Part II. 



Wintering Steers Preparatory to Summer 

 Fattening on Pasture. 



INTRODUCTION. 



For several years this Station, cooperating with the 

 Bureau of Animal Industry, has been studying the sub- 

 ject of wintering mature steers and subsequently fatten- 

 ing them in the summer on pasture. Some of the work 

 has been published,* but the conditions surrounding the 

 work herein published were altogether different from the 

 circumstances surrounding the pre\ious work. In the 

 first place, these cattle were of different age and quality 

 from the ones which were used in the former experimen- 

 tal work. In the second place, the grass upon which 

 these cattle grazed grew on a sandy instead of a lime 

 soil. In the previous work the cattle were grazed upon 

 lime soils with sweet clover (Melilotus) as the basal pas- 

 ture crop during the early part of the grazing season. In 

 the work published in this bulletin no sweet clover 

 pastures were available, as it does not occur upon the 

 sandy soils of this region. 



Two separate experiments are reported in this section 

 owing to the fact that two distinct types of cattle were- 

 used. The animals were divided into four lots, two of 

 them composed of high grade young cattle, and the other 

 two of common or scrub cattle fully a year older. The 

 work was done in cooperation with Mr. F. I. Derby, of 

 Sumter County, Alabama, he furnishing the cattle and 

 the feed and the Alabama Experiment Station and the 

 Bureau of Animal Industry providing a trained man to 

 carry on the experiment. Mr. J. W. Ridgway was lo- 



*See Alabama Station bulletin No. 151, or Bureau of Animal' 

 Industry bulletin No. 131. 



