﻿2 BULLETIN 25, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



this bulletin where shrinkage is mentioned it should be under- 

 stood that it is the net shrinkage which is referred to. This net 

 shrinkage is the amount of weight lost to the shipper of the cattle, 

 and for this reason is the shrinkage of most interest to the cattleman. 



All cattlemen, shippers, and carriers of live stock are cognizant of 

 the fact that, as a rule, there will be some loss in weight of the ani- 

 mals due to shipping, and if the shipping conditions are about the 

 average, the shrinkage should be about the average or normal, and 

 that this normal loss should be borne by the shipper. However, if 

 the service of the carrier is poor because of accidents, delays, rough 

 handling, or willful carelessness, it is natural to suppose that the 

 shrinkage of the animals would be greater, and that this difference 

 between the normal and the excessive loss in -weight should be paid 

 for by the carrier and not lost by the shipper. 



Each year there are thousands of dollars involved in legal en- 

 tanglements between shippers and common carriers because of this 

 excessive shrinkage. In the Southwest the usual method of settling 

 these claims is rather crude. It is simply a matter of opinion of 

 those who are supposed to know something from experience about 

 shipping cattle. These opinions are at times very conflicting. In a 

 case in point one witness stated that cattle shipped from a certain 

 point would shrink 90 pounds a head, while a witness on the other 

 side was of opinion that the cattle would not shrink over 30 pounds. 

 There are no scales in any portion of the range country of the South- 

 west, and all estimates of the weights and shrinkages of the animals 

 were guesses — good ones sometimes, no doubt, but frequently very 

 poor. 



This method is an unsatisfactory way of settling claims. A knowl- 

 edge of the normal shrinkage of animals moving to market will en- 

 able the shipper or cattleman to get a more definite idea of the value 

 of his cattle at home from the market reports. If he knows approxi- 

 mately what the freight and other expenses on his cattle will be and 

 also knows about what to expect from shrinkage, he can figure fairly 

 accurately what they will bring on the market, and will be in a posi- 

 tion to save many dollars by knowing what to ask local buyers for 

 them. Of course, there is always the possibility of a variation in the 

 shrinkage, a change of market, etc., which entails a little risk in 

 shipping, and it is this risk which enables local buyers or speculators 

 to secure cattle. 



OBJECT OF THE INVESTIGATION. 



The objects of the work may be briefly stated as follows: 



1. To secure weights of enough cattle of each class in order that 



comparisons could be made of the shrinkage of one class of cattle 



with another for a given period of time. 



