FACTORS INFLUENCING BEEF PRODUCTION 



259 



Highland cattle of Scotland, with their thick hides and 

 heavy coats of hair, do not require the same shelter from 

 inclemency of winter as would most other breeds. Even 

 on our western prairies the need of shelter in winter would 

 not be nearly so apparent for Hereford cattle as for Short- 

 horn or Aberdeen-Angus, due to an ancestry of out-of-door 

 living and a constitution especially suited to range condi- 

 tions. Beef cattle, however, have comparatively thick, mel- 

 low hides, and heavy coats of hair in winter, and so do not 

 need the warm stables usually provided for dairy cattle. 



Figure 104. Beef cattle barns and concrete silos at Curls' Neck Farm, Virginia, 

 Photograph by the author. 



Various experiments have shown that steers fed in open 

 sheds, rather than barns, do better and gain more in weight, 

 and at less cost than those confined in closed stables. 



The self-feeder for beef cattle is a box-like affair called 

 a hopper, with closely boarded sides, having a trough-like 

 arrangement at the bottom on two sides. The hopper has 

 a roof, to protect the contents, and inside the bottom in- 

 clines like an inverted V to each slot. Feed is put in through 

 a door at the top and this by gravity settles down and 

 works out through slots into feed troughs 24 to 30 inches 



