i8 



RELATION OF LENGTH OF FEEDING PERIOD TO THE QUAL- 

 ITY OF THE CATTLE. 



It is only cattle of good quality that can be profitably made 

 prime. Cattle of inferior grade bring too low a price when fin- 

 ished to justify the expense of making them thick. This arises 

 from the fact that the condition of the animals affects in a pro- 

 found way the cost of gain, and the fatter the animal the slower 

 the gains and the more expensive "they become. Necessarily, 

 therefore, the thinner the animal, the more rapid and cheaper 

 will be the gains. Thus, beginning with a thin steer, other 

 things being equal, the cost increases as the feeding period ad- 

 vances. It does not increase, however, at a uniform rate. The 

 conditions of the weather and the character of the feed remain- 

 ing unchanged, there is an enormous difference in the cost of the 

 last 100 pounds put on a steer if it is made fat enough to top 

 the market, as compared with the advance occurring in the ear- 

 lier parts of the feeding period. 



It is obvious, therefore, that these costly gains at the end 

 would not be justified on a steer that would sell at 4 1-2 cents a 

 pound, whereas they might be fully justified in a steer that 

 could be made to sell when fully fat for 6 or 7 cents. The 

 cost per pound of the gain made in the latter end of the feed- 

 ing period is out of all proportion to the price it will in itself 

 bring when the steer is sold. This additional fat, however, so 

 increases the value of the whole carcass of the steer as to jus- 

 tify the practice and return a profit, by making him prime, pro- 

 vided he is good enough. 



THE MOST PROFITABLE WEIGHT. 



In this connection it will be interesting to study the an- 

 swers to three other questions that bear intimately upon the 

 same points, as follows: 



Question 8. "About what weight at selling time has in 

 your experience returned the most clear profit, and ^why?" 



Question 9. "Have you found it profitable under ordinary 

 circumstances to produce 1,500 or 1,600 Ib. steers? 



