224 



FARMER'S CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK 



The data in this table bring out clear- 

 ly that the price per hundredweight, of 

 the same kind of stock, increases steadily 

 with each increase in weight, until the 

 last class is reached. The best price is 

 seen to be paid for cattle weighing be- 

 tween 1,200 and 1,500 pounds. 



For export purposes, beef-bred types 

 weighing between 1,300 and 1,400 pounds 

 and from two and one-half to four years 

 old are more desirable. These relative 

 prices and weights hold whether the cat- 

 tle are native, western or Texan. 



Sex and age have an important bear- 

 ing on the prices paid for beef cattle, 

 since the quality of beef produced from 

 the different sources varies considerably. 

 The standard beef cattle is the steer. 

 The following are the average prices 

 paid for steers, bulls, stags, cows and 

 heifers on selected dates, during the 

 years 1898-1903, on the Chicago mar- 

 kets. Native steers $5.16, bulls $3.55, 

 stags $4.42, native cows $3.68, western 

 steers $4.39, western cows and heifers 

 $3.89. 



The data show clearly the relatively 

 smaller price for cows and heifers, bulls 

 and stags than for steers. 



Horns on cattle sometimes affect 

 prices. Other factors being the same, 

 hornless cattle are preferred by buyers 

 because there are less bruises on them. 

 The price paid, however, for hornless 

 cattle is often no more than for horned 

 cattle, but under some circumstances, 

 may be as much as 5 to 10 cents a hun- 

 dred pounds more. If the cattle are not 

 bruised, horned cattle are considered of 

 equal quality and prices paid for them 

 are the same as for hornless. 



The character of the hide influences 

 the price of beef cattle, as this is one of 

 the most valuable by-products in the 

 slaughtering business. There are many 

 different grades of hides. The average 

 annual price a hundred pounds in Chi- 

 cago for these in 1904 was as follows: 



Heavy native steers, $11.77; butt 

 branded steers, $10.93; heavy Texas 

 steers, $12.67 ; light Texas steers, $11.71 ; 

 heavy Colorado steers, $10.84; heavy na- 

 tive cows, $10.63; light native cows, 

 $10.47; branded cows, $10.27; native 

 bulls, $9.12; branded bulls, $8.13. These 

 data show that the most valuable hide 

 is obtained from the heavy Texas steer. 

 The poorest grade is from the branded 

 bull, which is 50 per cent less valuable 

 than from the heavy Texas steer. The 

 average weight of hides runs from 60 to 



64 pounds an animal, and the propor- 

 tion of hide to live weight from 5 to 

 5.8 per cent. 



The fatness of the animal and the 

 quantity of butter fat from which oleo 

 oil and stearin are obtained, influences 

 the price to a considerable extent. After 

 hides, it stands as the second most im- 

 portant by-product in slaughtered cattle. 

 It was formerly used for tallow, but is 

 now used almost wholly in making oleo 

 products, such as butterine, etc. 



Recent legislation has, however, con- 

 siderably decreased the demand for but- 

 terine; as a consequence, the price of 

 oleo has lessened, making the price of 

 the by-product smaller than it was 

 before. 



The weight of fat from heavy native 

 steers is about 130 pounds, while on me- 

 dium native steers, it runs about 65 

 pounds, or only half as much, and grad- 

 ually decreases with western stock, 

 heifers, cows, and bulls, and in the lat- 

 ter case amounting to but 25 pounds. 



Price in different markets — The 

 price of cattle varies considerably in 

 the different markets, even for the same 

 grade of stock. Thus native steers of 

 a given grade usually sell for a higher 

 price in Chicago than in Kansas City. 

 This is because freight expenses from 

 the West to Chicago are greater than 

 to Kansas City; and Chicago is nearer 

 the center of final consumption, which 

 enables the dealer to pay a higher price 

 at that market than in Kansas City. 

 There is also considerable difference in 

 the quality of cattle received in the dif- 

 ferent markets; thus cattle received at 

 Chicago markets dress out 1 to 2 per 

 cent higher in the same class than cattle 

 in the Kansas, Omaha, St. Louis or St. 

 Joseph markets. The western markets 

 also depend to a much greater degree 

 on grass-fed stock, while Chicago uti- 

 lizes a greater number of natives. 



Market quotations — The prices of dif- 

 ferent grades and classes of cattle can 

 be readily learned each day for the 

 different markets by consulting any of 

 the more innoortant stock or market 

 papers. The following, taken from The 

 Daily Drovers' Journal of Chicago, 

 shows the method of classifying cattle, 

 usually followed by most stock papers 

 that give full quotations. 



Beef cattle : 



Inferior and rough beef steers. $4. 10 to $4.40 

 Common to fair corn-fed 

 steers 4 -45 to 4.65 



