20 Bulletin 827, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 



much more favorable for the man who grows into the cattle business 

 than for the man who buys into it. 



Pure-bred bulls of ample size and good quality and breeding should 

 be used in every case if satisfactory improvement in the herd is ex- 

 pected. With money to purchase a foundation herd, it is a good 

 policy to limit the number of cows and put the money, thus saved, 

 into the bull. The terms " scrub bull " and " grade bull " should be 

 synonymous from the standpoint of herd improvement, as neither has 

 any place on the range. Although a grade bull ma}' be a good indi- 

 vidual he will not transmit his qualities with any degree of certainty. 

 In other words, the prepotency which has been built up by years of 

 breeding and selection in the pure-bred animal is lost in the grade. 



Herd management in general must be such that the cattle will 

 receive plenty of feed and reasonable care. Pastures must be pro- 

 vided so that bulls and heifers can be separated to prevent breeding 

 of immature animals. Heifers should not be bred until they are of 

 sufficient size not to be retarded in growth, or until they are about 

 18 months old. Calves should be weaned when they are old enough 

 to take care of themselves and not allowed to continue sucking the 

 dams, as is now generally practiced. If calves are weaned at the 

 proper time the cows will breed more regularly and drop stronger 

 calves. One bull should be kept for every 25 cows on the range, to 

 insure a maximum calf crop. 



In the Piney Woods section cows may be safely bred to drop calves 

 in February or March and have 1 or 2 months' advantage over range 

 calves of any other section of the country. Only when plenty of 

 feed can be supplied throughout the winter should cows be bred to 

 drop fall and winter calves. 



The native cattle are not regularly supplied with salt and many 

 of them have to learn to lick it. Salt is an important element and 

 should be supplied to cattle regularly. 



Methods of management depend on local conditions and must be 

 worked out for individual cases. A definite system for growing, 

 feeding, and marketing cattle should be outlined by each owner and 

 followed consistently. 



PASTURES. 1 



The South is frequently, though erroneously, referred to as " a land 

 of no grass." This impression arises from the fact that for genera- 

 tions the cotton farmer has been taught to fight grass as a deadly 

 enemy. His aversion to grass has been responsible in no small 

 measure for the slow development of the cattle industry. 



The commercial production of beef cattle on an extensive scale 

 must be founded on the use of cheap pastures and forage crops, and 



1 The material in this bulletin relative to forage plants is prepared in accordance with 

 the advice of the Office of Forage Crop Investigations of the Bureau of Plant Industry- 



