35 



3. Better fed steers, — early maturity. 



4. Better pastures. 



Successful beef production in the twentieth century sense of that 

 which constitutes success is possible only when accompanied with 

 good to high farming. The ordinary 160-acre farm in this sec- 

 tion cuts but a ton of hay per acre on some 30 acres, and requires 

 5 or more acres of pasture land, infested with weeds and bushes 

 as they are, to carry a steer, and this by hard work on the part of 

 the steer. 



The food if of low quality, and, in total, home-grown supply will 

 not carry more than a dozen animals. Slow growth and heavy cost 

 of attendance per animal fed eliminate all hope of true profit- To 

 care for 12 steers at §1.25 per day involves a cost per steer 

 for care of lOi cents per day, or $10.51 for 100 days, — a fatal 

 cost. Triple the number and this cost becomes but one-third its 

 former amount. To compete successfully with the west there must 

 ever be in view the acre product of beef. To make it as great here 

 as there imposes the necessity of a modern tillage rotation in which 

 the rank growing annuals occupy a conspicuous place. These give 

 variety and great acre production of food. Unless the soiling sys- 

 tem, which I do not deem desirable, is adopted our pastures must 

 be completely made over. It is not possible to make beef success- 

 fully on average New England pastures for reasons that will ap- 

 pear further on. They must be rotated with the fields, and made 

 fertile and luxuriant, carrying well a steer to the acre, and good for 

 2 or more pounds gain daily for five months, or when not tillable 

 cleared of bushes and weeds and treated with chemicals. For this 

 purpose a mixture made up of 12 pounds each of nitrate of soda and 

 dried blood, 10 pounds muriate of potash and 33 pounds each of 

 acid and plain phosphate may be used, applying 500 pounds the 

 first year and diminishing annually until 350 pounds are reached. 



Good pastures and the richer and more varied foods of a tillage 

 rotation of higher farming are prerequisites to the successful in- 

 troduction of the good steer and his early maturity. 



Without the good steer early matured profitable beef raising in 

 the east is utterly hopeless. Indeed, all else right, failure is sure 

 without a good steer and early maturity. 



The Goon Steer. 



In experiments made by the writer with several breeds of hoef 



types and with typical scrub steers it was shown that a pound of 



food made similar growths for the several breeds and scrubs. 



Since then these results have been confirmed. But breed does not 



