the change are the increase in the population of cities coupled with 

 the reduced ratio of producers ; the inroads on the family purse made 

 by luxuries, which have restricted the percentage spent on necessi- 

 ties; and the reduced size of families which has permitted groceries 

 with small meat shops vending pound to two-pound cuts to make 

 deep inroads into the business of the specialized butcher. 



The demand for heavy cattle varies little throughout the year. 

 The markets of the big cities, principally New York, Chicago, 

 Philadelphia and Boston, supply the principal trade, the sales being 

 largely to hotels and clubs that have a standard demand for certain 

 cuts the year around. This natural demand for heavy finished cattle 

 takes only about 1 5 per cent of the cattle on the market, their live 

 weight being 1 300 pounds and up, and their carcasses making about 

 750 pounds of beef and up. In order that prices for this class of 

 cattle remain steady and hold the same relative relation to other 

 classes of cattle, the supply must be regular as a few too many can 

 readily glut the market. Unfortunately, it is difficult to finish 

 cattle of this sort at all seasons of the year ; few of them coming on the 

 market in the period from August ist to February ist excepting 

 cattle finished for shows and for the Christmas trade. From 

 February on there is usually a sufficiency of this class of cattle, while 

 late March and April may find a few too many with consequent 

 drops in price. On the other hand, in times of scarcity of heavy 

 cattle, buyers having orders, for this class of stock make competition 

 so lively that steers weighing 1400 pounds or up which will satisfy 

 their trade, often bring $i to $2 above their real value as compared 

 to smaller cattle of the same grade. A judgment of values based 

 on the price of this class of cattle either in times of scarcity or 

 surplus, is bound to be misleading to the average feeder. 



The profit in beef production in the future will increasingly lie 

 in quality stock. Early maturity and quick money turn-overs are 

 certain to be the keynotes of future meat production, due to high 

 land and feed values. Cold blooded stock will never utilize feed 

 for fattening and finishing until the animals are well grown, three 

 years old or over, while breeders and feeders will need to have their 

 money back out of their animals by the time they are two years old, 

 unless the cattle are range grown, when the difference in production 

 costs will permit their profitable retention for another year. Fur- 

 thermore, the value of well-bred cattle has been demonstrated during 

 the first four years following the war by the fact that well finished 

 yearlings have topped the market at all times for periods longer 

 than a week in duration. During this time there has been a spread 

 of fifty cents to two dollars per hundredweight between the year- 

 lings and older cattle of the same quality. Only cattle high in the 

 blood of the purebreds are capable of reaching this degree of finish 

 in their yearling form. A six-months calf of good blood, dropped in 

 the spring, can be fattened so as to be marketed the following spring 

 or summer from any cornbelt farm, but a six-months scrub will not 



