Live Stock Breeders' Association. 175 



from the feeding troughs and pastures, by reason of its irregular 

 or inadequate supply, by reason of inadequate trough room, by rea- 

 son of its filthy condition and uninviting surroundings, is to di- 

 rectly restrict the gains and to reduce the profits of the feeding 

 operation. Wherever at all feasible, a constant supply of deep-well 

 water, freshly pumped, in troughs of adequate size, should be pro- 

 vided in a locality convenient to the feed troughs, convenient to the 

 ranges, and at a point where the droppings that naturally accumu- 

 late in the vicinity of the watering trough will be of value to the 

 farm rather than be washed away by the first rains that come after 

 they are deposited. 



REGULARITY IN FEEDING AND QUIETNESS IN HANDLING. 



Clock-like regularity in the feeding and watering of cattle on 

 full feed is of the utmost importance. If possible, the same man 

 even should always do the feeding, and it is important that this 

 be the most intelligent and trustworthy man on the farm. It is 

 scarcely possible for a man to get the best gains out of cattle and 

 to get them all to come along uniformly and have no founders and 

 "throw outs" unless he take a personal interest in the work in 

 hand. To make the crop and general farm work the principal and 

 the cattle feeding the subsidiary thing is likely to prove unfort- 

 unate for the cattle. 



WHEN STEERS ARE READY TO BE MARKETED. 



No sounder advice could be given the beginner than to study 

 carefully the requirements of the market. This may be best done 

 by visiting the market as frequently as possible and especially when 

 the cattle of his own feeding are to be sold. To bring cattle to 

 just the point of finish, or to just the degree of fatness that will 

 make them most profitable, or to avoid carrying them too long, or 

 to avoid selling them too early, is perhaps the most difficult point 

 to determine in the entire range of beef production. No one can 

 hope to develop good judgment in this direction without a thorough 

 familiarity with the various market classes of cattle and without 

 knowing how much fat each class requires to enable it to be sold 

 to the best advantage. It would of course be fatal to follow one 

 rule with all grades. Cattle of good quality will require a relatively 

 higher finish because, as a rule, their cost price as feeders is so 

 high that there will be too small a margin between it and the sell- 

 ing price to pay a profit if they are not made prime. Plain to 



