TiiK Bulletin. 101 



farm will want half of bis lot of cows to nurse all the calves tlropped by tbe 

 entire lot each spring:. Two calves may be tauj^bt to nurse one cow l)y con- 

 rtuini:; I be cow in a stancbion for a week or so wbile tbe course of instruction 

 is under way ; tben tbe calves sbould bare a first-class pasture near tbe stable 

 witb abundance of dark sbed room — to belp in tbe eliminating of tbe fly pest. 

 Tbe nurse cows will be turned into tbis lot ni^lit and morning, wbile tbe bal- 

 ance of tbe bord is being milked to supply tbe milk and butter for family use. 

 If some sbelled corn is supplied to tbe calves after tbey are tbree months of 

 age more rapid and economical gains may be expected. Tbe first winter of 

 their lives should be spent amidst ])eace and pleuty. The peace being secured 

 by having a light, well bedded open sbed to run in aud being tended by a 

 quiet, painstaking feeder. The "plenty" means abundance of well-ripened 

 corn silage and legume hay. Cheap grass comes again in early April in tbe 

 shape of fall-sown rye and crimson clover, and from these feeds the calves 

 will go in May to the permanent pasture. The bull calves will have been 

 castrated when about two or three months of age; tbe only "sign" to be looked 

 after being that tbe knife is sharp and a bucket of disinfectant dip be at hand 

 witb which to wash tbe animals when tbe operation is completed. Tbe steers 

 may be sold in November when they are 18 to 20 months of age (at 800 to 

 850 pounds) or be carried through another winter on silage and legmne hay 

 and grazed another summer, when they sbould weigh around 1,200 pounds, and 

 sbould sell, at present prices, at $40 to $50 each at 18 months or $C0 to $65 

 at 30 months of age. 



The price received will depend very largely on the sort of care the young 

 things have received and tbe kind of "'daddy" tbey had. Tbe type of tbe sire 

 used will generally have 30 per cent to 50 per cent to do witb tbe price the 

 feeders will bring on the markets. A scrub bull will generally get 2% to 

 3-cent feeders, while the low, blocky, broad, square-beaded, pure-bred beef 

 bull will generally sire calves that will sell at $4.50 to $5.75 per hundred 

 pounds. 



If the breeding and feeding method are to be combined — a practice which I 

 recommend in any section where level land enough is available on which to pro- 

 duce the rough feed and 75 per cent of tbe finishing grain fed — tbe steers should 

 be started on grain along witb their silage and legume bay the second fall, 

 when they are 18 to 20 months old. Give what silage and bay tbey will cou- 

 .sume at tbe start and witb tbis start them out on a pound each per day of 

 cotton-seed meal and gradually increase this amount until at the end of thirty 

 days they are using 4 to 5 pounds per day. Tbree or four pounds of shelled 

 corn (per bead) should be fed, also bringing them up gradually to tbis 

 amount, as witb the meal. One hundred and twenty to 150 days feeding 

 sbould make the steers prime beef ready for the market at 1.200 pounds in 

 late February or early March. Let tbe steers have a well-bedded shed, open 

 to tbe south, for a sleeping and resting place, witb a small yard attached that 

 is kept well littered. Have tbis yard so that surface water from the sur- 

 rounding land cannot flow into it. and never let any water drain out of it. If 

 abundance of corn fodder butts be used for litter tbe yard under these condi- 

 tions will be kept in good condition. 



Tbe man who purchases feeders in the fall to fatten ou home grown or 

 purchased foods must be a good .iudge of cattle, must be a good feeder, must 

 know when to buy and when to sell, must know bow to handle cattle on tbe 

 way to market to avoid excessive shrinkage. Then tbe business is always 

 more or less of a gamble, as no man when buying feeders and feed in the fall 

 can tell much about what the market will be in tbe sjiring when he 

 is ready to sell. Tbe safe way. as the writer sees it. is for each farmer to 

 raise his own feeders, feed them to a finish at from 20 to 22 months of age. 

 and reap the profit there is in both tbe raising and finishing, and also give 

 to his farm tbe benefits that come from having a good acreage in pastures 

 each year. 



