59 



Results of Shelter Experiments at the Pennsylvania Experiment 



Station. 



Professor T. I. Mairs, who had charge of the shelter exper- 

 iments at this Station just quoted, has carried on similar exper- 

 iments at the Pennsylvania Station during the past 'five years.* 



These experiments have failed 'to show any benefit from 

 shelter either in the rate or economy of gain over and above 

 a dry lot and a protection from the storms. 



The Standard Cattle Company's Experiments With Shelter. 



A very interesting experiment with reference to the value 

 of shelter in full feeding cattle was made by the Standard Cat- 

 tle Co., Ames, Nebraska, and through the courtesy of the Super- 

 intendent, Mr. Allen, I am permitted to present a summary 

 of it. 



This company, up to the time Mr. Allen gave us his report, 

 had fed, in fourteen consecutive years, 69,595 head of cattle, 

 about 90 per cent of which were from the ranges of Wyoming, 

 and were from four to five years old when put on feed. An accu- 

 rate record was kept of the amount of food consumed, gains 

 in weight, etc., quite as detailed as is kept by the Experiment 

 Station in such cases. 



The following statement was made to the author by Mr. 

 Allen: 



"One of the most complete and valuable experiments in 

 our feeding has been that of indoor and outdoor feeding. When 

 our Feeding Station was established we constructed a barn to 

 hold 3,000 cattle, following the fashion of some Wyoming cattle- 

 men at that time, which we used for the first three seasons. 

 Since then we have used it only occasionally and in all, out of 

 fourteen seasons, we have used it only six. Our cattle are fed in 

 outdoor feed lots, generally having the shelter of timber. In 

 one or two cases there are sheds, and in some lots the shelter 

 is hardly sufficient. When we used our barn the cattle were 

 driven into separate stalls, where they had to stand through 

 the feeding period. This was the most objectionable feature in 



*Penna. Exp. Station Bulletins 64, 68, 74. 



