﻿SHRINKAGE OF WEIGHT OF BEEF CATTLE IN TRANSIT. 45 



we are able to present souk details, including the net shrinkage 

 and methods of feeding, for upward of 3,C>00 cattle which were fed 

 and marketed in 1 1>11 and 1912. The great majority of these cattle 

 were fed and shipped at several points in Colorado, the remainder 

 being shipped from Billings. Mont. The details will be found in 

 Table 18, which follows a brief discussion of the principal features 

 bearing upon the shipping, shrinkage, etc., of these cattle. 



TIME AND DISTANCE TO MARKET. 



The distance traveled to market by the Colorado cattle was ap- 

 proximately as follows: To Omaha, 450 miles; St. Joseph, 520 miles; 

 Kansas City. 580 miles; St. Louis, 825 miles; Chicago, 1,000 miles. 

 The Montana cattle traveled slightly over 1,300 miles. The probable 

 time consumed in the journey from Colorado to the various mar- 

 kets would be as follows: Omaha, 38 hours; St. Joseph, 57 hours; 

 Kansas City, GO hours ; St. Louis, 70 hours ; Chicago, 72 hours. The 

 time in transit from Billings, Mont., to Chicago was 87 hours by the 

 shipments. that were unloaded at Glendive and Staples, and 119 

 hours by those unloaded at Mandan and St. Paul. 



SHRINKAGE IN TRANSIT. 



It will be noted that the average shrinkage in transit increased 

 with the length of the journey, except in the case of the cattle mar- 

 keted at Omaha, of which there was only a single shipment — not 

 enough to form a reliable estimate. Thus the average shrinkage to 

 St. Joseph, including the 1912 shipments, was 36 pounds per head; 

 to Kansas City (1911 and 1912), 554_ pounds; to St. Louis, 68 pounds; 

 and to Chicago (all shipments), 8Si pounds. 



FILL AT MARKET. 



No record was kept of the fill at market except in the case of two. 

 of the shipments from Billings. Mont. In one case 20 head filled 

 11 pounds each; in the other 190 head filled 26 pounds each; the 

 average for both shipments being 24^ pounds per head. 



SHRINKAGE BEFORE LOADING. 



An interesting point in connection with these pulp-fed cattle is 

 the shrinkage which occurs just previous to loading them for market. 

 It is the custom to take the cattle off the regular ration and give them 

 nothing but hay the day before loading, and no water for half a day. 

 We have a record of what this shrinkage amounts to in the case of 

 two lots, which, although the results differ widelv. will give some 

 indication of what it is. 



One lot of 88 head fed at Brush, Colo., when taken off the pulp 

 ration at 10 p. m. weighed 112,740 pounds and at 8.45 p. m. the 



