FEEDING GRADE BEEF COWS RAISING CALVES. 



11 



Table 7. — Gains and losses during two summers on pasture and total gains for 



winter and summer. 





Season. 



Number 

 of cows. 



Days on 

 pasture. 



Weights on pasture. 



Gain (+) or loss (— ) per cow. 



Lot 



No. 



Initial. 



Final. 



Summer. 



Winter. 



Winter 



and 

 summer. 



1 



1915-16 



1917-18 



10 

 10 



HO 

 140 



Pounds. 

 779 

 766 



Pounds. 

 916 

 761 



Pounds. 



+137 



-5 



Pounds. 

 -86 

 + 26 



Pounds. 

 + 51 

 + 21 











772 



838 



+66 



-30 



+ 36 





1917-18 



1915-16 



10 



10 

 10 



140 



140 

 140 





2 



789 



789 





+49 



+ 49 









3 



835 

 808 



916 

 803 



+ 81 

 -5 



-35 



+75 



+ 46 





1917-1S 



+70 











821 



859 



+38 



+20 



+58 





1915-16 



10 



140 





4 



818 



877 



+ 59 —49 



+ 10 













The chief value of Table 7 is that it shows what gains may be 

 made by cows on grass while they are suckling calves. It also shows 

 that the lots which lost in weight during the winter made greater 

 gains during the following summer than the lots which had main- 

 tained their weight through the winter. However, the lots which 

 had maintained their weight through the winter made greater gains 

 for the whole year than the lots which had lost in weight during 

 the winter. 



GRAPHIC PRESENTATION OF MONTHLY WEIGHTS. 



The gains and losses in weight from month to month made by 

 each lot of cows during 1915-16 and 1917-18 are shown graphically 

 in figure 7. 



The horizontal distance on the chart indicates the number of days 

 the cows were fed during the winters and pastured during the sum- 

 mers. The average length of the total period for the 2 years was 

 324 days, of which 128 days were in the winter period and 196 in 

 the summer period. The heavy black vertical line near the center 

 of the chart marks the dividing line between the winter and summer 

 periods. Vertical distance represents changes in live weight of the 

 cows as indicated by the figures along the left side of the chart. 

 The curves for the cows of Lots 1 and 3 represent an average of 2 

 years' feeding, while those for Lots 2 and 4 represent only 1 year's 

 feeding. Figure 8, showing the gains made by the calves is based on 

 the. feeding year 1915-16 alone, because no complete records were 

 obtained for 1916-17, 1917-18, and 1918-19, the calves having been 

 sold before the end of the summer periods. 



Since the average weight of the cows for 1915-16 and 1917-18 

 was 799 pounds, all the lots are started at the 800-pound line to 



