10 



BULLETIN 1024, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



silage was of poor quality, part of it being made from silage 

 corn, and because they got less feed in proportion to their weight. 

 As Lot 4, fed shock corn, according to Table 3 received more protein 

 and considerably more carbohydrates than Lots 1 and 3, their loss 

 in weight is attributed to the lack of succulence in their ration. The 

 average date on which the cows were turned to pasture was April 22, 

 two days later than the average date on which the calves were 

 dropped. 



The last two columns of Table 6 give the number of calves dropped 

 in each lot during the winter period and their average age at the 

 end of that time. 



Fig. 6. — Sire, dam, and offspring. The sire is the registered Shorthorn bull to which 

 the cows, used in this experiment, were bred. Note the prepotency of the purebred 

 sire as indicated by the calf. 



The relative gain or loss of the cows during the winter and until 

 all the cows had dropped calves does not signify much, because on 

 any weigh day there was usually a different number of cows that 

 had dropped calves in the different lots. During each year some 

 of the cows calved during the latter part of the winter feeding period 

 and the others after they were turned on grass. A cow just after 

 dropping her calf and for some time afterwards continues to lose 

 weight, especially if milking heavily. Lot 3, receiving silage, straw, 

 and cottonseed meal, seemed to stay in the best condition through 

 the winter. 



Table 7 shows the gains or losses per cow made during summer 

 and winter periods and net gain for the year period. 



