174 THH MANAGEMENT AMU FEEDING 01" CATTLE 



quickly on grass only as previously on grain and fodder, 

 that this does not apply to the period of change. 



Cattle thus handled will make but little increase in 

 weight while on grass. For a week or two, at the first, 

 they will certainly lose in weight, and this loss may, in 

 some instances, be as much as 50 pounds in each animal. 

 Though there should be an advance in price, it will 

 probably be offset by the shrinkage or little increase 

 made, plus the value of the pasture. 



There is the further objection that the cattle do not 

 ship well. The over-succulence in the food has disturbed 

 the digestion, and they do not take kindly to the dry 

 food given preparatory to shipping and in transit, hence 

 they shrink more than other cattle. They reach the 

 market in a condition which the buyers term soft, hence 

 they do not pay so much for them as for cattle more 

 firm in flesh. The aim should be to graze cattle for a 

 period not shorter than two months when finishing them 

 on grass, and to so feed them that during the transition 

 period they should gain rather than lose in weight. 



Finishing with or without meal. — It cannot be said 

 that the place for meal as an adjunct to grass in finish- 

 ing cattle has been fully demonstrated. It is difficult 

 to demonstrate, owing, first, to the involved nature of 

 the problem which bears upon the amount of grass saved 

 by feeding the grain, and, second, to the almost impos- 

 sible determination of the extent to which the value of 

 the meat has been enhanced by such feeding. That 

 feeding grain does increase the carrying capacity of the 

 pasture and that it does produce a finish that will bring 

 a higher price, cannot be questioned, but who can tell 

 how much it has saved the pasture, and, except in ex- 

 perimental feeding, who can say how much it has added 

 to the intrinsic value of the cattle? 



When pastures are abundant and rich, and not over- 

 succulent, feeding grain will not add materially to the 

 gains. But before the pastures reach this condition, 



