at the yards. ind.sposed to est,
and if sold come from tire scales with loss
of several pounds to their owners Such
seems to be, at least, the Judgment Of men
experienced in dealing with live stock in the
market.
1t is always undesirable to overload In ship
ping The more compactly animals are
crowded together in cars, the greater is the
liability to individual shrinkage in We ght
Neither do the animals present so good IN
appearance in the pens. Their coats are
ru11ed; they are not so clean; they are more
nervous. All these conditions affect values
when the buyer makes his appearance. In
transit too, q shipper should provide good
bedding of straw. The more the better. for
II the animal has chance to lie down, the
straw serves in the line Of brush, and thu
animal energies from the car we'll conditioned,
as far as appearances go.
There are many things to be learned with
respect to the proper treatment OF animals
in the course of shipment. All the evils in
this regard are not confined to transporta-
tCn by rail. The cattle shipped across the
water to Great Britain from some points are
subjected to treatment not at all in conso-
nance with proper ideas to appearances
of profits arrival at foreign ports. The
Country Gentleman treating recently ON this
subject said:
Owing to unsuitable ships and bad fit
tings and ventilation, the mortality among
cattle and sheep in the trade between South
America and the British Isles in 1897
amounted to 81 per 1000 among cattle
shipped. and 81 per LOCO among sheep.
Meanwhile the loss between North America
and Great Britain was only % and per
two trades, both as regards the character
OF the cattle carried and the nature and
duration Of the voyage, are not Identical,
and too much weight must not, therefore
De attached to the comparison; but there
certainly seems to be room for improves
ment as regards the South American
trade"
1t is fortunate for exporters from This
side that experience has taught them that
there is no economy in overcrowding or i'll
treatment OF animals en- route to market In
the main, shippers Of stock to central wards
OF the West exercise care but there arc
frequent Instances where stock does not ar
rive In good condition for SALE and only he
cause of carelessness and indifference on the
part of the shipper The following from an
exchange supplies an excellent hint to shin.
perS of live stock:
Good management calls for tho orr,,
OF STOCK at the yards in proper time. From
10 a. m. is the best time in tbe daI
10 appear upon the scene-the nearer the
IStter hour the better, for cattle especiaIIv
always look better when thew are taIagn
on on the cars and have been fed and watered
Ihen they have bloom upon them which
wears on very quickly.
Many feeders would be saved hotb Al,
appointment and loss it, before sending in
cattle TO market, they would notify their
commission CONN Isl house what and when they are
going TO ship Then if the commission
merchant thinks the stock would be bene
fitted by longer feeding or that the pros-
Pect is gnfayorable for the time the feed
SO advise his client, and thus save him
from sacrificing his stock or getting in at
wrong time Especially is this important
In November or the beginning of winter
when we are getting half fat cattle thai
ought to have been held back thirty or
sixty days longer at least. No doubt many
appear ~ have good finish, but not hay-
Ing mat ired or ripened they practically
go to pieces on the cars, and in addi-
ton to loss through heavy shrinkage the
owner has to accept a low price on the
market. We wish every stockman would
follow out this plan of giving notice day
or so ahead Of the time he expects to ship
II works both to the advantage Of the
shipper and seller. The latter, being on
the market every day. knows Just what
the then market RI wants and Gun Judge pretty
to give his client the necessary advice
and information he should have before he