Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1913-06-24
KEEP YOUR CATTLE
Agricultural Department Gives Good
Advice to Southern Farmers.

Washington, June 13-During the
past twelve months cattle buyers have
been active in Louisiana, Mississippi,
Alabama, Georgia and Florida, pur-
chasing cattle to be shipped to the
middle western markets as either cam
ners or stockers. The prices paid for
Gamers during this period have been
so high that thousands Of COWS and
heifers have gone to the shambles
which should have been retained on
the farms for breeding purposes. This
is especially noticeable when the re-
ceipts of southern cattle at the st.
Louis market for the last twelve
months are compared with those for
any previous period of similar length.
The receipts of Alabama, Mississippi,
and Louisiana cattle at that market
have almost doubled during this peri
cd.
Since the first of February, buyers
from the farms and ranches of the
west have been securing the gulf
states in search of breeding stock. a
few years ago this class Of cattle
would have been scorned by the wes-
tern ranchman as breeding stock; but
with the shortage of cows for breed
ing purposes, the ranchers are glad to
get these cheap cows, to which they
will breed good beef bulls. The half
breeds resulting from this mating
make fairly desirable beef animals.
Several thousand cattle have already
been sent from these states to Texas,
Oklahoma, and Kansas, and some OF
them are said to have been shipped as
far as Montana.
Recently there were perhaps more
cattle unloaded at one time in Bir-
mingham, Ala, for feed, water, and
rest while en- route to the western
ranges than have ever been seen in
that place before in one day. Georgia
and Florida are sending out thousands
of these native southern cattle at the
present time at prices ranging from
SIS to $23 a head for mature animals.
A shipment of forty carloads of cattle
was recently made from Osceola coun-
ty, Florida, in one day. They were
shipped to Kansas via Oklahoma city.
The cattle were dipped in arsenical So
luton before loading, to free them Of
ticks. and were to be dipped again on
arrival at Oklahoma city before going
above the Federal quarantine line.
Some people of the south seem glad
that these cattle are being shipped out
as the number of scrub cattle is being
reduced and the south will get better
cattle as n result. They do not look
far enough ahead, however, or they
would see that if the shortage OF cat
tie Is such as to cause buyers to come
from the far west to buy these scrub
cattle for breeding purposes, the
chances of southern farmers refilling
their pastures with good cattle are in
deed small, for where are these good
breeding cattle to come from at rea-
sonable price? The best and most
profitable way of getting good cattle
throughout the south Is to breed up
the native cattle by the use of pure
bred bulls. and by castrating all small
bulls at an early age.
The south is especially adapted to
raising cattle, because of the long
grazing season, the enormous areas OF
cheap land much of which is now ly-
ing idle, the great variety of pasture
grasses and legumes which grow lux
uriently on all soils, and because OF
the mild winters.
If the western ranchman can afford
to pay southern farmers good prices
for COWS. pay the high freight rates
to the west. stand the losses which
naturally occur during shipping thin
cattle such long distances. also bear
the losses due to a change of climatic
conditions. and then make money on
them, why can not the southern farm
er who already owns the cattle as
well as the grazing lands. and who
needs the manure upon the soils. keep
his stock on the 1aTm ana SECURE lHe
increased profits? He can if he will
free his cattle of ticks, increase the
efficiency of his pastures by planting
mixtures of lespedeZa, bur clover,
white clover, or perhaps melilotus,
alsike clover. and redtop over his pas
ture lands; and by raising more hays
and forage crops for wintering his
stock and finishing them for market.
The surplus cattle can then be fatten-
ed by feeding cOttOnseed cake on
grass. or grazing fields of velvet
beans while feeding some concentrate;
or they can he finished in the dry lot
during the winter months. For winter
feeding no roughage has proved more
valuable than silage. as the addition
of it to the feeding ration invariably
increases the size of the daily gains
and reduces their cost. thereby max
ing greater profits. The quality and
quantity of silage which can be pro-
duccd on some Of these cheap lands
can not he surpassed by the high pric-