Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-11-04
Cattle Raising.

AS lar DdCh as twenty years ago,
when The Enquirer used to from
time to time argue that a more
prosperous future could be worked
out for this section through cattle
some would smile skeptically at what
they considered the impracticability Of
the idea and others would think seri-
ously and do nothing, while a few
would make more or less sporadic eX-
periments, get scared and quit not al
together satisfied whether it would not
have been better to have gone on.
Within the past few years there has
been a very material advance Of the
more intelligent sentiment on this sub
ject, and we are beginning to hope that
at last this country is on the verge of
drifting into the cattle industry. 1t is
not to be claimed that there has been
any really ambitious progress along
this line as yet, for there has not been {;
but people who have experimental
more or less, have seen encouragments
here and there and the sentiment is
undoubtedly undergoing a change.
One of the troubles why progress has
been slow, is that the people who for
merly started into the farming busi-
ness pursuing a policy under which
they had to buy corn to feed to mules
to raise cotton could not see where
there would be any profit in COWS fed
on bought corn. They were right. All
who used to buy corn with which to
are still in business, found the mistake
of that policy, and those who did not
find the mistake are not now in the
same business. They are either dead
or doing something else.
OF course no one is going to he silly
enough to suggest that beef cattle can
be most profitably raised on bought
provender. 1t is contrary to all estab-
lished economic laws and to common
sense; but since it has been demon
strated as a business proposition that
the man of sufficient means and fairly
good capacity for management can buy
full grown cattle at price that will
give the man who raised them profit,
bring them several hundred miles by
and hulls for ninety days and sell them
at figures that will leave their manure
clear above all expenses, does it not
seem that there would be something in
the proposition of raising the cattle at
home on pasturage and fattening them
on home raised provender that can be
had at a much less cost than cotton
seed meal and hulls?
AS rare as was such a sight twenty
years ago, it is not an uncommon thing
in this county now days to run upon
a pasture full of sleek blooded cattle,
who have had nothing through the
summer but grass and little salt; but
whose owner is provided with large
quantities of millet, peavine or sor
ghum hay to take them through the
winter. We do not mean to say that
this sight is any too common; hut it
is not as uncommon as it used to be.
We feel perfectly satisfied that with
in the next ten years this country is
going to be full of cattle. Some of the
reasons for this assurance have been
suggested in the foregoing, and the
lists might be heightened very mate
rally without much effort, but what
would please us most would be that
the time be anticipated as much as
possible. There is no doubt that cattle
raising is the thing and the best inter
est of the country requires that the
sOner the business is put under full
headway the better for all concerned.