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



for several months before shipping; (2) they have been on feed 

 usually until a short time before loading, and the fill at the point of 

 origin should be more uniform than with range cattle; (3) the cattle 

 are generally fed near the loading pens and do not have to be driven 

 long distances before shipping; (4) they are accustomed to man on 

 foot and to feed-lot conditions and should, for these reasons, take a 

 much more uniform fill at market when all other factors are the same. 



For the above reasons it is also possible for the owner to control, 

 to some extent, the shrinkage of his cattle by judicious care in feeding 

 and watering just previous to shipping, whereas the shipper of range 

 cattle can not always do this. 



,A11 of the cattle which were used to get the data for Table 7 were 

 steers that had been fed for an average period of 120 days. They 

 were all high-grade Hereford and Shorthorn steers, ranging from 2 

 to 4 years old, and showing quality above the average for range steers. 

 The ration on which they were fed was cottonseed hulls and cotton- 

 seed meal for the first 75 days, with some corn chop added after that 

 time. At the time they were shipped they were receiving about 6 

 pounds of cottonseed meal, 10 pounds of corn chop, and all the hulls 

 they would consume, which was about 28 pounds each per day. 



These steers were fat when shipped; most of them would have 

 classed as " choice " and some would have ranked as " prime " on the 

 Kansas City market. Each shipment was composed of steers which 

 had been cut from the whole herd in such manner as to secure uni- 

 formity in size and quality. The care used in the cutting out and 

 loading was extreme, and showed a combination of the skill of a 

 ranchman and the judgment of a feeder. Each consignment of cat- 

 tle consisted of 5 to 10 carloads, so the results secured from each 

 shipment should be fairly conclusive for the conditions under which 

 they were shipped. 



The steers ranged from 1,155 to 1,320 pounds in weight, showing 

 an average of 1,266 pounds. They were in transit from 22-| to 26 

 hours, and all had very good runs to market. The shrinkage in 

 transit was very uniform, ranging from 61 to 76 pounds each, or a 

 difference of only 15 pounds between the extremes. The fill taken at 

 market was not uniform because of weather conditions. Every 

 shipment was made during very cold weather and while snow was 

 on the ground from 4 to 5 inches deep. For this reason none of the 

 cattle filled well at Kansas City. The first two shipments filled 

 practically the same, as conditions at market were the same. 



When the next two shipments were made everything was frozen up 

 or coated with ice at the market. The steers were given Missouri 

 River water, which they would not drink, and were fed 6 pounds 

 each of prairie hay. They were sold two hours after arrival and 

 filled but and 13 pounds, respectively. The result was that the 



