value due to the wintering process is necessary- in. order to 

 make up the deficit that is practically inevitable when cattle 

 are wintered lightly. This enhancement is due to the fact that 

 the steer in the spring has the grazing season, which is the 

 season of cheap gains and large profits, immediately before 

 him, and is, therefore, worth more than in the preceding or 

 the succeeding fall, when he has before him the wintering 

 period, which is the period of expense. In the case of the 

 fattening steer, the value is enhanced by reason of the ani- 

 mal being put in marketable condition. In the case of the 

 animal that is being merely wintered, the enhancement is 

 due mainly to a change of position rather than to a change 

 in condition. 



14. Seasonal Influence. A very large variation in 

 the results of wintering cattle due to differences in season is 

 inevitable. This may be a difference in the previous sum- 

 mer season as manifested in the quality of the roughage, as 

 is strikingly illustrated by the high efficiency shown in the 

 fodders and the hays grown in the dry season of 1901. Or 

 it may manifest itself in the deterioration of the quality of 

 the material during or after harvest, by storms, excessive 

 rains, etc. Or the weather of the winter may affect the re- 

 sult, by influencing the animals directly. Cold, crisp, dry, 

 bright, steady, weather furnishes ideal conditions for maxi- 

 mum returns. Then the appetite is sharp; the food is in 

 good condition, and is eaten with the minimum of waste; the 

 sheds and lots are dry, so that the animals follow a regular 

 routine of eating, drinking, and lying down. Alternative 

 warm and cold, rain and snow, intermingled with foggy, 

 muggy, weather, with muddy lots, wet coats, and wet feed, 

 when the animals eat irregularly and stand up most of the 

 time for want of a comfortable place to lie, furnish the most 

 adverse conditions for making gains or even maintaining 

 weights. 



DETAILS OF THE EXPERIMENT 



Animals. The animals used in all of these experi- 

 ments were high grade steers of the breeds designated^ 

 and were for the most part bred and raised in. the vicinity 

 of the Experiment Station. 



9 



