LET THE WEST HEED THE WARNING 67 



first can be picked out and shipped and the others 

 finished later. The successful feeding of cattle 

 loses much of the labor to those who make a close 

 study of the business, who take advantage of every 

 favorable opportunity of carefully selecting and 

 utilizing the various feeds available. 



There are a number of things in feeding cattle 

 which must be avoided. For example, one suc- 

 cess in a neighborhood often results in disaster 

 to those who have not had large experience. They 

 figure that if one farmer can feed cattle success- 

 fully, there is no reason why another cannot, in 

 spite of the fact that this other farmer has had no 

 previous training and does not know how to make 

 every item count. The only way to succeed is to 

 start in a small way. Eventually you will become 

 a skilled feeder and will know how to make a profit 

 almost every year. In nearly every case cattle for 

 feeding have to be purchased from outside. The 

 profit in the proposition will depend very largely 

 upon your skill in making a purchase. Not only 

 should the animals be bought as cheaply as pos- 

 sible, but the great problem is to be a good enough 

 judge of feeders to select steers of a quiet disposi- 

 tion, of typical beef conformation and animals that 

 will put on fat rapidly, at the least possible cost. 

 After this is done the matter of starting them on 

 feed gradually and also being able to detect im- 

 mediately any symptoms indicating sickness or 

 failure to properly utilize all feed given, are of prime 

 importance. 



The general principles enumerated above in re- 

 gard to cattle feeding apply also to feeding sheep 

 and hogs and to a certain extent to the feeding of 

 horses for market, 



