THE GEXESEE FARMER, 



13 



COST OF K&T IKG CATTLE. 



The fdllowinif cxtractij from the Patent OJfice Re- 

 port for 13')."), just itwued, will be read with iutcrest: 



Sami'ici, J. Fletcher, Winchester, Chirk Co., Mo., 

 Bays: " Stock.iii geiioraJ, in this county are very badly 

 treated, beinsf fed rnen'ly on straw and late-cut prai- 

 rie gras-s, with no cov«',r to shelter them during the 

 inclenieut season. I consiiler a cross from the Dur- 

 ham breed the best, bein;^ fine milkers, good work- 

 ers, and pr.^fitaUIe for the butcher. A promisinj^ 

 bull calf from the "Clay" stock, at six months old, 

 is worth about S.'J.i, while one of the common breeds 

 is valued at only $.") or $6. For seven or eight 

 months in the year, our luxuriantly rich prairie grass 

 furnishes such excellent pasturage that I have sold 

 steers to the butchers, giving six hundred and fifty 

 pounds of prime beef at three years old. Prairie 

 gratis, when cut early and salted, also makes excel- 

 lent hay." 



D. R. StillmaJj, Alfred Centre, Allegany Co., N-T., 

 says: "Calves are usually weaned when two or three 

 months old, when they are turned out to g"ass. The 

 first winter they are fed with hay and a little meal or 

 roots. The sdcoud and third winter they are kept 

 mainly on straw, and the autumn following are sold 

 directly from the pasture, as the fattening of cattle 

 here for the butcher is not extensively practiced. 

 The cost of raising a bullock to three years old, is 

 about $1 a year, at which age he will bring from 

 $2;j to S4(). The cost of transportation to New 

 York, by railroad, when there are more than one, is 

 $13.17 each* 



A Committee of the Farmer's Club, of Bedford, 

 Westchester County, N. Y., consisting of Messrs. 

 Haines, IIolmks, Howr, Grekn, and Dickinson, 

 says: "A good demand has always existed with us 

 for veal calves for New York market; so much so, 

 that a fat cnlf ti-om fo!.r to eight weelcs old would 

 sell for as much as it would at a year old, treated in 

 the ordinaiy way, say from $10 to $li. Indeed, the 

 demand has been so great, fur a few years past, that 

 buyers are in search of them at a much younger age, 

 at prices from $\ to $i a head. A common price 

 has been from four to six cents a pouml. live weight. 

 The kind ol stock now most profitable for us to 

 raise, is cows, as they are in great demand for milk 

 dairies, for the supply of the New York market. 

 The cost of raising will average, at one year old, 

 about $12, valued also at $12; at two years, $20, 

 valued at $2.5; and at three years old, .$30, and 

 valued at $30 or $4.t each. The cost of tranf^por- 

 tation to New York, by railroad, is about $1..50 a 

 head. We find the Devons to be the best stock for 

 labor, or their cross with otker breeds. 



John Young, Jr., of Forest Grove, Allegany Co., 

 Penn , says: "Good milch cows, this season, range 

 from $2.5 to $.50; cost of raising to the age of three 

 years is about $15." 



James McK. Snodgrass, of Mifflin, Allegany Co., 

 Penn., says: "The cost of raising a heifer till three 

 years old will average $15, and the price at that age 

 is from $1.5 to $25. 



J. S. Gore, of Tippecanoe, Fayette Co., Penn., 

 gays: "It costs about $6 to keep a calf the first 

 year, $8 the second, $10 the third, and $11 the 

 fourth, making .$35. Formerly, they were worth, at 

 that age, from $12 to $25. Many of the farmers 

 resorted to having them giazed in the mountains, 



where it cost but $1 a summer, during which they 

 lost several head; the cattle were wintered on straw, 

 and some died before spring. But the farmers were 

 satisfied that they cost only .$1 a head at the moun- 

 tains; and the straw had no other value. Our Dur- 

 ham cattle command about $50 a head at two and 

 three years old. ' 



John B. Brush, of Slieakleyville, Mercer Co., 

 Penn., says: "The cost of raising cattle till three 

 years old is $1:5, which is about the price of good 

 ones at that age. Good Oows bring from $20 to 

 $25 in the spring, and from $12 to $15 in the 

 fall." 



Charles Foster, of Jasper, Marion Co., Tenn., 

 says: "The Cumberland nixjuntain, at its summit, 

 presents a beautifully rolling table country, about 

 forty miles across, at this point, watered with innu- 

 merable branches, the heads of the valley streams of 

 this region. The climate is unsurpassed in America. 

 As a grazing region, I know of none equal to it 

 Indeed, thousands of cattle and hogs are lattened 

 on the range, which is inexhaustible, every year; 

 and, as a general thing, the temperature and other 

 circumstancds are such that cattle cm be wintered 

 without being fed. I make this statement advisedly, 

 and from positive experience." 



John Brooke, of Sherma'n, Grayson Co , Texas, 

 says: "The cost of rearing neat cattle till threo 

 years old is about $1.50 per head. This is for the 

 attention given to them, as we do not feed them at 

 any season. Some do not even salt them. The prico 

 at three years old is f.'om $12 to $15. The value 

 of good dairy cows in the spring is from $15 

 to $20." 



James E. Kendall, of Poplar Grove, Kanawha 

 CV, Va., says: "I am of the opinion that our 

 "scrub" breed suits our mountain range the best. 

 The cost of raising cattle is about $3 a year. They 

 sell from $18 to $20 at four years old. Steers, when 

 broken, are worth from $S0 to $100 a pair. Mules 

 are raised with as little expense as steers, and are 

 worth from $100 to $150 a head at three years old. 



Too Much Seed Corn. — Last spring the cold, wet 

 weather and mice d ;stroyed more than half of my 

 seed corn. The result was, one-third of the hilla 

 missed entirelj', another third had one kernel of corn 

 growing, while the other third had two, three, four, 

 and five kernels growing. Where there was one and 

 two kernels of corn to the hill growing, I had the best 

 specimens of corn, for many of the hills that had one 

 kernel growing had a sucker and the main stalk; the 

 sucker wc: Id have on always-, one good ear, and the 

 main stalk would have two and a half ears of well 

 filled corn ; and where I had four and five stalks to 

 the hill, I had no more ears of corn than where I had 

 one and two stalks; and I could plainly see that where 

 there were four and five stalks to the hill the corn 

 was not as sound nor as well filled out in the ear aa 

 where there was a less number. A. L. Smith — 

 JVickols, Tioga Co., JV. Y. 



Remedy for Scab in Sheep. — G. B. Tunison, of 

 Bellevue, Nebraska, writes us that he has cured 

 sheep of the scab by giving them a mixture of four • 

 pounds salt, and one pound alum. The ingredients 

 should be pounded up fine, and given to the sheep 

 in the same way, and in about the same quantity aa 

 common sali. * 



