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



abnormal fill. The skill of the feeder in such cases is shown by 

 getting the increased weight from fill without giving the animals 

 the appearance of being "stuffed." 



DETAILS OF THE WORK. 



There are many factors which affect the shrinkage in weight of 

 cattle in transit and the fill at market. To obtain good average 

 results it is necessary that a considerable number of shipments as 

 well as a large collection of animals should be used. These features 

 were carried out with respect to the range cattle, but the results 

 obtained, as shown in the tables which follow^, were ascertained under 

 various conditions on a dry or droughty year and should be con- 

 sidered as such. A variation from the results shown here is to be 

 expected in a normal year or in a year with an excessive amount of 

 rainfall. The pastures of Texas from which the shipments were 

 obtained had been abnormally dry. The data presented, therefore, 

 must be considered as having been produced under conditions more 

 favorable to a light shrinkage while in transit than might otherwise 

 have been obtained under normal conditions. 



RANGE CALVES IN TRANSIT LESS THAN 36 HOURS. 



The shipments shown in Table 1 were made up entirely of Texas 

 range calves that were shipped to the Fort Worth market and were 

 in transit less than 36 hours. The time in transit as shown in the 

 table is the elapsed time between the weighing at the point of origin 

 and at market. It will be observed that the average length of time 

 in transit was 21 hours, and the grand average fill at market was 9 

 pounds, while the grand average net shrinkage was really a gain in 

 weight of 3 pounds. The total number of head was 859. 



Attention is called to the performance of two shipments included 

 in this table. One from Stanton, Tex., composed of 206 head had 

 been on the road to the loading pens for three days and had been 

 driven 16 hours a day. They looked absolutely empty and jaded 

 when they were loaded and weighed at Stanton. The racks of the 

 cars were filled with hay, and the calves weighed on the average 1 

 pound heavier when they arrived at Fort Worth than when they 

 started. They took a 13-pound fill there, giving them a net gain in 

 weight of 14 pounds per head. The other shipment was of 64 head 

 from Big Spring, Tex. They were driven but 5 miles and looked 

 well when loaded. They shrank 10 pounds each in transit and con- 

 tinued losing weight until they were sold. They would not take a fill 

 at market, and were 3 pounds lighter when they were sold than when 

 they arrived. Their net shrinkage, therefore, was 13 pounds per 

 head. These two shipments were the extremes of the class, and the 

 variation was not great for the other shipments. 



