54 BULLETIN 1031, V. S. DEPARTMEIs^T OF AGEICULTUEE. 



ever, must bring increased benefits commensurate with or greater 

 than the extra costs incident to the change. Such benefits may be in 

 the form of greater stability with less hazard, which will improve 

 the credit of the industry both as to obtaining of loans and rate of 

 interest, or in the form of increased net returns on the total invest- 

 ment over a period of years. The two will usually go together. 



The existing difficulty in obtaining long-time loans at low rate of 

 interest on breeding stock is due in part to the uncertainty of drought 

 and of heavy losses accompanying it. This makes difficult the hold- 

 ing of stock until market conditions are right for the purchase of 

 equipment and feed for proper care of the stock. Greater stability 

 in the business will lead to the establishment of range live stock, 

 and especially breeding stock, as better credit for securing of longer- 

 time loans at a. lower rate of interest. 



i The most direct and greatest benefits, however, must come from 

 improving the grade of stock, increasing the average percentage of 

 calves, reducing the loss in all classes of stock, and increasing the 

 growth of young stock. Determining the possibilities of improve- 

 ment along these lines has been an important feature of the investi- 

 gations at the eTornada Range Reserve since 1915. A report of prog- 

 ress was published in 1917.^" Data are now available through a 

 period of drought. 



IMPROVEMENT IN GRADE OF STOCK. 



The plan of investigation and demonstration in improving the 

 grade of stock provided for the selection and segregation of 500 

 of the best bred cows with Hereford characteristics, the improve- 

 ment of the remainder of the herd by selling off-colored and poor- 

 grade cows as rapidly as market conditions and natural increase in 

 the breeding herd would warrant, and the purchase and use of pure- 

 bred Hereford bulls. The purchase of pure-bred or better grade 

 females was considered inadvisable. Twenty of the best bulls of 

 each lot purchased were to be used with the selected 500 cows, to be 

 replaced by better bulls as rapidly as additional purchases were made. 



THE SPECLVI, HEED OF 500 HEAD.. 



The special herd of 500 head was selected from the total of 1,950 

 cows of breeding age on the reserve during the summer of 1915. 

 They were largely grade Herefords and generally showed the char- 

 acteristics of the breed as indicated by the accompanying illustra- 

 tions. (PI. VII, fig. 2.) The ages in this herd varied from 3-year- 

 old heifers to cows 10 to 12 years old. After selection the cows 



1= .Tardlne. James T., and Hurtt, L. ("., Increased Cattle I'roduction on Southwestern 

 Ranges, U. S. Dept. Agr. Bui. 588, 1917. 



