MEAT PRODUCTION 397 



are proverbial for their fattening properties. All grass 

 pastures are better adapted for finishing when reasonably 

 well advanced in growth than earlier in the season, notwith- 

 standing that early growth when abundant may produce 

 more weight. Grasses alone, therefore, will not produce 

 high finish ori a period of grazing that does not cover sev- 

 eral months. Nor will it give so perfect a finish as when 

 grain is fed, as is evidenced in the extent to which range 

 cattle are purchased and placed in feed lots for further 

 finishing, after having grazed on the .ranges during much 

 of the entire season. 



The season for finishing to secure the greatest proiit 

 will, of course, vary with such conditions as the flesh car- 

 ried when the grazing begins, the influence of the season 

 on growth and on the markets for meat. It would seem 

 correct to say that the aim should be to finish grazed cattle 

 not later than September, when they have been given a 

 grain supplement, and not later than July when they have 

 been given a reasonable grain portion from the beginning 

 of the previous winter onward. After September the mar- 

 kets are frequently over-supplied with meats of somewhat 

 inferior ades, which has a depressing influence on the 

 same. 



The amount of grain that may be fed with highest 

 profit to cattle on pasture will vary with the age of the 

 animals, their condition, the nature of the pasture, and 

 the price of grain. The younger the animal up to maturity, 

 the leaner when grazing begins, and the more sparse the 

 pasture, the greater is the necessity for feeding grain and 

 the larger the amount required. The cheaper relatively 

 that grain is, of course, the greater is the profit from 

 feeding it. Clearly then, it is impossible to formulate any 

 hard and fast rules that will serve as infallible guides to 

 those who finish animals on grass. The best feeders are 

 not in agreement on this question. 



The following conclusions based on the experience of 

 practical feeders and on the results of trials made at the 



