Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1902-02-27
BUYING BEEF ION THE HOOF."
One Interesting Feature OF Cattle Rails
ing Out West.

One of the most interesting features OF
the cattle business ut least from the
viewpoint of the nan who delights In a
juicy beefstcak is the buying that is,
wren the wholesale meat dealer sends his
elerienced buyer to purchase live
beef from tho cattle man, says the saN
Francisco Chronicle Practically all the
stock nowadays is personally inspected
before 1t Is purchased. Your old-time cat
tie king used to sell vast herds at SC
much a head as they roamed over the
range. He would 'rcvnd up big bunch
OF stceis, make a guess 1T the number
and close the deal. This was often pre-
carious and always uncertain.
Say that some fine n cining the buyer
for big meat concern rides UP to q
ranch. II want to get some nice thrces
Uhrcc-year- steers). about COO pounds
he says to the foreman At this the fore
man probably says all right, he'll call tho
Boys and they'll have a little round up. OIL
perhaps he states that he has received q
letter from the boss" in the city. and the
cattle are already in the corral. The
foreman directs his men tc cut out tho
bullocks, ono by one, and put them into a
separate Enclosure. No doubt he assists In
the work himself
As the cattle are singled out the buyc.
signifies his assent or disapproVal one
steer may be undersize or In tie words G.
the cattleman, 'doRitd;" another may
have fever ticks, third, perhaps, looks
decidedly ''rangey," is lean, long limbcd
narrow across the ba ck--in a word 1ocs
rot possess an abundance of the choicer
rarts of meat which will prove profitable
to the butcher. And So finally. when the
buyer has selected likely looking lot OF
steers they are weighed and shipped. Al
the present time cents per pound is an
excellent price for steers as they are driv-
en- on the scales.
The demand in California is for three
Sea,s-olds," which Usually weigh in the
reighborhood of 600 pounds. The Eastern
market cries foi larger cattle with more
fat-1,WO pounds CT ever teirg the popular
weight in Omaha, Kansas City. Chicago,
etc. The old-time Texas steer, with his
Wild bloodshot eyes, long horns, and mus
oular sinewy body is now almost a crca-
tire Of the past The Texas steer has been
bred w" with Eastern brands such as
the Hereford cattle. and now one finds a
compact-looking animal even in such out
Of the.way districts as the Texas Pan
handle. California cattle have always
been round and "meaty." They never
have so far to go for water as did the
garnt cattle of the great plains. Some
times the range bullock would go as far as
30 miles to water, all on the gallop, only
watering every third day. The breeding
of Western heifers with highly bred East
Valley. Arizona, where there are great
bull pastures" Few cattle in the Pacific
coast ranges are corn fed" but a great
many are fattened en- alfalfa before going
to market
The cowboy always plays an important
feature in the cattle industry. 1t is fls-
cinating to contemplate the unusual types
of men who are the children OF this :
markahle environment. 1t Is interesting
to note how quickly the type responds TO
changed conditions and how soon it dis
appears when the necessity which gave
1t birth has ceased to exist. Your genuine
cowboy belongs to type that is fast dis
appearing. This Is largely duo to the in
PRODUCTION of the barb wire fence. Before
the country was fenced in there was a
great horde Of wild. mad creatures roam
ing over the prairie. TO prevent the cattle
straying too far and to keep each owner 8
brand separate, formed a large part of
the cowboys duties. At blow, the sever
est work of the COW puncher was obviated.
AT present the cowboys duties are,
throughout the greater part of the year,
more monotonous than arduous.