Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-01-27
Ito Be Continued.)
s5,OOO,OO0 FOR WATER.
Makes Cattle Weigh Heavier-liquid
Expensive to Buyers.

Water Is the only thing in the mar
keting of live stock that figures clear
profit. Feed corn at 81 per bushel, hay
$40 a ton, the charges made by stock
yards companies for yardage, and the
charge for selling made by commits
sion companies tend to reduce the
shippers profit, but when he sees his
bunch of cattle properly yarded, fed
and quietly drinking at the water
troughs he knows the amount Of water
the cattle drink will cost him nothing
and will sell at as much per pound as
the weight gained by expensive feed
ing.
If cattle at the big markets were
yarded and sold without a chance to
get water it would mean large loss to
shippers yearly.
The average steer or COW will drink
20 to so pounds Of water at the mar
keting point, according to distance 1t
has been hauled and the length Of time
without water. The hog being much
smaller, and capacity for drink limited,
the water fill seldom exceeds five
pounds per head. Sheep drink little
water at markets, but to get the proper
fill due them the big sheep men who
cover several hundred miles with ship
ments, bill their sheep to some feeding
station near the market, hold them on
feed and water several days and at the
proper time resume the journey.
Dealers in live stock at the Kansas
City yards say that weight gained by
the use Of water at the Kansas City
stock yards in 1910 amounted to $5,-
100000.
There have been instances Of car
leads Of cattle and hogs weighing more
at markets than they did before load
ing into cars for shipment. The
amount of water cattle drink depends
largely on weather conditions, both at
the loading point and at destination.
If the weather is rough and cold when
cattle leave home and bright and warm
when they reach market they drink
heavily. Some farmers salt their cat
tie Just before they start to market, so
that they will drink more water. but
there Is such a thing as cattle being
too full to sell we'll, and the careful
market man is contented with a mod
crate fill.
One often hears a buyer remark, II
rave $3.50 for Ks cattle today. Yes
terday paid $3.50 for the same mans
cattle, and as today's bunch were as
full as ticks, I figure yesterdays buy
the lowest"
On days when the market is slow In
starting commission men hold the cat
tie off of water as long as possible, for
in showing them to buyers the cattle
mill around" and lose considerable Of
the fill.
Often the big buyers start the early
trading with a whoop. Then, when
most of the unpurchased fat cattle are
turned to the water troughs the buy
ers quit buying for several hours.
Consequently the early fill is offset to
a marked degree, and 1t is impossible
to fill cattle the second time the same
day.
Spectators and yard traders figure
the fill" on cattle as their best asset.
They buy, as rule, on the early and
late market each day. Sometimes they
place bid as follows: s5.15 watered
and $3.50 without water" Few sales
are made on such bid.
Some shippers send their hogs to
markets where there is no yardage
charge or commissions for selling. A
corps Of competent buyers is employ
ed to pay close attention to the prices
at the other stock yards, and mark the
scale tickets accordingly. The hogs
sent to these private yards, however,
pass from the unloading docks onto the
scales without feed or water, and con-
uuently show the shrinkage made in
shipping.
Very often country buyers have four
or five dead hogs in a carload, simply
because the farmer who fattened the
hogs slops them heavily. loads them
into a wagon and weighs them at the
shipping point. This is fairly good for
the farmer, once, but decidedly hard on
the country buyer.
A few miles from all the big mar
kets are feeding and watering stations
for sheep. The most important ones
near Kansas City are Leeds, Mo-, and
Morris and Lawrence, Kan. These
yards for the next two months Will
probably average 10000 to $4,000 sheep
daily.-Kansas City Star.