Southern cultivator. (Augusta, Ga.) 1843-188?, December 01, 1870, Page 412, Image 2

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412 \ nf Ml ing your hind to or nothing on it, and work it just enough to prevent it from recuperating, and thus benefit neither you nor themselves, sow' it down in small grain, grasses and clover— these require little labor and yield handsome re turns, and will, moreover, be the most efficient means for stopping gullies and restoring (what most of our lands need so badly,) a good supply of vegetable matter to the soil. ► In another column will he found some siumcs lions about the best kinds of crops to cultivate, the amount of land to devote to each, and the succession in which they should follow each other. The views presented may not chime in with thftse of our readers generally, but we ask , for them an impartial and thoughtful examina tion. Vni::;N ( i ;if vroi; S >i;i:• farmer offered us for sale what he od, lottiidtl*Aqbe beef had not been stalled at all, but frd • MjCci>\oually with a few potatoes and torni^s—“ rmjybe jXlittle meal” As to the econ omy V l ' feeding, he W neve * eflected, and of course know 4n)lhln|; The ideavthat the pota toes, turnips, etc., nqvo sold for more mo ney than when in rued into-neat, had never en tered his head, and the only of finding out appeared to him most extraordinary. As others may he as ignorant, while practieipg stall-feed ing, we write* what we know about it, for the general bom fit of the uninitiated; having expe rimented some years since. “The time required to-fattenati ox, will aver- twelve to fourteen weeks. If judi '"ciously managed, he w ill gain abuit twenty-four pounds per w eek,; or some three hundred and • twelve pounds, more or less. The question, then, is how much food will it take to produce three hundred and odd pounds of meat in three months. If the produce required—roots, hay, 'etc.—is worth more in the market than the meat gained, stall-feeding is a loss. When the dis tance of hauling to market is an item, stall-feed ing may pay. When begs is scarce, and pro d|*<‘e bountiful, stall-feeding pays. These are IIERN CULTIVATOR. plain facts to thinking people, but some people don’t think. We only ivrite fagppis class. “For small cattle, weighing seventy-five pounds to the quarter, eighty pounds of food will be required. Generally an ox will consume one-fifth of his weight per day, including wa ter;” and the larger the ox the greater the con sumption in proportion to bulk, and a greater ip crease in flesh. Hence, the larger the ox, tlie more profitable the practice. In the practical management, cleanliness and regularity in feeding, is of the greatest impor tance. The ox should have a dry floor, clean bedding and the soiled straw removed daily —the stall Bxß feet at least under cover, and open on ly on the South side. A chilled ox will not fat ten. Fresh water given at least three times a day, and the water removed as soon as thirst is allayed. Feed at stated hours three times a day, removing what food is left in the trough, as soon as the animal turns away. If well managed, 1m? will consume his food in proportion to the in crease of bulk—more the last than the first week. The appetite is preserved and fostered by exam ining the dung, which should always be in a healthy state —giving more or less hay, as may be required. Steamed or cooked food is said to he the most economical. There should be some arrangement for weighing the beast, to ascertain his rate of increase. In putting up an ox, select those of good points, for it is said the more perfect his form, the more meat and fat in the best portions of the animal. lie should be round in the barrel, full chest and deep, straight in the back, broad at the hips, and above all, a loose hide, known among the skilled as “the feel.”/ If hide-hound—that is, when the skin is hard to “ the feel,” close and tight to the body—it is to feed him on full allowance . untildoes become This effected curry comb «mcoa day, a small and a half pint of syrup mixed once a day for a week or longer, until is effect ed. In the West Indies, with the refuse of molasses tanks, than any food not mixed—giving a sSjßlarly loose and glossy hide. This practice lias been adopted with marked success in the large feeding estab lishments attached to the breweries in England, in which scores of cattle—amounting in one in stance to over three hundred head—are annually fattened. Experience has proved that the fol lowing roots should be rated in the order writ-