The Farm.

Southern Cross, Volume 1, Issue 28, 14 October 1893, Page 11

The Farm.

PREPARING STOCK FOR SHOW,

CATTLE

In regard to preparing cattle for exhibition, "there is a ■wide-spread belief that the business is not only expensive, but ruinous to the animals. Now, this is true in one sense, but fallacious in another. It all depends upon tow the cattle are managed. Nothing is more easy than to waste food and run up expenses in preparing a beast for show, and nothing is more certain, where extravagance prevails, than that the animal will come through the ordeal with a ruined constitution. 'The antipathy with which practical men regard show cattle when they are offered for sale is founded on the disappointing results so often experienced in their subsequent career. But all this can be avoided. Cattle may he prepared for show without unreasonable ‘expense, and they may also be got up in the very pink of condition without hurting them or rendering them unfit for breeding pur poses in their after life. It is the difference Between judicious and injudicious preparation that makes cattle showing a success or a failure—profitable or unprofitable. Winning a prize at any cost or hazard is a game that only rich men can afford to play. And yet a smart cattleman with no such advantages to aid him, but who knows how to bring out a beast, can hold his own against the capitalist on any field of battle. Showing stock is, therefore, not a question of money or expense alone, as many believe it to be. It is an art where skill and good judgment ■count for more than all the other forces that could be arrayed against them. The selector, if he only knows how to go to work, can show against the squatter with as much success -as the expert who plays with the amateur at any other kind of game. I am not here going into the question as to . tow a good herd of cattle should be formed or got together. That is a subject entirely different from simply preparing the animals for show. I start on the assumption that the cattle are there, and that they are good • and worthy of being brought out in the best .fashion. There is no use, however, starting to prepare rubbish, and if the owner has any suspicion that his own opinion of a certain beast is not in a4reement with that of other stockmen, he should seek the advice of competent judges before attempting to prepare it for the showyard. The ordinary plan adopted with calves is to suckle them until they are 12 months old, or a little longer if necessary. If the dam is a good milker, the calf will grow fast enough for the first six months, but after that period a foster-cow should be brought in, and where -a special effort is necessary, the calf may be allowed two foster-cows. Milk is a far safer and better food for young bulls and heifers than grain or meals. A little grain with hay ■ or grass should also be given, but if possible the principal diet should be milk. Calves are very fond of porridge and milk, and there is better for them. The calf or yearling docs not require to bo extra fat. It should only be in good condition and blooming in appearance, with all its hair on. A calf that is shedding its hair at the - time of the show is not brought out as it -should be, arid nothing is more patent that ■'the herdsman in charge does not know his business. A calf can be made to shed its '■■'ha. ir at any period of the year, and the ski lied exhibitor, of course, arranges that the old ‘:;3aair comes off about six weeks before the - svent, and the new hair on again just about the show day. It then looks its very best. The show calf requires to he groomed once a Bay for the first six months before the show ; - takes place, and during the last three months .ta light blanket should be kept on night and day if possible. "With older cattle the essentials to success are generous feeding and g .od grooming. The latter is more important. The most successful showmen are incessantly brushing aud rubbing their cattle, and in the course of six months it is positively surprising what a transformation can be made in a beast’s skin.

An lionest-groomed coat shines out very differently, from one that is got up in a Imrry At the commencement of the training process the cattle should be well washed two or three times, but subsequently the less water put on the skin the better. Rubbing and brushing, with plenty of elbow grease, is the secret of a perfect coat. The beast should come out at the show in a new coat of hair. The old coat is tak n off about six weeks previously by means of a rug or blanket. The heavier and warmer the clothing is, the ■sooner the hair will come off. Alight blanket should be kept on all the time right up to the elate of the show. The animal should be iept stabled during the day, and only turned out to pasture and for exercise in the evening after the sun is down. As to the feeding of show cattle, no definite rules can be laid down for the guidance of the inexperienced. The character of the food available may be different in one place from another, and many other things may be found to vary which would render any formal diet misleading rather than otherwise. Cattle will eat any kind of food almost, and the greater the variety that can be given to them the better. Cara should' be taken never to give them too much food of any kind. Reeding moderately and taking a longtime So get the beast ready will do it no harm, but forcing it quickly into condition is ruinous to the purse as well as to the animal. For putting a real mellow skin on a cow cr bull —a coat that charms the eye and feela

like velvet to the touch —there is no food to compare with new milk. A bucketful daily has a marvellous effect on the animals that can be got to drink it. A handful or two of linseed meal has also a good effect on the coat, and causes it to look bright aud lustrous. Trimming the cattle is an important part of the work. There are parts about the head and tail which can be greatly improved by the judicious use of the scissors. But all clipping should be done at least a month before the show takes place. The horns can also be greatly improved by trimming. As a rule, an inch or two can be cut off the tips. A file is afterwards used to bring the horns to a point again. Then by scraping them with glass aud rubbing them with sandpaper, finishing the polish with a rough cloth slightly oiled, the smartness of the animal is thereby grert'y improved. Preparing cattle for show, it will bo observed, does not mean a great outlay in money and costly foods, but diligent and untiring attention iu grooming and trimmingr—Australasian.