Arizona republican., 1898-01-11

hours; move carefully, without scar ing, running or pounding, and put 25,- 900 to 30,OO0 pounds. according to size of cattle, in a thirty-six foot car.
 "I have handled few spayed hef- CTS; they fatten more rapidly than open heifers, and equal to steers, ! though not becoming so heavy. Corn is my most profitable crop, and sor- ghum and alfalfa come next in order i named; corn and alfalfa require the l best soil, while sorghum will grow cn i poorer land. Feed fattening cattle i first snapped corn, then the husked | ears broken in two, and finally shelled l corn. Shedding, as I have seen it done by an ordinary thrasher, seems an advantage, but I have not tried it. Have hired my grinding done at a cost of cents per 100 pounds, and board and coal for the outfit Ca four teen horse power engine, with mill grinding 600 to 1000 bushels per day), but do not think it pays when corn is cheap and one has hogs to run with the cattle. Soaking corn has proved
 satisfactory in warm weather; not that it greatly increases the value of the grain, but frequently the cattle's
 teeth become sore on hard corn and grass, and softeni1g the grain induces a greater consumption of both. l use a water-tight wagon box made of two inch lumber, fill within six inches of the top with shelled corn dry, and level full of water, soak twelve to twenty-four hours, drain off the wa ter by means of plug at the end near | the bottom, and haul to the feed lot.
 I have used wheat bran to mix with other feeds, and consider it pound for pound equal in value to ear corn; cot i ton seed meal used in the same way i is, I believe, worth more, pound for i pound, than corn meal, as it fattens quickly and gives soft, oily coat
 '4My best gain was made on a daily
 ration of twelve pounds of soaked corn, four pounds wheat meal and four pounds cotton seed meal, with timothy and prairie grass pasture. The cat i tie, 180 head of mixed grades, three and four years old, averaged 1900
 pounds per day for the next two months. Prairie hay and alfalfa are the best rOughness for feeding with 1 corn; sorghum and millet prove some times too loosening, and neither straw
 nor corn fodder seems quite satisfac- tory. Compared with prairie hay at | g per ton, would estimate the value l of the other forage crops as follows: Red clover $3, alfalfa $3.50, millet $3, sorghum or kaffir corn hay $250, same
 with seed g, oat straw $2, and wheat
 straw $1.50: a. good quality of these
 seeds is essential, even when cattle
 are on full feed of grain. Alfalfa | yields three or four crops per year,
 without irrigation, each crop making
 a ton or more peracre, but requires
 our best bottom land. In 'roughing'
 l use it with sorghum, millet, shock
 corn, straw and prairie hay, and my
 two-year-olds usually gain 100 pounds
 during the winter. Kaffiir corn has
 not given me as good satisfaction as
 sweet sorghum, and the seed does not
 make as good meal as corn does.
 "One to three weeks is time enough
 for changing cattle from pasture to full feed; in fact, find it usually prof.
 1table with good cattle to give grain
 while they are on grass, to hurry
 them up to higher priced beef; par
 ticularly in early summer or fall feed
 ing give ten to twenty pounds of corr
 meal per day. Prairie grass pasture
 costs me 20 to 30 cents per month pe1
 head, and is equal to tame pasture
 through May, June and July; later in
 the season it is not so good, but can
 be supplemented quite efficiently with
 green corn just past the roasting cal
 stage, or older. I use barrel salt in
 the pasture and feed lot; keep rough
 ness before fattening cattle all tht
 time, and do the same with grain, ir self feeders and open boxes, after they are on full rations. Feeding places
 should be we'll sheltered Climber, creek
 banks and dry. sunny places all ir
 one lot preferreO, as it makes 10 pei cent decrease in the feed required an6 10 more in time of feeding.'