33 



has an advantage in handling and feeding cattle in the win- 

 ter time. Those animals which were confined in limited 

 areas had about ten acres each upon which to graze. The 

 outside cattle, or range lot, hnd an unlimited grazing area. 

 The winter range was available for use immediately after 

 the cotton had all been picked. 



Summer Pasture. 



The summer pasture used in these experiments consisted 

 of a mixture of sweet clover (Melilotus), Japan clover 

 (Lespedeza), Johnson grass, crab grass, and some bermuda. 

 The sweet clover became available for grazing about April 

 1, while the Japan clover was not ready until about June 

 15. In some sections of the country sweet clover is con- 

 sidered a pest, as stock will not eat it, but in the South, or 

 at least in Alabama, all kinds of stock eat it with great 

 relish: here they take to the sweet clover as readily as to 

 alfalfa. 



The pasture was divided into lots; the size of each lot 

 depending upon the number of cattle grazed upon it, and as 

 to whether the steers were to be fed a concentrated supple- 

 ment or not. The object was to have an abundance of pas- 

 ture for each bunch of cattle. 



Method of Feeding and Handling the Cattle. 



In both the winter and summer w^ork the steers were 

 fed but once a day. In the winter time movable feed 

 troughs were placed out in the fields in which to feed the 

 hulls, cottonseed meal and cottonseed, and movable hay 

 racks were made in which to feed the hay. The racks and 

 troughs were all made movable so that the manure would 

 be distributed over the corn and cotton fields. 



Movable feed troughs were also used during the summer 

 feeding on pasture. No feeds were thrown upon the ground. 



No shelter, except trees, was provided for the cattle in 

 either the winter or summer time. They had no access to 

 sheds. They did not suffer to any appreciable extent from 

 the cold in the winter time or from the heat in the summer 

 time. The summer pastures were well provided with good 

 shade trees. When a summer shade is provided, cattle will 



