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Show illLivestpctL The careless handling and improp-i er branding of hides is causing mil-j lions of dollars loss to the cattle industry in-dustry every year and just now, tanners tan-ners are taking the lead in aiding the cowman in avoiding at least some of these losses. It is no longer necessary to- spread a brand over the entire side of a bullock. A small brand serves the purpose just as well and, if the brand is placed on the forequarter of the . ' animal, the best part of the hide is not damaged. If the side of the hide is smooth and undamaged, the tanner is enabled to cut an oblong piece of leather which lies from the root of the animal's tail and tips of the withers, extending on each side down to the belly. Out of this section of the hide comes the higher-priced . grades of leather, such as belting, high grass harness, saddle skirts and best ca?s sole leather. For instance, shoe soles from an unblemished hide are worth 50 to 60 cents a pair, while a pair showing deep scars of the branding iron are worth onjy eight or nine cents a pair. The difference in value between a steer which has a properly branded hide and one which has huge scars over the side may easily amount to $2.00. Natuarlly, the packer buyer figures this when he buys a beef animal, ani-mal, because it is generally understood under-stood that the packer depends a great deal upon the hide and offal for his overhead, selling expense and profit. Heavy brnnds are the greatest source of Iocs to the western cowman, as far as the value of hides is concerned. con-cerned. Of course, serious damage to lvc'.es is often incurred by gashes from e.U!e carrying sharp horns. For this reason, leaders in the industry have often cautioned cattlemen to either dehorn their cattle or at least 'tip' the horns of mature cattle. In the old days, cattle probably needed sharp horns in order to protect pro-tect themselves from wild animals and in order to fight their way through brush in the forest or on the range. We can all remember when the western cowman did not want a blocky, deep bodied beef type of animal ani-mal because they could not run from danger, and more important still, they could not keep up with the long legged steers when trailing to market or to another range. But he need for long legs has passed, to a great extent, just as has the need for the sharp horns. The tanners also are raising a fund, in conjunction with the United States bureau of animal industry, to fight the cattle grub, which is causing the cattlemen, tanners, dairymen anc ' packers a loss said to amount tc j $100,000,000 annually. The grub has harassed every cattle raising countrj for many generations and the pesl has gained a startling foothold on the American cattle business, injuring nol only the hides but reducing the vitality vitali-ty in many cases to a point where pro duction of beef and milk is seriouslj impaired. The grub has become such a uni versal parasite that it is estimatec that nearly 50 per cent of the rattl. inthe Unied States arc affeced. Ir some hides, there are only one o: two holes but in others, the hide, af ter tanning, appears to have beat I the target for a charge of buckshot So seriously damaged is the leathe: that is good for glue only, with ! value of forty cents as compared wit $4.00 or $4.50 for a sound hide. Mori than 9, GOO, 000 American hides were found to be damaged from the grub lat year. Somebody pays the penalty for all this. Therefore, it acts as a burden on the industry and can only be remiciied by coordinated effort but the work will have to be done at the source. |
