IH. THE INFLUENCE OF WINTER FEEDING UPON GAINS 

 MADE THE FOLLOWING SUMMER. 



INTRODUCTION. 



Mature steers in Alabama when turned upon the range to pass 

 through the winter upon what feed they could secure from the 

 cotton and corn fields and the native grasses on the waste lands 

 lose very materially in live weight. In our experiments covering 

 three winters' work the losses in weight averaged slightly over 100 

 pounds per head, and the steers, while still thrifty in the spring, 

 were very poor. Other steers, which received in addition to the 

 range a half ration of cottonseed meal and hulls, did not lose weight, 

 but were slightly heavier in the spring than when they were started 

 in the test the previous fall. Another lot of steers which had re- 

 ceived a half ration of good cowpea hay in addition to the range, 

 practically held their fall weight throughout the winter. The steers 

 of the last two lots were in excellent condition in the spring, or in 

 that condition which is desired by many farmers in buying steers 

 for grazing purposes. Two other lots which were wintered, respec- 

 tively, on range plus damaged hay and range plus cottonseed lost 

 in weight during the winter, but to a much less extent than the 

 cattle which received range alone. 



The question has often arisen as to whether it is more profitable 

 to allow steers which are to be finished for market in the summer 

 to become as thin as is the case with those which have to depend 

 upon the old fields to furnish winter subsistence, or to give them 

 some feed during the winter so they would be in good condition 

 when put on pasture in the spring. To answer this question, it is 

 necessary to know how large gains cattle will make during the 

 summer which had become very poor during the previous winter, 

 as compared with the summer gains made by steers which were 

 given some feed during the winter months. It is also desirable to 

 know if steers thin in flesh will ever get as fat on pasture as those 

 which are in good condition in the spring and, if so, how long it 

 will take them to attain this degree of fatness. 



It is the purpose, therefore, to here bring together information 

 on this subject which is based on the three seasons' work reported 

 in detail in Bureau of Animal Industry Bulletin 131 and in Parts 

 I and II of the present bulletin. Much of the detail of the work 

 need not now be repeated; it will suffice to mention briefly the gen- 

 eral outline of the experiments, as follows: 

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