BUREAU OF ANIMAL. INDUSTRY, 205 



At Jonesboro, Ark., an experiment was conducted to compare cer- 

 tain rations as winter feeds for beef cows. Work has been continued 

 to determine the quantities of feed required to produce beef cattle 

 of breeding age. 



At Jeanerette, La,, experiments in feeding steers were carried on 

 during the winter to compare certain silage mixtures. The experi- 

 ment comparing the progeny of Brahman (Zebu) and Hereford 

 bulls when bred to grade cows is being continued, 



FEEDING FOR MILKING QUALITY IN BEEF CATTLE. 



The 20-year experiment begun September 1, 1915, at Manhattan, 

 Kans., in cooperation with the State agricultural college, to deter- 

 mine to what extent milk production can be developed without sacri- 

 ficing desirable beef type, is being continued with a breeding herd 

 of Shorthorn cattle, 



BEEF PRODUCTION ON THE RANGE. 



Surveys similar to those made in the Corn Belt are being made to 

 determine the basic requirements in feed, labor, and miscellaneous 

 items involved in the growing and raising of beef cattle in the west- 

 ern and southwestern range States. Work is well under way in 

 Colorado and Texas. Grazing experiments with beef steers are 

 under way at Ardmore, S. Dak., and Mandan, N. Dak., to determine 

 the carrying capacity of the range in those sections. 



Different phases of beef production under range conditions are 

 being studied at Ardmore, S. Dak., Havre, Mont., Tucumcari, 

 N, Mex., and Big Spring, Tex. These studies include work with 

 cows, calves, and yearling and 2-year-old steers. 



SWINE INVESTIGATIONS, 



Swine investigations have been conducted at the Beltsville (Md,) 

 farm and at several field stations and State agricultural experiment 

 stations. 



SOFT-POEK INVESTIGATIONS. 



Further study of the soft-pork problem led to a better understand- 

 ing of the causes and nature of the trouble. Experiments involving 

 372 hogs were carried on in cooperation with the State stations of 

 Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, North 

 Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas, besides 6 hogs from 

 a North Carolina farm ; also independent experiments with 217 hogs 

 were carried on at bureau farms, making a total of 595 hogs used in 

 these investigations. Since the beginning of the work, in 1919, a total 

 of 1,958 hogs has been used. During the last year the experimental 

 hogs were fed on peanuts, peanut meal, soybeans, velvet beans, rice 

 by-products, mast, chufas, and combinations including some of these 

 and other feeds. 



As a part of the soft-pork studies, tests were made to determine the 

 relative shrinkage and dressing percentages of firm and soft hogs. 

 The work also included studies of the equality of products from hogs 

 of different degrees of firmness, both in the fresh state and when 

 cured by different methods. 



