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Show ' Buying at Dispersion Sales. It is always a time to learn lessons when old established herds are dispersed, dis-persed, as it is then seen what the , special aim of the individual breeder has been and what type he has chiefly been associated with. At a dispersion sale, purchasers who are forming new herds are well advised if they carefully care-fully note the grouping of various families fam-ilies in the catalogue or follow the line of breeding which has chiefly contributed contrib-uted In the manufacture of the best specimens in the herd, says Mr. John Hill, an English authority. Th advice ad-vice that can be offered to beginners is to go carefully through the herd and mark the best animals of the different dif-ferent ages and then go and look out their dams. It is often that the best breeders in a herd are overlooked; probably their maternal duties have taken away something of their natural bloom and wealth of flesh, and the value of these priceless matrons is unrecognized un-recognized by the novice. The "old hands," on the contrary, are on the alert, and pick up the bargains which the best breeders usually turn out to be. It does not at all follow that the best looking females are the best breeders I mean from a showman's point of view. If It were so, breeding would become a certainty. "Like produces pro-duces like," is the theory, but unfortunately unfor-tunately it is not always carried out in practice, fn a Hereford you would look for a nice feminine character, a mild, expressive eye, nicely turned horns, rather of an up-turning curve ' for choice, yell sprung ribs, good back and lengthy quarters, roomy body, and well-developed udder.. She may be a trifle small and; what some would call' mean in her general appearance, and perhaps somewhat light in the fore quarter and neck, but, if she is handled, you will find that her "touch" is perfection, that her hide will 'fill ' your hand, and that she is covered with an ample coat of hair, or with undeniable evidence of having such before the winter days require it. If such a cow as this is found in an old-, established herd, and is also found to be the dam of some of the plums among the younger animals, the wise man will keep on bidding as long as his purse will permit him. Experiments in Steer Feeding. Prof. H. J. Waters of the Missouri experiment station has been carrying on some very important experiments in the feeding of steers. These are reported in a recent bulletin of the Missouri State Board of Agriculture. Cow pea hay showed up well as a ration. ra-tion. The average daily gain of a steer on the timothy hay ration was 1.69; on the cow pea hay ration 2.64, and on the clover hay and corn fodder fod-der ration 1.94. This was the result of the first test lasting 119 days. The second test covered 105 days, corn being fed with the coarse fodder, as in the 'first test. The average daily gain was with timothy hay 1.97; with clover hay 2.84; with cow pea hay 2.84; with clover and corn fodder 2.85; with clover and wheat straw 2.68. Prof. Waters says that the addition ad-dition of clover hay or cow pea hay to the ration induced better and cheaper gains. The steers consuming consum-ing these hays have always gone to market in better finish, with better coats and with finer blooms than animals ani-mals fed on the other kinds of coarse fodder. The use of leguminous hay to balance the ration proves to be very satisfactory. Alfalfa for Swine Pastures. It is essential in raisihg hogs to have some pasture grass for them. Especially is this true of the brood sows and the young pigs which need not only the green feed, but the exercise exer-cise and sunshine out of doors. Alfalfa Alfal-fa fulfills this requirement admirably, as it makes a forage which is perfectly perfect-ly safe for hogs to pasture, Is nutritious, nutri-tious, palatable, grows early in the spring and late in the fall. Alfalfa produces more green forage per acre than any other forage used for hog pasture In the central west, Colorado is credited with 799,611 acres of this crop. It Is essential to every ranch where mixed farming is carried on. Alfalfa is grown to such an extent in the state that any farmer or stockman stock-man could spare a few acres for hog pasture. The value of an acre of alfalfa al-falfa throughout the season for laying on pork has not been reported from any -station, but long experience ha3 'taught practical hog raisers that a little corn or a small amount of other grain; together with, gool alfalfa pasture, pas-ture, will give excellent returns. Alfalfa Al-falfa alone seems to supply little more , than a maintenance ration, but as such Is very valuable. Bulletin 74, Colorado Station. |