294 



MANUAL OF FARM ANIMALS 



Fig. 92. — A Steer that made ex- 

 ceedingly Large Gains for a Six 

 Months' Feeding Period. 



meat to warrant his paying a high price for the cattle he kills; 

 hence he usually purchases plain butcher cattle. As a rule, 



the local slaughter houses are 

 not equipped to handle heavy 

 cattle; the cuts of meat are 

 usually retailed in small 

 amounts; therefore, the local 

 butcher demands a rather 

 small animal, weighing from 

 600 to 1000 pounds. The 

 local butcher cannot pay for 

 high finish. Thick fat cattle 

 carry too much waste. Grass- 

 fat cattle can be made to 

 carry sufficient flesh for the local butcher. While no con- 

 sumer, rich or poor, wishes to pay for waste fat, yet highest 

 quality of beef is impossible without considerable quantities 

 of such waste. There is, however, no demand in the local 

 market for beef carrying waste fat, no matter how excellent its 

 quality. 



From the foregoing it is apparent that the cattle feeder who 

 plans to feed cattle for the local market and make a profit should 

 procure heifers, young cows, or low-grade steers as his feeding 

 stock, since such cattle can be purchased at a low price. These 

 cattle must be fattened as economically as possible, largely on 

 dry forage or on pasture, and then sold before they become too 

 fat to meet the demands of the local market. This class of 

 butcher cattle can be very profitably produced on farms lying 

 east, south, and west of the corn-belt. Perhaps the greatest 

 handicap to profitable beef production in these regions is lack of 

 suitable pasture land. That much of the land in these regions 

 can be made to grow pastures suitable for the profitable 

 production of this grade of beef no longer admits of doubt 

 (page 286). 



