The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1914-11-10

Home and FARM
ann glad to comply with your re-
o,,.t for q letter relative to the de-
,al4ument Of the livestock industry, in
-. south. with special reference to
,ba financial and marketing difficult
..- encountered by farmers in the
cotton belt, embarking in the raising
9f beef cattle.
<ot every farmer should AXE up
thc raising Of livestock with the idea
~ making il the principal business OF
l. farm. and only the occasional
farmer has the peculiar temperament
and Qualifications essential to making
success of the breeding of high
GLASS. pure-bred animals, but. because
of the beneficial effects of crop rota-
tior and the application of manure to
the soil. livestock should have a place
an every farm. and this is especially
true of many Of the farms in the cot
ION belt. on which there mas been a
lowering of soil productivity through
long continued growing of a single
crop.
Begin on a Small Scale.
suggest that, generally speaking,
the average farmer going into the
raising of beef cattle should not be-
Gin on "a large scale. The number of
animals with which a start should be
made is necessarily a matter that
must be determined separately by
each i~niyiddual farmer. Quality
should be a primary consideration,
and every farmer should aim con-
stautly to improve his herd. The pri-
mary requisite, therefore, is the pur-
chase of relatively a few cows n
heifers, which should be the best that
the farmer al obtain without paying
extrayagant prices. Pure-bred fe-
males should Not be considered by the
average farmer, but he should breed
all Of his cows and heifers to a reg
istered bull OF of the beef breeds,
if he can afford to own such an ami
NAL himself or can secure the serV-
ices OF one in his neighborhood. If
a pure-bred bull is not available, a
hish-grade animal possessing the
characteristics of one of the beef
breeds should be. Even with ordinary
scrub cows greatly improved offspring
can be obtained by using a pure-bred
bull. Scrub bulls, which are common
in many parts Of the South, should
be eliminated along with the cattle
tick. and under no condition should
a Jersey or other light dairy bull be
used in breeding for beef. 1t is the
cross which counts.
BY making a small beginning with
the best animals that he can buy, by
using the best sires available. and by
saving his heifer calves, the farmer
can gradually breed up his herd t.
any size a he may desire.
Facing Financial Difficulties.
The farmer who goes into the bee
cattle business in this way will fin(
that financial difficulties encountered
may not be insurmountable. He may
however. need some banking assist
ance, and, IL the livestock possibilitie
or the South are to be fully realized
there will be a wide field for bankinI
cooperation. Southern bankers hav
not generally been accustomed t
taking livestock security for loans
but some far-sighted Southern bank
erS are taking the cad in building u
the livestock industry in their local.
Ties. some OF them going so far a
TO buy registered beef bulls. the
selling them to farmers at cost, tax
Ing notes in payment. g
Mr.. p. II. Rawl, Chief of the Dair
Division in the United States Depar'
ment of Agriculture, in an address bt
Tore the South Carolina Bankers A!
soclation, in Jun Of last year, sus
sested a plan Of banking cooperate
IN the development Of the ~livestoC
industry that is worthy of consider:
uon by every banker in the cote
belt.
As the bankers Of the South, ar
southern farmers as well, are accu
toned to cotton as a basis of bar
credit, Mr.. Rawl suggested Ia wht
a farmer wanted to undertake Il
raising of livestock, the banker mig
make him n loan, secured by his CO
.9h crop in the usual way. T.
chler difficulty in marketing be
cattle from much Of the cotton be
Is the quarantine line established
me United States government to pr
vent the spread of the cattle tick in
territory that is now free from it. TT
Is Il difficulty that the farmers of t
Houth can remove by the eradicate
81 the tick. If the farmers in a
county below the quarantine line W
.9Ne hold of the work energetical
they can clean up their county a
nave 1t released from quarantine
relatively a short time. Lauderds
Atnn1N Ny@r;r-.--. ~ -