The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1906-09-27
The Cattle Industry IN the South.


4 recent bulletin of the Mississippi
Station. prepared by A. Smith and {.
/. Brag, states that the farmers OF
that State and throughout the cotton
belt generally are slow 10 realize the
benefits OF stock raising and cattle
feeding. and that IL is more remun-
eratiye than continuous cotton grow
ing" Cotton growing has therefore
been the chief source Of revenue for
the farmer; cotton is pre-eminently
the "money-crop" of the region. and
other branches OF farming have been
neglected. The feeding experiments
carried on at the station with twenty
five grade steers, two to :our years
old, which were classed as medium
feeders. using cotton-seed bulls and
meal, cornmeal. wheat bran and hay
johnson grass and mixture of al
falfa and Johnson grass. I'D fur
nish quite clear evidences that the
feeding of beef cattle in Mississippi
Is a safe and profitable investment
and a much more economical way OF
maintaining the fertility of the soil
than by purchasing fertilizers.
In the wheat and corn belts farm
ers have long ago discovered that
the continuous sale of their crops
could not be carried on Indefinitely
without impairing the fertility OF the
soil. and that they must have re-
course to live stock Of some kind TO
return to the land some of the ele-
ments OF plant food taken from il BY
the crops grown, thus preserving
their farms in state of productivity
more easily resembling the original
condition of the soil. In the cotton
| belt the beef breeds of cattle are only
| beginning to take their rightful place
| among other farm live stock. This
| Is largely owing to the prevailing
| idea among farmers that raising beef
steers for market is not profitable.
Dairy farming has many good
| points of superiority over beef rails
! ing, but to farmers who are not close
| to a good market and are handi-
| capped by lack of available and
steady labor, the breeding and feed
| ing OF cattle will offer many induce
! ments.
That is is 4 profitable business in
| the South is shown by the low cost
of raising cattle, economy in produc-
| ing suitable feeds, and the ineXpen-
sive buildings required.
With a pure-bred beef sire, a herd
| of native COWS. and plenty of pasture
| land, u farmer may in two or three
| years time develop good grade
| beef herd. which will largely in
crease his profits and maintain the
fertility of the soil.
| The comparison between the stable
versus open-yard system, while show
| ing some advantage in favor of the
| stable method, really indicates that
combination of the best features
of both systems is preferable. This
could be done by allowing the cattle
| to run in large sheds with a solid
| tight floor, which should be we'll
| bedded, and the manure ali saved.
| If desired, outside yards connected
with these sheds could be provided,
| so that the cattle should have some
exercise and plenty of fresh air. One
| of the secrets of successful cattle
feeding is in making them as com
Portable as possible.
Where cottonseed meal and hulls
can be purchased at a reasonable
| price, they prove to be very cheap
| feeds for fattening steers. No bad
| effects result from feeding cotton
| seed meal for such short periods as
this, and it remain to be seen
whether any ration can be COM
| pounded exclusive of good silage
which can equal it as an inexpensive
| feed.