1907.] 



Early Matured Cattle. 



233 



the block at from twelve to twenty-four months of age, whose 

 growth has been artificially promoted by continuous heavy 

 feeding from birth, with the object of obtaining in the shortest 

 time possible the maximum amount of well-matured beef. 

 It is this continuous heavy feeding from birth which distin- 

 guishes this class of meat from cattle which are merely fattened 

 for four to six months just before slaughter. The principal 

 advantages to be derived from the production of these early 

 matured cattle are (1) the quick returns on the capital they 

 represent ; (2) the greater demand and better prices ; and (3) 

 the greater amount of meat produced per pound of food 

 ■consumed. The United States Department of Agriculture 

 have recently issued a bulletin (Circ, No. 105, Bureau of 

 Animal Industry) on this subject, in which it is stated that 

 ■early maturity is not so much a matter of breed as of type. 

 Early maturity is generally found in animals that combine 

 a good feeding and assimilative capacity with a certain fine- 

 ness of quality. Each of the various beef breeds offers more 

 or less diversity in this respect, some individuals in each con- 

 forming more closely to this type than others of the same 

 breed. While early maturity is not entirely a matter of size, 

 it is most often found in individuals a little smaller than the 

 average of the breed. Good specimens have a compact form, 

 fine bone, soft, pliable skin and good digestive capacity, the 

 latter being indicated by well-sprung ribs, great depth of body 

 and wide chest. 



With regard to feeding, it must be remembered that a calf 

 cannot utilize coarse fodder to any extent during the first 

 six months of its life, so that its food must be confined to milk 

 and grain. Young calves which receive liberal quantities of 

 whole milk make rapid gains and get very fat, and this fat is, on 

 the whole, very economically produced, whereas calves that are 

 allowed to get thin during the first six months of their lives 

 generally require a long time to get over the check. Where early 

 maturity is desired such a system would be disastrous, and the 

 fattening should begin with whole milk at birth and be con- 

 tinued until the animal is mature and ripe for the block. It 

 has been found most satisfactory to permit them to run with 

 their dams from four to six months. As the digestive system 

 develops and solid food becomes necessary, grain should be 

 added, the quantity being gradually increased so that when 



