The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1921-05-27

supply inexhaustible quantities of the
best water. Moreover in most parts of
this entire section the purest artesian
water is available within easy reach
of the surface, furnishing bountiful
supplies of flowing water. No stock
man among US need ever haul water
miles from muddy, drying creeks, nor
expend fortune constructing dams
and earth reservois for the husband
ing of rain and inferior surface water.
No cattle owner in all the region rep
resented in this convention need have
before his eyes the horror of seeing
his herds falling dead around exhaust
ed water holesN We have now been
in session two days, yet we have hard
ly heard mention OF the existence of the
stock sections. When asked by a mem
Der to name the most serious pest Of
our range cattle, our best informed
stosk men can conjure up cattle dis
aese common to all other nothing
more terrible than the common black
fly, prevalent wherever cattle congre-
gate in numbers
All the other advantages enumerat-
ed would be of little use could we not
show the possibility of producing
abundant and economical supplies of
feed stuffs.
In Florida we have for practical and
cheap feeds the following crops,
named in order Of Importance: Vel
vet beans, COW peas, oats, corn, beg
gar@weed, sweet potatoes and cassava.
The last named crop is one of the
most valuable, but expense in culti-
walton and feeding reduces its practi-
cal utility.
Our experimental station has said:
If the crops mentioned above could
be saved and fed out to the animals
as wanted, there would be enough
protein in the velvet bean Zone acrel
70 last a 1.0O01p animal ESQ days.
This plant also furnishes 1924 fbs.
OF carbonaceous matter, which is used
for fat formation and supplying heat
and energy to the body. An average
crop of cow pea hay furnish ZIG fbs.
OF digestible portion and 772 ms. of
carbo-hy An average crop Of
beggar weed will furnish 339 fbs. OF
protein. about 80 per cent digestible,
and about S0S MS of carbohydrates.
am unable TO state. in pounds OF
protein and carbohydrates what they
will do, but, by actual test, know that
one acre of good velvet beans will
feed for ninety days thousand pound
animal. provided it has access to
rough land of wire grass, broom sage
or stock of oat straw. and turn him
out at the end of the period fat
enough to dress so rer cent of the
live weight. if well bred.
They cost about $500 to $500 per
acre 10 gTOWs anu Idu ~ udduC OIf ally
high. dry land Of medium to good
quality Cow-pea hay alone. fed in
liberal supply. will winter cattle in
fine condition, but more extensively
than velvet beans.
In caring for our pure bred herd Of
about 100 cattle, we depend upon ma
tive pastures from March till Novem-
ber for adults. They have corn fields
and native grasses or oat straw in a
run on velvet beans from November
till March. For the calves and fresh
COWS we Craze on OATS from Novem-
Der till March, and they also have the
run Of velvet bean fields, rape, cassa7
va and other small crops are easily
prepared. Oats grazed till March
make average crops of grain after
pasturing. BY this method we have
made native registered Shorthorns
weigh 739 pounds at nine months old,