The Aberdeen examiner. [volume] (Aberdeen, Miss.) 1866-current, 1922-08-11
General Liue Stock in Monroe
County Mississippi
Observation-Disclosures

ularly the Prairie or Lime Belt part
of it, had a wonderful resource in its
grasses and hay. Alfalfa, sweet
clover, red clover, johnson grass and
lespedeza (Japan Clover grow for
years without re-seeding, and pro
duce large yields. The pastures
consist Of white clover, bur clover,
hop clover. and other legumes, in the
spring, Bermuda and paspallum in
the summer, and lespedeza in the fall
all growing on the same ground in
season, without reseeding.
For many years, farmers have
fought grass in the cult walton of
crops. But where Nature has be-
slowed such a priceless gift, it seems
sin to fight it.
How best to convert this natural
resource into money was the quss-
ton We had no creamery. We We're
advised not to organize one with less
than 500 good cows. Our people
knew nothing about the care and
feeding Of milk cows, the use Of sep
arators, and, in fact, did not want
any Job that required them to work
not only every day, but twice every
day. Hence no ore at that time
could be interested in the dairy
proposition.
Nearly all Southern territory was
then infested with Texas cattle ticks.
But Monroe and other North-East
Mississippi counties were dipping
cattle regularly, the ticks were soon
eradicated, and it became ''free ter
ritory." Its cattle therefore, when
shipped to the markets, were not
placed in quarantine and sold only
for immediate slaughter. but could
be re-shipped as stockers or feeders.
On account of the low grade, howev-
er, they were not in demand for such
purposes. The Legislature of Miss
issippi has since passed a statewide
Dipping Bill, so that all counties not
already free (only few in South
Mississippi will soon become en-
tirely free of the tick, and no part
of the state will be quarantined
against.
There were no registered bulls,
nor even good grades of the beef
type in the county. Nearly all of the
cattle were of the homemade" va
riety, a mixture of Jersey and brin-
die predominating. In certain sec
tons there were some traces of the
Short Horns, few bulls of that
breed having formerly been used.
In 1912, being timid about start
ing out on an expensive scale, the
writer purchased a lot of native
heifers throughout the county, at
low price, selecting those that show
ed as little Jersey blood as possible.
The first year we used a registered
Short Horn Bull, and later three reg
istered Hereford Bulls at time. We
intend to use hereafter only Polled
Hereford bulls, having several poll
ed ancestors on both sides. BY Gull
ing out and selling each year the
cows and calves of bad color, the
herd has developed into one appar-
emily of pure-bred white-faces, both
in color and in conformation.
Others did likewise, some shipping
in grade heifers. Bulls of all the
beef types are used; so that today
Monroe County has a great many
herds of high-grade beef cattle
several pure-bred herds. As in all
sections, the Hereford, the Angus,
and the Short Horn each have their
supporters. All do well, both on
pasture and in the feed lot. 1t is
purely a matter of individual taste.
The cheapest gains by cattle are
made on cotton seed meal, fed with
cotton seed hulls, and corn or sor-
ghum silage. The meal and hulls can
be bought at the local cotton seed
oil mill-no freight to pay; and
either silage can be produced cheap
er than in the North. The climate is
not so cold that half the feed is re-
quired to produce heat, but is mild
enough for most of the feed to be
converted into flesh. When on full
feed, the steers really do better out
in the open, enjoying the sunshine,
than they do in a barn. When cotton
seed meal (the cheapest of all pro-
TEN feeds) is used, the resulting ma
nure is rich in nitrogen, the element
most needed by Southern soils. As
about $3.50 of the fertilizing ele-
ment of the feed passes through the
animal to the ground, land upon
which cattle have been fed, is bene-
fitted for years.
From about October 10th to
Christmas, stock is allowed to run on
the alfalfa fields. The damage to the
alfalfa is very slight. Where ricks of
low grade hay are left in the fields,
the cattle balance their feed, so that
there is but little danger of bloat.
The corn and cotton stalk fields
also afford excellent grazing in win
ter. Cotton stalks contain about the
same percentage of protein as do al
falfa, lespedeza, or pea-vines, but,
of course, have more woody fibre,
and are not so digestible. Cattle
winter well in the fields on cotton
stalks alone. Velvet beans should be
planted with the corn. The vines
completely cover the stalks, shade
the ground, and prevent evapora-
ton. The beans are contained in
hard-shelled pods-will not pop out,
terminate or rot in the field, but
will remain all winter. The stock will
eat them all, even picking the pods
out Of the ground. The cost of the
seed for planting is about 40 cents
per acre, and no extra cultivation is
required. In addition to the feed
produced, the humus resulting from
the dense foliage, and the trogen,
costing nothing to distribute, benefit
the land as much as would many
loads of manure.
The larger cattle and the fed cat