BULLETIN 954, U. S. DEPARTME:^^T OF AGRICULTURE. 



of cottonseed cake to supplement summer pasture had been prof- 

 itable the first two years, which was before the rapid rise in prices 

 of feeds began. The three years' work here reported dealt with 

 various phases of wintering and summer fattening of steers. 



THE REGION AND ITS PROBLEMS. 



Most of the land in western North Carolina and the surrounding 

 territory, shaded on the map, figure 1, is extremely rough and moun- 

 tainous and suited only for grazing. There are thousands of acres of 

 cut-over timberland, recently left by lumbering operations, which are 



Fig. 1. — Map showing location of experimental work (heavy black dot) and area (shaded) suitable for 

 similar cattle-feeding operations; also local and principal cattle markets. 



practically worthless in their present condition. In many of the 

 mountainous counties only from 5 to 10 per cent of the land can be 

 cultivated, and much of this is mountain and hillsides which should 

 be in grass. The production of stocker and feeder cattle is especially 

 practicable on account of the large areas available for pasture and 

 the relatively small quantity of winter feed necessary for the main- 

 tenance and growth of such cattle. The fattening of cattle is much 

 less practicable than the growing of cattle because of the greater 

 quantity of feed necessary. Where feed has to be shipped in by rail, 

 as is usually the case with the concentrates, the distance from the 

 railroad station makes the fattening of cattle prohibitively costly for 

 many farmers. 



