62 BTJLLETI]:^ 1031, U. S. DEPARTMENT OE AGEICULTUEE. 



larger than in outside herds where little or no special attention was 

 given to avoid loss from starvation. 



Bulls, number and distrihution. — Four bulls per 100 cows have 

 been used in both these, herds each year. All were strong, vigorous 

 bulls, ranging from 2 to 7 years of age, and all those brought from 

 other States were acclimated to the range for six to nine months 

 before being turned into the herd. Each winter and spring all bulls 

 not in go*od condition were fed cottonseed cake, with pasturage and 

 other feed if necessary, to have them in what was considered good 

 breeding condition for the main season. The amount of feed varied 

 with the condition of each animal, but an average of 1-1 to 3 pounds 

 of cottonseed cake per day was fed each bull for five or six months 

 while on good dry pasturage. 



The main breeding season. occurs from late in July until October^ 

 and all the bulls were with the cows during this period. At other 

 times of the year, however, a few of the more thrifty were left with 

 the breeding herd. There is some c[uestion as to the advisability of 

 leaving bulls with the cows yearlong, especially as more feed and 

 better care in general is given the breeding herd ; but there has been 

 less question in the past, since stockmen operating under old methods 

 felt that the growing seasons were too erratic to confine the breed- 

 ing season to any one period of the year. 



Except in 1918, special attention was given to distribution of bulls 

 among the cows in the special herd. During the breeding season of 

 the other years the 500 head of cows and 20 bulls were run by them- 

 selves in a pasture of 17.000 acres where there were four watering 

 places. Besides being in this comparatively small pasture, a cowboy 

 spent about three- fourths of his time during the main breeding sea- 

 son seeing to it that there was the proper number of bulls in propor- 

 tion to the number of cows at each watering place. 



The drought interfered with the regular procedure in handling this 

 herd during the breeding season of 1918. The cows were moved to 

 a brushy pasture of 74,714 a'cres, and no effort was made to keep the 

 bulls distributed by riding after them. To this poor bull distribu- 

 tion is attributed the exceedingly low calf crop in this herd in 1919, 

 for the cows were in excellent condition at all times and other factors 

 were favorable. 



The large herd was kept in a large, brushy pasture of 74,714 acres 

 during the breeding season of each 3-ear except in 1918. when, owing 

 to drought, they were removed to a much larger area of outside range. 

 No effort was made at any time to keep bulls distributed by riding, 

 and with 12 watering places in the pasture and more on the outside 

 range, bull distribution was not as good as it might have been. Plate 

 IX, figure 1, shows what may happen if no effort is made to keep 

 bulls distributed. At that, however, there was some advantage in 



