150 



To be divided among seventy-six owners of the farms for their own time and labor, 

 •which is equal to $1,150 each, on an average. When it is remembered that there are 

 other products from these farms than those eniuaerated, such as roots of all kinds, 

 minor articles of the garden, dairy, &c., we think that it will be admitted by all that 

 farming pays well in Aroostook. 



FAT STEERS. 



George Ayraiilt, of Ponghkeepsie, 'New York, report.s to the depart- 

 ment on four steers, seven-eighths shorthorn, raised by him, and sold 

 near the close of 1869 to William Lalor, of Center Market, New York City, 

 for $3,200, the age of one of the animals being seven years, and of the 

 others six years. The largest stood about six feet high, with a girth of 

 ten feet ; and the weight of the animals was 3,300 pounds, 3,320 pounds, 

 3,406 pounds, and 3,440 pounds, respectively ; their proportions being 

 good notwithstanding their enormous size. The aggregate gain iu 

 weight duriug the season of 1869 was 1,460 pounds. The net beef 

 weight of the larger pair, after .slaughter, was 4,537 pounds, exceeding, 

 it is claimed, that of any other pair of beeves ever fatteued. 



Their average weight at the age of three years was 1,850 pounds. 

 After attaining this age, each received daily a j)eck of corn meal and 

 wheat shorts, or oatmeal, combined, divided into two feeds, and, as des- 

 sert, a peck of sugar beets twice a day. In the summer, until lately, 

 their only feed was grass supplemented with a little sweet hay. The 

 second -s^inter the daily feed of meal was increased to ten quarts each, 

 given in two feeds. In the summer of 1869, each received one peck of 

 meal per day, given at morning and at night ; and in the winter follow- 

 ing, twelve quarts of meal daily, in three feeds, besides roots. In their 

 course of feeding they have had, in winter, the best of early cut hay from 

 old meadows, and have usually had access to it in summer. Thej' were 

 not closely confined in winter, usually having the run of a small yard, 

 "with access to water, and with sheds under which they could lie pro- 

 tected from storms, and were tied at feeding time. 



It is Mr. Ayrault's opinion that when cattle are fattening and it is 

 desired to give them all the grain they will eat without being clogged, 

 it is important to feed three times a day ; and he considers beets, or 

 their equivalent, essential in winter in promoting the growth of grain- 

 fed cattle. He does not advise heavy feeding for beef until animals are 

 "well grown, his practice being to maintain his stock iu merely thrifty 

 condition until they reach the age of three years. 



A committee of the Farmers' Club, American Institute, reporting on 

 these cattle, state that they find that the only profit arising from the 

 last year's growth of the animals lay iu the increased or "fancy" rates 

 obtained on account of magnitude, and that, in Mr. Ayrault's judgment, 

 five years is the age at which fattened cattle will give the greatest 

 profit to the feeder. 



THE UPPER ARKANSAS VALLEY. 



Lying concealed amid the loftiest peaks of the Rocky Mountains, in 

 Southern Colorado, is a very remarkable and interesting little valley. 

 As it is watered by the upi)er i)ortion of the Arkansas River, it has re- 

 ceived the name of the " Upper Arkan.sas Valley," yet in reality is a. 

 genuine park, being completely surrounded by a rim of lofty mountains, 

 "whose summits are partially covered by perennial snows. It is about 

 forty miles in length and averages ei^ht to ten miles in width, and 



