96 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



2-yeiir-old steers, averaging 927 pounds in weifjht. were divided into 

 6 lots of 10 steers each and wintered for a period of V2H days be<;in- 

 nintr December 23, 1919. The jjreatest ^ain — 93 pounds — was made 

 l>y the hit fed on a daily ration of 25 pounds of silaire, 5.4 ])()unds of 

 straw, and 1 pound of cottonseed meal. Other rations and gains 

 were: Silage (40 ])ounds), gain. 79 ]:»ounds; silage (30 pounds) and 

 cottonseed meal (H pounds), gain. G7 pounds; silage (25 pounds) 

 and mixed hay (S pounds), gain, 03 ^lounds: mixed ha}^ (20 pounds) 

 and ear corn (2 pounds), gain, 25 pounds; silage (30 pounds), gain, 

 22 pounds. 



The steers used in Avintering experiments at Lewisburg were 

 grazed on pasture to determine what elFect the different rations fed 

 and methods of wintering had on subsequent pasture gains. This 

 experiment had not been completed at the close of the fiscal year. A 

 series of three years' cattle-feeding experiments at Lewisburg was 

 completed in the fall of 1919 and the results were prepared for publi- 

 cation as Department Bulletin 870. Another series of three years^ 

 experiments at Springdale. N. C. was likewise finished, and the re- 

 sults are being prepared for publication. Experimental work at the 

 latter station has been temporarily discontinued. 



A study was made of the problems of beef-rattle production on the 

 ranges of Florida. The location of the studies was in Palm Beach 

 County. The more important results may be stated briefly as fol- 

 lows : Approximately 12^ acres appear to ])e required to carry an ani- 

 mal through the year in that section ; a calf crop of 50 to 60 per cent 

 may be expected annually; rapid improvement of the native stock 

 can l)e made by the use of pure])red bulls: the mortality is no higher 

 on these rtijiges than on the western ranges; the use of nitrogenous 

 concentrates in connection with winter grazing offers the most prac- 

 ticable solution of the winter-feeding problem: utilization of the 

 native grasses wnth the object of gradually improving the pastures 

 may be considered one of the chief problems. It appears that the 

 ranges can best be utilized in units of considerable size; 10,000 acres 

 has been taken as a convenient unit on which to base estimates. There 

 is great need for further investigational work on range problems in 

 connection with large operations, not only in Florida but in the entire 

 Coastal Plain area. 



Considerable attention was devoted also to range-cattle problems in 

 the West. 



Investigations pertaining to fattening beef cattle in Illinois, In- 

 diana, Iowa, Missouri, and Nebraska are being conducted in co- 

 operation with the Office of Farm INIanagement and the State experi- 

 ment stations. 



Experiments in cattle breeding are being carried on at Manhattan, 

 Kans.; Jonesboro, Ark.; and McNeill, Miss. The 20-year breeding 

 experiment in the development and transmission of the milking ten- 

 dency in beef cattle, conducted in cooperation with the Kansas 

 Agricultural Experiment Station, is being continued. One of the 

 main objects is to determine whether it is possible to retain the 

 tj^pical beef form in the male animals and at the same time increase 

 the milking tendency in the females. Careful records are being kept 

 of the milk production of the cows originally selected, and as rapidly 

 as possible these original cows are being replaced by their daughters 



