COST OF MAKING BEEF FROM COKKT. 257 



grain of ninety cents per bushel, while the margin of 

 profit on the stalks will pay for grinding the former 

 and chaffing the latter. 



But there is another contingency in regard to 

 beef which the farmer may avail himself of with 

 decided advantage. The price of it varies with the 

 condition of the animal. This is an important con- 

 sideration, and too often overlooked. A very fat steer 

 will bring a higher price per pound than a lean one, 

 or than one even moderately fat. The excess of 

 weight produced by continued high feeding is sup- 

 posed to impart an extra value to the whole animal. 

 The accession of fat produced by the last ten or 

 twenty bushels of corn not only brings its own higher 

 price, but, at the same time, raises the price of the 

 entire carcass. 



This final increase in the fleshiness of the animal 

 seems to convert the beef from an article of necessity 

 into an article of luxury, and carries with it a corre- 

 sponding change in the market value. "Whether or 

 not there is any sufficient reason for this distinction, is 

 not for the farmer to inquire. It is not his province 

 to determine what ought to fie, but to shape his busi- 

 ness according to what is. The feeder, therefore, who 

 judiciously takes advantage of this well-known fact, 

 may generally realize from two to three cents a pound 

 more for his beef than the figures in the table. 



On the whole, then, it may fairly be assumed that 

 the farmer who makes good fat beef may reasonably 

 calculate on getting eight cents a pound for it, on a 

 yearly average. In that case, if he converts his corn 



