85* 



that a relatively larger margin is required for old than for 

 young cattle. The chief limitation of baby beef production is 

 in the relatively small margin allowed between the cost of the 

 animal in an unfinished condition and its selling price in a fin- 

 ished condition. It is not uncommon to have to pay as much 

 per pound for weanling calves as they will bring on the market 

 as fat yearlings. They may still make money, because the 

 young animals gain more cheaply. This oould not be done with 

 2 or 3 year old cattle and can only be done with very high 

 class calves. 



The Quality of the Steer in Its Relation to the Size of the 

 Margin Required. It is perfectly obvious that a larger margin 

 is necessary upon plain cattle than upon those of high quality. 

 In fact, the quality may be good enough in extreme cases so 

 that no margin will be required, even on aged steers. It has 

 already been pointed out that with very high class calves this 

 is possible. In other words, a load of cattle is occasionally 

 good enough to bring 8 cents or 9 cents and in extreme cases 10 

 cents a pound. It is not likely that it has cost this amount to 

 make the gains on them. Certainly cattle of high quality come 

 nearer selling on the market for what the gains put on them in 

 the finishing process cost than do the plainer and lower priced 

 sorts. On the other hand, it should be borne in mind that these 

 cattle of high quality that bring the top of the market are 

 invariably long-fed cattle, and while, other things being equal, 

 it costs, to say the least, no more to make a pound of gain 

 on well bred cattle than on the common sorts, yet as the prac- 

 tice is now adjusted, it actually does, because the high grade 

 cattle are made much fatter. Or, to state it more correctly, the 

 plain, cheap cattle are marketed early enough to escape the most 

 expensive end of the fattening process, whereas the well bred, 

 market topping cattle have to be carried through this expensive 

 end in order to bring them to a degree of fatness to command 

 this high price. As a matter of fact, on account of the liberal 

 supply of feeding cattle of low quality, as compared with the 

 supply of fancy feeding cattle, the buyer is able to secure a con- 

 siderably larger margin, as a rule, on the plainer sorts, and this 

 has in recent years made it possible to feed this class of cattle 



