﻿22 



BULLETIN 25, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



One large shipment of cattle in transit 105 hours was in a snow- 

 storm for four dnjs, which increased the shrinkage quite a little over 

 that shown by the other classes. At the points where these cattle were 

 unloaded for feed and water the}'' were given some prairie hay, but 

 the water pipes were all frozen, so they got practically no wate**. 

 At market they filled 30 pounds per head despite the weather. 



The fed cattle in transit under 36 hours shrank 57 pounds per head, 

 while those in transit over 36 hours shrank 59 pounds each. This 

 was not a large shrinkage for this class of cattle. 



Table 9. — Summary tabic for f.UfO-11 work. 



Description of 

 shipments. 



Range calves in 

 transit less than 

 36 hours 



Range calves in 

 transit over 36 

 hours 



Rangecows in trans- 

 it less than 36 

 hours 



Mixed range cattle 

 in transit less than 

 36 hours 



Mixed range cattle 

 in transit 36 to 72 

 hours. 3 



Mixed range cattle 

 in transit 105 

 hours 



Cottonseed-meal-fed 

 steers in transit 

 less than 36 hours. . 



Cottonseed-meal-fed 

 steers in transit 

 over 3G hours 



Num- 

 ber of 

 ship- 

 ments. 



Num- 

 ber of 

 cattle. 



859 

 475 

 509 

 791 

 ,310 

 588 

 680 



Aver- 

 age 



weight 



at 

 origin. 



Pounds. 

 166 



209 

 749 

 589 

 575 

 541 

 1,266 

 862 



Gross shrinkage. 



fill at market. 



Net shrinkage. 



Range. 



Aver- 

 age. 



R ange. 



Aver- 

 age. 



Range. 



Aver- 

 age. 



Pounds. 

 '+1-17 



Pounds. 

 6 



Pounds. 

 2-3-13 



Pounds. 

 9 



Pounds. 

 1+14-13 



Pounds. 



!+3 



9-11 



10 



10-17 



14 



+ 9-0 



1+4 ! 



33-105 



56 



5-88 



42 



1+12-40 



14 



19-71 



34 



2 -6-56 



31 



i +12-50 



3 



12-39 



35 



18-62 



38 



i +27- 3 



*+3 



42-72 



69 



30-35 



' 31 



7-42 



38 



61-76 



71 



9-21 



14 



41-67 

 47-73 



57 

 59 











Ratio 



of 

 shrink- 

 age to 

 live 

 weight 



at 

 origin. 



Per 

 cent. 



1+1.8 



1.9 

 .5 



!+.5 



7.0 

 4.5 

 6.8 



1 Gain in weight instead of a shrinkage. 



2 Cattle did not fill at all but continued losing weight. 



3 Cattle were in transit 54 to 72 hours, but the figures are for the second portion of the journey, and not 

 for the total time in transit. 



CONCLUSIONS. 



The following conclusions may be drawn from the season's work: 



1. The shrinkage of cattle in transit is influenced very materially 

 by the following factors : 



(a) The character of the season. If a season has been so dry that 

 grass is short and water holes far apart, the shrinkage may be small 

 unless feed and water are given just before shipping. 



(7j) The distance driven to the loading pens and the care used 

 when making the drive. 



(c) The fill at the shipping point. If the cattle have had no 

 grass and water for several hours before loading and weighing, 

 they will naturally have a small shrinkage in transit. But if they 



