216 Fruit-growing in Arid Regions 



calves will weigh 700 to 800 pounds at 14 months of age. 

 Heifers fatten better than steers. 



If the calves are to be marketed the second winter, 

 they should be handled as above through the first winter 

 except that no grain should be fed. They should be 

 pushed as fast as can be done with hay, fodder, and roots. 

 The second summer they should be kept on good pasture 

 and put in the feed lots in the fall while in prime con- 

 dition. The first 30 to 60 days feed hay and roots, then 

 begin with a light feed of grain, slowly increasing until 

 February first, when they will be eating 6 to 8 pounds 

 per head daily. At this time, if well bred and properly 

 managed, they will be ready for the market, and should 

 average 1200 pounds each. 



Dairying 



Dairying is especially adapted to high-priced land as, 

 if necessary, dairy cows can be kept profitably on a limited 

 area and not pastured at all. Manure is valuable in 

 proportion to the character of the feed, and as cows 

 giving milk need good feeding throughout the year, their 

 manure is rich. 



An acre of good alfalfa cut and fed green to cows con- 

 fined in a yard will supply ample feed for five good ani- 

 mals throughout the summer. A ton of alfalfa hay, 

 cut when the first few blooms appear and cured to save 

 all the leaves, is equal for milk production to a ton of 

 bran and usually costs about one-third as much. 



Fruit-growers deal with high-priced land and high- 

 priced labor, and they must be careful to select cows of 

 extreme dairy type. They cannot afford to feed and 



