The Pensacola journal., 1914-12-20

Yearly every week for the past sew
u,onrhs there has been mention,
=. various state papers, of the |
':,r.nt Of stock cattle from Florida
~ IN some instances boast was even
a. If our great cattle industry, and |
-. great numbers being shipped
-, this or that place.
- the casual reader these state
-.r+s mean but little, but thoughtful
.3,. however, will reveal much and
thinking people, we will come to
20 that this business of shipping
attic to some other State TO be fat
'-.5 for slaughter is a mistake and
\. cattle growers and the State are
,-.atIv injured by the practice. No
',oct cattle should be shipped from
rnyida except as a dressed meat pro-
;nct or as finished cattle ready for
the slaughter.
r would be difficult to find out just
sou, many head of cattle are shipped
ant ot the State but from the best in
s,yrnation at hand il would be safe to
av for the past several years the
lumber shipped would exceed $4,000
annually.
What The State Losee.
THE shipments from the State
have not been limitea 20 beef cattle,
but each year hundreds of stock cattle
have been shipped. no discretion being
shown as to males and females. In
NAM instances cows and calves and
Young hei1ers make up a large part
Of the shipments.
There are in the State OF Florida
now according to the best information
obtainable, about So0,0o head of range,
Or stock cattle In the year 1904 there
we're about 1,o0O,00o head Of range or
stock cattle in the State. From these
figures we note q decrease of 200, 600
head OF a decrease of twenty per cent
In the last ten years. Not only are we
reducing yearly, the numoer of our
range cattle by our methods of ship
ping them out OF the state but we
really are destroying one OF the States
Oldest and most important industries.
2-To feed or fatten $4,000 head of
cattle that are annually shipped from
he State would require the raising of
thousands Of tons of feed. This would
lecessarily mean the building up of
8rge farms In the various counties in
which the cattle are raised and thous-
ands of acres Of land that are now ly-
ng dormant, as the ''cut over" lands
b the state, would gradually be trans
sormed into magnificent farms.
3-The small farmers would also
earn the Importance Of cattle raising
aud Il would not be long before thous-
AnAs Of small farmers would be cattle
raAseEs, It is q fact that the best
development IN a state is that brought
about By small farmers and stock
Fslsers
THE raising of hogs should be
carried on in connection with cattle
feeding and in the absence OF this in
iustry the State necessarily loses the
income from many thousands Of hogs
that should be raised.
-The raising Of sufficient crops tt
fatten the cattle annually shipped from
hits State and the other labor neces'
sary to the handling OF this large NUM-
Der Of cattle would give wholesome
Employment to several thousand peo'
sa
THE growing of cattle and tn
attentnR same for market would nat
rslly lead up to the establishing o
sock yards and slaughter houses Il
our own State, and instead Of having
Sght hundred thousand head of stool
Ia this State we should have severa
million head. With q little more drain
We the Everglades OF Florida alon
could easily care for moro than on
million head
The state of Florida does no
get credit for the growing Of her cat
lie when they have been fattened, fin
shed and marketed in some othe
state. and we are forced to speak o
our own Florida Grown Best as West
srn Raised Meat" when 1t come
ZACH to US for consumption and is re
tailed from the butchers stall or a
Ancy canned products.
What The Grower Loses
THE grower gets only part Q
hs real value of his products. tn
cattle shipped from Florida average
he cattle grower or raiser less thai
Eighteen dollars per head The buyer
when he has fattened these same cat
TIE realizes more than forty dollar
Per head.
The cattle can be fattened in FGorid'
cost Of from six dollars to twelv
collars per head. The grower the1
'saly makes to the buyer net gift u
sash Of S15 per head to take his cattl
and later return them as "Westerl
saised Meat and at nearly or quit
nrss times the original cost.
This cash gift of SIS per head make
Tie enormous sum $75o,ooo, the tota
annual gift Of the Florida cattl
Flower to his Northern buyer.
I'm shipping the cattle from tn
stats to be fattened or furnished TO
ne market the grower loses, annually
more than $4,000 tons of the very bes
efull1er and representing a cash valu
at least S250,oo0. Many of the YER
'est Northern farmers feed a cattl
very winter and they think them