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Show f livestock: A recent release from the United States Department of Agriculture refers re-fers to the fact that there is a waiting wait-ing list of inure than two million cat-tic cat-tic for the tuberculin test. The statement state-ment also says that within the past 12 years nearly two million tuberculous cattle have been removed from herds as a result of the test and that two and a half million are now on the accredited list; also, about 20 million passed one test. It is difficult for the layman to appreciate the magnitude and importance impor-tance of this work to the public health as well as to the good of the cattle industry. Beef cattle represent a very small part of the transaction, but cattle owners generally are recognizing recogniz-ing in a big way the importance of; eradicating tuberculosis. I Cailfornia has put through the! necessary machinery and there is ! some prospect of getting under way in testing and eradication, but it is gong to be a long drawn out affair at the best. The important thing is that we are getting a start in the right direction. It is too important to the public welfare for any state to hold back. The recent census is going to show an enormously increased population in the western states and with that comes an increased responsibility and the need of "tidying up" in all lines of production. Cattle values continue on about the same level as during the last thirty days with a weakening tendency on the common grades, but a good strong undertone on the better qualities. We are still getting too many of the common poorly finished kinds, all of which makes' a draggy ' and sticky market, with little satisfaction to the grower, the packer, or the consumer. It is rather a sad tribute to western enterprises that the local packers must drawt their better quality of beef from the middlewest. If cattle : from the middlewestern f eedlots can be profitably shipped to Los Angeles, the western cattleman should take advantage ad-vantage of this shipping margin, amounting am-ounting to around $1.50 per cwt. to cash their forage and grain. There is no available plan by which we can get as much out of our feed as to convert it into meat food. In j spite of the present situation, we are 'making substantial progress in feed-lot feed-lot finishing of cattle, not only in California, but in all the western states; but, we must do more of it in order to meet the growing demands. de-mands. Two loads of baby beef from Denver Den-ver sold this week, the tops at $12.25 with a cut at $11.60, mixed steers and heifers, only fair quality, but grain-finished, grain-finished, all eagerly sought by the packers. At the same time there were several hundred of the common kind looking for buyers. The movement from the middlewest so far has been only enough to take care of the top trade and there is no chance of any heavy movement. But isn't it too bad that we should have to go 1500 miles from home to get these supplies? |