INCREASED CATTLE PRODUCTION. 21 



to time until, by the end of March, 225 head were being fed a small 

 quantity of cottonseed cake each time they came to water. The 

 feeding was discontinued April 19, when the grass started to grow. 

 The spring was a dry one, however, and range forage practically 

 stopped growing in early June. Consequently, 146 cows with small 

 calves were again started on cottonseed cake on June 7 and fed to 

 to July 19. The cows were not in danger of starvation, but were 

 thin. The feeding was done primarily to keep them in thrifty con- 

 dition so as to insure, if possible, a good calf crop the following year. 



During the feeding from February 1 to April 19 7 a total of 18,850 

 pounds of cottonseed cake was fed in 15,588 feeds, or slightly over 

 1 pound per head at each feeding. A total of 6,800 pounds was fed 

 in 3,528 feeds during June and July, making a total of 25,650 pounds 

 of cake fed during the year. If all of the 500 cows and 20 bulls are 

 considered, this would amount to slightly less than 50 pounds per 

 head. 



In the matter of range the special herd had no advantage over the 

 other stock except to be by themselves. This made it possible to 

 watch them more closely and pick out those in need of special feed. 

 Approximately half of one man's time was spent in caring for the 

 herd. This involved riding the fences, looking after watering places, 

 feeding, and general care. 



From the beginning of the herd record, November 17, 1915, to 

 November 17, 1916, a total of 406 calves were branded. With a 

 herd of 500 cows, this amounts to a calf crop of 81 per cent. Over 

 96 per cent of the calves had good Hereford color and markings and 

 for the most part had good backs, straight tops and underlines, and as 

 a whole showed up well. It is true that the experimental herd were 

 selected cows, and it is possible that the selection of a number of 

 2-year-old heifers slightly increased the number of calves. This 

 advantage, however, was probably offset by the extra handling of 

 the stock when they were selected, dehorned, and branded, and by 

 the dry year. It is hoped that an average calf crop of 81 per cent 

 or better can be produced without materially increasing the quantity 

 of supplemental feed. 



The loss for the year amounted to five cows and, so far as known, 

 five calves, four of which died before branding. This loss of approxi- 

 mately 1 per cent is exceptionally small and probably will be ex- 

 ceeded slightly in future years, even with more favorable range con- 

 ditions and better care. It is believed, however, that the average 

 loss in this herd can be kept within 2 per cent for cows and 4 per cent 

 for calves. 



Selection of the 500 cows for the special breeding herd left about 

 1,450 female stock of breeding age in the main herd on the Reserve. 



