262 



FEEDING ANIMALS. 



COST OF PRODUCTION Continued. 

 From 24 to 36 Months of Age. 



The two steers fed to three years old cost each $168.30, 

 or 7.48 cents per pound. They might bring this as extra 

 Christmas cattle; but it is evident that they give a 

 better profit at 24 months. Their market price was then 

 $10 per head more than they cost, and we have seen in the 

 domestic market in England that such animals, or those 

 some months younger, are preferred by critical customers. 



ENGLISH VIEW OF COST OF BEEF. 



One of the most interesting questions relating to Ameri- 

 can agriculture at the present moment, is the cost of pro- 

 ducing beef for export. Sir J. B. Lawes, probably the 

 best scientific and practical authority in England upon 

 questions relating to meat production, read an elaborate 

 paper before the East Berwickshire Agricultural Associa- 

 tion, in 1879, a large part of which was devoted to the cost 

 of food in the production of beef. This was incidental to 

 showing the cost of manure made from cattle upon British 

 farms. He made a very liberal allowance for the value of 

 the manure resulting from the consumption of this food, 

 and then made the pertinent inquiry, whether the balance 

 of the cost of the food, after deducting the value of the 

 manure, is paid for by the increase in weight of the animal. 



