55 



raised to any considerable extent as in the river-towns ; but 

 when brought to the river-towns they are fed almost exclu- 

 sively upon hay and meal, and the change of diet greatly 

 favors their thrift. Another kind of stock much approved for 

 stall-feeding are three and four year old steers, which are kept 

 well in the winter upon good hay ; and for about two months 

 in the last of the winter and first of the spring have a moder- 

 ate allowance of provender, such as the meal of Indian corn, 

 or corn and oats or pease and oats ground together, and are 

 then turned into the pastures as soon as they can get a living. 

 In a good pasture these animals do well, and are generally sent 

 to market in June and July, when they command a good price. 



4. Management of Stall-fed Animals. — I shall now pro- 

 ceed to speak of the manner in which stall-fed animals are 

 managed ; and what is much more difficult, endeavor to form 

 some estimate of the cost and profits. The difficulty in this 

 case arises from the fact, almost universal, that of all classes of 

 business men, none are less exact, or rather none are so care- 

 less as farmers in all matters of accounts. Until bv urarent 

 persuasion and entreaty with individuals to make exact obser- 

 vation and experiment, I have never yet been so fortunate as" 

 to find a farmer who could tell me, for example, in respect to 

 this very subject of fatting beef, what was the daily consump- 

 tion of an ox in hay ; the ordinary gain of a well-fed animal 

 of any particular description in live weight ; and the actual 

 expense of fatting an animal in any particular case. As an 

 intelligent farmer in the county remarked to me, " our farmers,", 

 said he, " in the autumn borrow money at the bank to pur- 

 chase their cattle for stall-feeding ; and if on the sale of their . 

 cattle in the spring they have something left beyond paying ' 

 their notes, they deem themselves fortunate." 



I shall first speak of the mode of feeding usually adopted ; 

 next, of the kind of stock generally preferred ; and lastly, 

 enter upon some estimates of the cost and profits of fattening 

 cattle for the market. 



