Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1919-11-12
DO THE GOOD ANIMALSPAY
STORY OF A FARMER BOY AND
HIS CALF
An Article Directed tOsthe Boys and
Girls of Vernon County

/ wonder how many of YOU have
been watching what has been going on
in Wisconsin in the line of live stock
during the last few years. ! wonder
how many of you know what was GO
ing on in Madison last week. | Won
der If any of you know that a Vernon
county boy raised baby beef until
he was 10 months old and sold him
for $135 at the Junior exhibition of
live stock IN Madison last week. This
same boy took first prize on this calf
at the Vernon county fair this fall.
This boys name is Pearl Engler about
II years old and lives in District IA,
in the town of jefferson.
There were rs animals such as Pearl
Engler's exhibited at this exhibition
and they sold at the average price of
$lSS each or 23.15 cents a pound. Or
binary beef cattle such as go to the
market here bring from to z cents
or from $50 to $50 each. 1t takes
the young fellows to do things. When
you talk to the old fellows about the
advantages of getting pure bred stock,
or getting beef type cattle, if he is a
beef man, in order to get greater re-
turns for his labors, he will tell YOU
ne had an old COW once that was is
years old and he butchered her and
he never tasted better meat, and he
will stick to the old cow. If he is a
dalryman, and you try TO show him
the advantages of pure bred dairy
type cow, he will say, Il had an old
cow once, don't know what she was.
| guess she was a little of everything,
but ] never saw a better cow" and he
will stick to the old COW that is a
little of everything. So these old fell
lows are hopeless, and that is why |
am addressing this letter to the BOYS
and girls of the county. The boy who
has seen his father feed a couple of
pail fulls of grain and % pounds of
hay per day to mongrel beef COW or
steer for whole year and then takes
II to market and gets only $50 for
him, while Pearl Engler feeds a calf
IO months and gets $135 for it-that
boy or girl knows something is wrong
and he's going to find out what it is,
He'll take his pencil and begin to fig
ure and he will find out that some
kid" in the neighborhood is getting
more than twice as much money, for
less feed and work than his father is
getting. He will also discover that
his father has not got the kind of cat
tie that makes good beef, and pro-
badly that his father does not take
the right kind of care of the kind he
has got. The father will never dis
cover this. You can't "teach an old
dog new tricks" any more than YOU
can put new wine into old bottles.
So, boys and girls, the hope of the
farming industry of this country lies
in you. You are the ones that will
save the situation and feed the world
by and by, and make meney while
doing II. Do you know | have sold
between 30 and 40 pure bred Gtlern-
seys within the last six years and have
received from $50 for young male
calves to $3.50 for cows, and have
not sold a single animal to one of
these old fellows. They have all been
young fellows. The old fellows, my
nelghbors, get from So to $50 for cal
YES and cows of the same ages | get
from $50 to $3.50. These old fellows
will Gomez to my farm and enquire
about prices and say ''You have nice
cattle" and go away saving HI'll see
you again" OF course / know he
never will come back but he has to
say something. But he does not see
the point, and he never will.
So boys and girls, too, just sit down
and write Pearl Engler, RI, Viroqua,
and ask him what ne did to get S135
for 10 months old calf, and ask him
If he were doing it over again he
would buy the same kind of calf or
would he buy more beefy type. Have
him tell you all about it. Then begin
dinging at your father to get Won
such calf (hell do that for you) and
see if you can't make $135 each by
next fall. Pearl did not get as much
as some boys got for their calves, and
mistrust it was because it was not
as good beef type as others. though
it was a splendid calf. If that was the
trouble, Pearl will correct that next
time. He is a boy and he will have
the kind of calf that will bring him
the most money.
The rs young animals sold by the
boys and girls at the Madison show
last week weighed 81, $50 pounds or an
average of $40 pounds each. They
brought S14,2S4.55, or an average of
nearly 5000 each. That is more than
a whole train load of such animals as
| have seen sold here viii bring One
Richland county boy, Martin. Stanek
of Yuba, IS years old received S646
for his calf. But it was not sold for
beef. 1t was bought by a man who
wanted to take it to the National
Stock Show. The others were all sold
for beef. Your sincerely,
]. D. BECK.
~