862 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
December 20 
A BUNCH OF BLACK BEEF MAKERS. 
Some Thoughts Suggested by a Picture of Beef Cattle 
THE BREED.—The picture which accompanies this 
article. Fig. 333, represents five Aberdeen-Angus cat¬ 
tle of the very best breeding. They have been shown 
at the greatest State fairs in America, as far west as 
St. Louis, and at the International Live Stock Expo¬ 
sition at Chicago, where they won distinguished hon¬ 
ors. One of them, Lady of Meadowbrook, standing 
next to the bull, for two years has held her own as 
the undisputed sweepstakes champion aged Angus fe¬ 
male against all competition. These cattle represent 
several things. First, they represent a breed, the 
Aberdeen-Angus, or as many call them, the Polled 
Angus. They are solid black in color, unless about the 
udder or belly, have no horns, have wide, straight 
backs and strong loins, are deep and thick-chested, 
stand on short legs, and have bodies that carry a 
great amount of flesh. About the rump they are in¬ 
clined to be somewhat more sloping than the Short¬ 
horn, but they have thick, deep hams, and weigh 
heavy. For years animals of this breed have been at¬ 
tracting attention on account of their great flesh-pro¬ 
ducing capacities, and their ability to rustle on the 
western plains and take care of themselves in rough 
Winter weather. At the International Live Stock 
Show many Angus cattle were shown, and one of 
them, the steer Advance, was made grand sweepstakes 
champion steer, and sold at auction to go to New 
York at $1.50 a pound, bringing $2,145. A carload of 
steers of the same breed fed by L. H. Kerrick, of Illi¬ 
nois, sold for 15*6 cents a pound, and were also sent 
East. No other cattle brought such fancy prices as 
these. 
THE BREEDER.—This picture represents a second 
thing of importance, and that is the work of the 
breeder. Cattle of this breed are not uncommon in 
the West, but they are not as abundant 
as Short-horns or Herefords. In Scot¬ 
land, where they originated, they are 
prominent, especially in the northern 
counties. Here they have been devel¬ 
oped. But the owner of the cattle shown 
in Fig. 333 represents the result of a spe¬ 
cial effort. He is a lover of the better 
class of animal—of the higher type—and 
so his standard has been a high one. He 
has not been satisfied to maintain a herd 
of common Aberdeen-Angus; conse¬ 
quently, he has adhered to two ideas, 
first, to keep in his herd high-class fe¬ 
males only, and secondly, always to buy 
the best sort of a male he could get to 
breed to these females. He has been 
culling and selecting and breeding, not 
as a man of great wealth, but as an in¬ 
telligent stockman living on the farm. 
The results have come up to his highest 
expectations. His cattle have attracted 
great attention, and he is known as one 
of the successful breeders of the day. 
His cattle have made his name. His brains, however, 
have made his herd what it is. He has kept his herd 
on an Ohio farm. The cattle have not been pampered, 
excepting that those which have been shown have had 
to be fitted for the purpose. They have had the graz¬ 
ing of Blue grass pastures, with standard hays and 
grain for Winter use. In my acquaintance with the 
best breeders of beef cattle, as a rule they have laid 
much importance on plenty of good Summer grazing, 
with an abundance of hay and corn stored for Winter. 
Indian corn is more largely fed than any other grain, 
but the best feeders also set much store by ground 
oats and bran, and many feeders use some oil meal. 
The larger breeders of purebred cattle usually keep at 
least one expert feeder, who is often an Englishman 
or Scotchman, born in a manger, as it were, and these 
men mix grain with cut feed or chaff, and so prepare 
as appetizing rations as possible in Winter. Our Ohio 
friend is particular about his cattle feeding well and 
profitably, and so watches closely to see that his 
young things are all the time growing steadily and 
profitably and that the older cattle keep in the spe¬ 
cial condition desirable for their class. 
THE FEEDER.—One thing which may interest 
many eastern cattlemen is that in the West, on the 
beef cattle farms, the stock is in the feed lots or pas¬ 
tures a'great deal of the time both Summer and Win¬ 
ter, and instead of using stanchions for fasteners, on 
farms where purebred cattle are kept, many people 
use inexpensive box stalls about 10 or 12 feet square. 
The idea is to give as much comfort to the stock as 
possible. If our friend of the Aberdeen-Angus was 
to give us some advice he would say: “Be sure to get 
a first-class male, and one that will nick well with 
your herd.” Now the first part of that remark is clear 
enough, but not everyone will understand the lat¬ 
ter part. To “nick” means the union that will result 
in offspring superior to the mothers. Suppose for ex¬ 
ample, some of his females were not quite as fully de¬ 
veloped on the rump or as deep in the ham as desir¬ 
able. Then the use of a bull very strongly developed 
in rumps and ham, which will sire offspring superior 
to the dams in this respect, and still maintain the 
good qualities of the parents in other parts, may be 
considered a good “nick.” All thoughtful breeders 
look well to this point of mating, so as to improve 
weaknesses and still retain the good points. It is by 
this process that the best animals of our time have 
been developed. Certainly there is plenty of logic in 
recommending a man to buy first-class sires to use in 
his herd. 
NATURAL FATNESS.—One other important point 
is worth bringing out as suggested by these black 
cattle. There are plenty of these animals which have 
inherited the beef-producing quality to so high a de¬ 
gree that they just naturally keep fleshy on a mini¬ 
mum amount of grain. One .of the best herds of beef 
cattle in the United States is fed far less grain than 
most people would suspect; after seeing the stock. 
But these animals simply inherit a disposition to lay 
on flesh and fat. Consequently, in buying either 
breeding or feeding cattle of the beef class, one should 
purchase “easy feeders.” Only experience will teach 
one how to do this most intelligently, but the plump¬ 
er, thick-fleshed, large-for-age animal, with well- 
sprung, deep rib and body, intelligent, quiet eye and 
good-sized mouth, •■•ill feed the best. It is the man 
who buys or breeds such stock as this who makes the 
money. And these cattle in the picture are money¬ 
makers, and it will pay you, if you are a breeder of 
beef stock, to study the methods of some of these 
master breeders. _ c. s. plumb. 
FEEDING BEET PULP IN NEW YORK. 
NEW FEEDS WAN'fED.—The present price of hay, 
from $12 to $16 per ton, the shortage in silage occa¬ 
sioned by the drought, and the higher prices for grain 
have caused feeders to look for other sources of sup¬ 
ply for feeding stock. Some by-products must be 
found which will lighten the heavy feed bill, or the 
dairy will be kept at a loss. Under these circum¬ 
stances it was the work of two mornings only at the 
milk station to secure orders for a carload of beet 
pulp at $2.25 per ton delivered here. I knew but lit¬ 
tle about it, and could not do more than to say: “You 
cannot lose much, for you will have only $2.25 in it 
anyhow.” Such questions as, “Will it haul? Will it 
keep? Will it sour? Can I put it in a pile on the 
floor, or must I have a tight box? Is it wet? etc.” I 
knew nothing about. A bulletin from Cornell Uni¬ 
versity gave it a value equal to one-half that of si¬ 
lage, and stated that a pound of dry matter in the 
pulp is equal to a pound of dry matter in the silage. 
They had ordered, I was told, two carloads for this 
Winter, and this gave me confidence to invest. 
SOFT WET STUFF.—My neighbors agreed to take 
a ton each, and in due time the car came. I do not 
know how wet the pulp should be, but this was in an 
open car, and after the all-day pouring rain was a 
mass of white, clean, ground-up beets, raw to the 
taste, greasy to the touch and heavy as lead. The 
moisture was draining from the bottom of the car. 
So different was it from what the farmers expected 
that some flatly refused to take any, others offered to 
pay for the ton and leave it in the car, some wanted 
a good per cent allowed in the weight for moisture 
and others stood the test and drew “the stuff” as they 
called it home. Only one dairy of cows ate it the first 
feed, mine tasted and sniffed till it was covered with 
bran and salted, when they tried to get the grain, but 
they were beat, for the pasty pulp soon attached 
itself to the bran. In the morning it had all been 
eaten, and the mangers were licked clean. We put 
in the silage and poured a pailful of pulp on top of it. 
After a week they nosed out and ate pulp first. 
ITS FEEDING VALUE.—Most of the cows In the 
neighborhood soon learned to eat it. One man fed 
1,900 pounds in five days, and declared he would as 
soon have sawdust. One who was feeding dry corn¬ 
stalks and grain said it dried up his cows. Another 
careful man said: “1 wish I lived near the factory, 
where I could get it for 50 cents a load. I would feed 
lots of it.” Others reported good results and in¬ 
creased milk flow. My cows gave the same amounts 
of milk, and for a lew days ate pulp in addition to 
usual ration, and I concluded it was like pumpkin pie 
to a boy after Thanksgiving turkey, “very good, but 
merely for show.” 
THE TRUTH OF IT.—These varying opinions are 
confusing and conflicting. What is correct? As a 
class, farmers are conservative, slow to change meth¬ 
ods or believe in anything new. A change in food will 
nearly always shrink a cow for a short time, even 
when the new ration is better. Four days are too 
short a time for effects to show, and many who invest 
a nickel look for a dollar before Saturday night. 
After two weeks my cows are eating 40 pounds per 
day, and will not eat over half as much silage as be¬ 
fore. The milk remains about the same in quantity. 
There is no bad effect on stomach, and droppings do 
not smell sour, as they occasionally did when a cow 
got too much corn in her meal. As the sugar has 
been taken out it must be a good food to balance up 
silage, which contains too much of the “heat form¬ 
ers.” From the fact that the sugar is out, but little, 
if any, fermentation will take place, and my eight 
tons which was shoveled into a hole in the barn floor, 
falling into a heap in the basement, has not warmed 
up a bit. It shows no signs of decay or change of 
any kind, except to settle—as the water drains out 
from the sides. I think it will keep all Winter. It 
would freeze easily on the outside and form a crust, 
like sawdust. This crust when thawed out, like si¬ 
lage, is not injured. I believe it is a cheap food, and 
find it a healthy one also. The cows 
would not eat gluten meal, and many 
milk producers would not buy it at first, 
but now carloads of it are brought here. 
The swine went slow on it at first, but 
eat their allowance now. 
THE REFUSE MOLASSES comes 
cheap, is a fattening food, and I have 
ordered a barrel to feed stock. I shall 
put it in the milk for pigs, in the grain 
to fatten a beef, and on the pulp, silage 
and grain of the milking cows to season 
the ration. I shall know more how it 
works later. I shall feed it on the other 
food as it comes from the barrel; shall 
not take the trouble to heat and mix 
with bran. The following method is 
recommended, but I shall try a “co;d 
process”: Heat the molasses up to 100 
to 150 degrees and stir in equal part of 
bran, making a cake. Commence with a 
small amount, say one-half pound, and 
increase to two or three pounds per day 
per cow. Farmers around the factory at 
Binghamton after three years’ trial, are using a good 
deal, and seem to tnink it one of the best foods for 
milch cows and the molasses an excellent substitute 
for grain rations. c. E. chapman. 
A MONUMENT TO PETER M. GIDEON. 
In the December 1 issue of The R. N.-Y., page 804. 
you speak of a monument which the people talk of 
erecting to Peter M. Gideon, the originator of the 
Wealthy apple. Having just returned from the an¬ 
nual meeting of the Minnesota State Horticultural So¬ 
ciety, I can tell your readers of the plan which has 
been adopted by the Society to that end. It is pur¬ 
posed to raise a memorial fund of $1,000, this fund to 
be placed in the hands of the regents of the State Uni¬ 
versity in trust, the interest to be used in giving 
prizes for the best work in certain studies, by the stu¬ 
dents in the horticultural classes of the State Univer¬ 
sity, or school of agriculture, the conditions of the 
contest to be left with a committee, composed of cer¬ 
tain officers of the Minnesota State Horticultural So¬ 
ciety and the professor of horticulture of the State 
University. This is thought to be better than a 
monument of marble or granite. The plan of rais¬ 
ing this fund is to print a memorial book of 12 to 16 
pages, to contain a portrait of Peter M. Gideon; a 
portrait of Mrs. Wealthy Gideon (the original Weal¬ 
thy); a three-impression colored cut of the Wealthy 
apple; and a brief history of Mr. Gideon and the work 
he has done in producing new varieties of apples, es¬ 
pecially the Wealthy. The books are to be numbered 
from one up to 1,000 and given to those who contri¬ 
bute to this fund, those contributing the most to get 
the lowest numbers. As there will be but one edition 
printed they will be highly prized by the owners. 
There were over $200 pledged in a few minutes at one 
of the sessions, ranging from $1 to $25, some com¬ 
petitors for premiums in the fruit exhibition turning 
their prizes over to this fund. w. s. w. 
Dresbach, Minn. 
