RANGE AND CATTLE MANAGEMENT DURING DROUGHT, 61 



As a result of the care given this herd, with but few exceptions the 

 cows were in good, thrifty condition throughout the year. In the 

 fall of 1916 some of the cows were not moved to winter range quite 

 early enough and feeding them cottonseed Qake was reduced early 

 in 1917, so that they were somewhat under the condition they should 

 have been in at that time. This is believed to account in part for the 

 low calf crop in this herd in 1917. No feeding was considered neces- 

 sary in the winter and spring of 1918-19, as the cows entered the 

 winter in excellent shape and had an excess of good range forage 

 during the whole period. With the exception of the fall and winter 

 of 1916-17, 95 per cent of the cows were in good, thrifty condition 

 at all times of the year. 



The main herd on the reserve, of approximately 1,500 head, was 

 given some special attention to maintain the cows in good physical 

 condition, but not so much as was given the special herd. In the 

 spring of 1916, 5.1 per cent of the cows were fed at the rate of 8 

 cents per head for the whole herd, 13.1 per cent at the rate of 32 

 cents per head in 1917, and 85.4 per cent at the rate of $3.03 per 

 head in 1918. Calves were weaned when from 8 to 10 months of age, 

 except in 1917, when all calves down to 4 months of age were weaned 

 in October. Range was reserved for only the poorest cows during 

 the winter and spring of each year. The feeding and other care 

 given the cows in this herd was primarily for the purpose of avoid- 

 ing loss from starvation rather than of increasing the calf crop. 

 The cows not fed, therefore, varied from those that were very poor 

 but would probably pull through on the range without feeding until 

 green grass came to dry cows that were in thrifty condition. Those 

 that were not in thrifty condition included some not being fed as 

 well as those on feed, and the number of unthrifty stock varied with 

 the intensity of the drought. 



The drought and lateness of the season in 1917 resulted in many 

 of the cows in this herd not getting into condition to breed that year. 

 The small amount of forage produced resulted further in a scarcity 

 of range feed for the winter and spring, so that over 85 per cent of 

 the cows had to be fed to keep them alive. The drought did not 

 break until August of 1918. Therefore, a large percentage of the 

 cows did not get into condition to breed for the 1919 calf crop 

 before the severe winter set in. Although the drought was over 

 before 1919, the calf crop that year was smaller than the previous 

 year because the cows were in weaker condition and fewer were 

 bred in 1918 than in 1917. The diiference in condition of the cows 

 in this herd as compared with the special herd probably accounts in 

 a large measure for the diiference in the calf crop in the two herds. 

 However, the care and feed given the large herd to prevent loss from 

 starvation had its advantage, since the calf crops obtained were 



