The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-01-17
Tho Prio. 81 Meet.

It - 20 be hoped that the average
farmer will not be carried away by
the sensational prices paid for fat cattle
at the close Of the international Live
Stock Show. It should be understood
that when Advance, the grand cham
pion steer of Aberdeen-Angus blood,
sold for $3.50 per pound on foot at auc-
ton that was the result of competition
between rival buyers from New York.
P1ttsburg and Chicago, and the sale at
the figure mentioned may be consid-
cred purely OF an advertising nature.
The meat could not possibly reimburse
the buyer for the outlay, but it will no
doubt pay him to have the notoriety
consequent upon the sensational pur-
chase.
The sale Of the Kerrick steers for
sl5 per hundred weight after they had
won the championship prize in the ex-
h1bition Of carload lots of cattle was
another proud achievement Of the
breeders Of Aberdeen-Angus cattle, and
this sale may be taken as perfectly
legitimate in that the meat will sell at
profit even at the fine figure quoted.
Both sales, however, go to show what
can be done with cattle bred and fed for
beef OF the highest possible quality. It
would be difficult to imagine a more
perfect animal than Advance, and the
kerrick steers were also OF very high
class. The general farmer should learn
from the excellence Of these animals,
from their perfection of contour and
even distribution Of mellow flesh upon
the best portions Of the body that in
order to raise such stock it is absolute
~ necessary to have the right kind Of
blood to start with and then to feed in
proper manner. Such animals as
tnese do not simply grow up with any
Kind OF care. The molds must be care
fully chosen; a bull of impressive
stamp must be usel upon the right
sort OF heifers and after the progeny
comes 1t must be fed from the first
moment until the last with the one OBJ
1ect OF producing the most and best
peer In the shortest possible time.
This is not cheap nor easy work. The
prime steer cannot be produced at the
same cost as the animal which strug-
giles through and is sold at three or
TOUR years of age; yet when everything
Is taken into account there Is not q
very great deal of difference when it 10
remembered that the scrub animal re-
turns but q poor price for the feed It
has consumed and the time It has re-
CURED to raise it. It may be stated
upon general principles that any man
who owns productive farm and IN
possessed of ordinary intelligence can
produce steers that will bring good
price at the Christmas market time II
he will do away with the scrub cows
upon his farm and in their place keep
high-grade females and a bull of one or
other OF the beef breeds. It would
even be possible to create herd of
beef cattle commencing with the origi-
nal scrub blood, but this is slow and
unsatisfactory process and we would
not advise our readers to try it. After
start has been made the calves should
be fed from the first when suckling
their dams and early accustomed to
eating meals and ground oil cake If 1t
can be had at fairly cheap prices.
The pregnant COW must also be gem
erously fed so as to give the calf good
start, for the first steps towards early
maturity are Of certainty made in the
womb. II the cali should come into the
world stunted and the COW from
lack of generous feeding should have
poor milk or deficiency in flow of
milk 1t will be impossible to make I'm
the loss later on. just as it is also true
that calf flesh lost cannot we'll be re-
placed by subsequent good feeding. It
is, in short, necessary to breed right,
feed right and fit right to reap the fine
Hools.eAIl eva 9u pied 1esq 1o1 seoIId
exposition.