BEEF CATTLE 57 



with these same deficiencies. A feeder with a long, narrow head, long legs, 

 or shallow body will not alter his type in the feed lot. The greatest 

 improvement comes in those regions of the body where the natural covering 

 of muscle is thickest, in the shoulder, crops, back, loin and round. The 

 body will increase more in width than in length and will decrease in apparent 

 paunchiness due to the greater proportional increase in the width of the 

 upper half of the body than in the lower half. The quality of meat will 

 be improved by the deposit of fat within the bundles of muscle fiber, and 

 the tenderness of meat will be improved because of the distention of all cells 

 with fat, and the proportion of edible to non-edible parts of the animal 

 will increase during the fattening period. These are potent reasons for 

 the immense industry represented by the cattle feeders. 



Kind of Feed Related to Class of Cattle. In addition to these factors 

 which are inherent in the steer, the successful feeder buyer must give 

 attention to the kind of feeds at his disposal. If he intends to use a large 

 amount of grass or roughage in proportion to grain, he should select thin 

 steers carrying some age. Older and thinner cattle will make better use 

 of roughage than those which are younger and fleshier. If the feeder has 

 a large acreage of corn and comparatively little pasture and roughage, he 

 should select either heavy, fleshy feeders which he can return to market 

 within a comparatively short time, or fancy calves of the best possible type 

 and breeding which will develop into prime yearlings. If heavy fleshy 

 feeders are selected, their quality and type should determine their market 

 value, as compared with that of the plainer sort. The probable demand for 

 the various grades of beef at the close of the feeding period is also a deter- 

 mining factor. The feeder should limit his selection to those cattle which 

 will make the greatest improvement in value per hundred pounds while 

 in the feed lot. 



Calves and Yearlings. Quality and type are essential in the selection 

 of calves for feeding purposes. They should be bred for early maturity, 

 otherwise they will grow rather than fatten and the cost of production 

 will exceed their market value. The majority of yearlings are marketed 

 from sixty to ninety days before they are fat, which indicates that it is 

 essential to secure calves of the type that will fatten. The feeder should 

 realize that he is entering into a proposition that requires eight to twelve 

 months to complete and that he must feed the best of feeds in a concen- 

 trated form to secure satisfactory gains and finish. 



Time to Market. The time to market fat cattle is when further gains 

 will not result in an increase in the value per hundredweight. For this 

 reason plain, rough steers which will not produce attractive carcasses 

 should be sold before they are thoroughly fattened. When fancy cattle 

 of quality and type are fed, it is a general rule that they are more profit- 

 able the fatter they become, because there is usually a demand for fancy 

 finished beef. 



The season of the year also controls to some extent the quality of 



