216 



FARMER'S CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK 



with metal tags in the ear and are 

 placed in special pens for further obser- 

 vation or slaughter." These animals 

 are slaughtered under the supervision 

 of attendant veterinarians and records 

 are made of each case. In case of ani- 

 mals which are out of form in some 

 respects, yet not unfit for food, the 

 meat is sold to local buyers. Tu the 

 yard inspection it may happen that some 

 animals fall under suspicion that will 

 later be allowed to go with the passed 

 animals as being salable on open market. 



Condemned animals — "Cows within 

 a month of parturition and for 10 days 

 after will be subject to condemnation. 

 In the slaughter houses, the meat of all 

 cows that have calves inside with the 

 hair on is condemned. So also are all 

 pregnant sows near parturition, hogs 

 with bunches, boils, cuts on hams and 

 shoulders, etc. Bob or deacon calves 

 (calves less than a month old) are con- 

 demned, and also sheep emaciated and 

 in bad condition." 



The live stock exchange takes charge 

 of all dead and condemned animals. 

 The condemned animals are slaughtered 

 and with the dead stock are sold chiefly 

 for soap grease and fertilizers. What- 

 ever returns are secured from this 

 source over the cost of handling are 

 turned over to the original owners of the 

 animals. 



The system of meat inspection ob- 

 served at the slaughtering houses has 

 been noted in another chapter of this 

 work. It is sufficient to state here that 

 by its thoroughness, only clean, whole- 

 some meat, free from disease, reaches 

 the public. The stamp of the Bureau 

 of Animal Industry on these meats 

 gives notice to foreign countries that 

 it has been carefully inspected and 

 found absolutely free from disease, elean 

 and healthful. 



When to ship stock — Stock should be 

 shipped to market only when it is in 

 prime condition; 50 to 100 pounds of 

 meat added to a horse will often in- 

 crease its sale value as many dollars. 

 The cost of shipping prime animals to 

 market is no more than for shipping 

 those in medium condition, and it is 

 only the prime stock that gives top 

 market prices. 



Many feeders often make the mistake 

 of holding stock that should be sent to 

 market. Thus, if a man is feeding 100 

 to 150 head of steers and one-half to 

 two-thirds of this number are fit for 



market, he may keep these in prime 

 condition at a loss until he can ship 

 the whole bunch at once. This is a 

 lui stake. Fat stock should be shipped 

 as soon as it is ready and enough is 

 on hand to make a carload. This gives 

 the animals that are left a better chance 

 to improve and avoids the loss that in- 

 evitably occurs when stock ready for 

 the market is still retained in the feed- 

 ing yards. Many experiments with all 

 manner of stock have shown that the 

 last few pounds added to an animal's 

 growth before marketing cost three to 

 four times as much as it is worth. 



Consult with the commission man — 

 The greater part of the stock sold in the 

 larger markets is sold through commis- 

 sion men. Before sending stock, it is 

 extremely desirable, and usually saves 

 both disappointment and loss to the 

 shipper, if the commission merchant be 

 notified two or three days in advance 

 of the shipment. Then, if the commis- 

 sion merchant thinks the stock will be 

 benefited by still longer feeding, or that 

 the prospect is vmfavorable at the time 

 the feeder expected to have his stock on 

 the market, he can so advise the ship- 

 per, and thus save him from sacrificing 

 his stock or getting it to market at the 

 wrong time. 



This is a matter of special impor- 

 tance in November or the beginning of 

 winter, when the markets are being 

 crowded with half-fat cattle that ought 

 to be held back 30 to 60 days longer. 

 "No doubt many of these look all right 

 in the feed lot and appear to have a 

 good finish, but not having matured or 

 ripened, they practically go to pieces on 

 the cars and, in addition to loss in heavy 

 shrinkage, the owners have to accept a 

 low price on the market." 



Give notice op shipment— If the plan 

 of giving notice a day or so before the 

 feeder expects to ship is followed up, 

 it works both to the advantage of the 

 shipper and seller. The commission 

 man is on the market every day. He 

 knows just what the market wants, and 

 can judge much more clearly of the 

 immediate future prospects, usually, 

 than the feeders 300 or 400 miles awsy. 

 By seeking his friendly counsel, the 

 feeder can often avoid losses and in- 

 crease his profits. 



Classifying stock in shipping— 

 Where a feeder has more than one car- 

 load of stock to send to market, it should 



