INCREASED CATTLE PRODUCTION. 21 
to time until, by the end of March, 225 head were being fed a small 
quantity of cottonseed cake each time they came to water. The 
feeding was discontinued April 19, when the grass started to grow. 
The spring was a dry one, however, and range forage practically 
stopped growing in early June. Consequently, 146 cows with small 
calves were again started on cottonseed cake on June 7 and fed to 
to July 19. The cows were not in danger of starvation, but were 
thin. The feeding was done primarily to keep them in thrifty con- 
dition so as to insure, if possible, a good calf crop the following year. 
During the feeding from February 1 to April 19, a total of 18,850 
pounds of cottonseed cake was fed in 15,588 feeds, or slightly over 
1 pound per head at each feeding. A total of 6,800 pounds was fed 
in 3,528 feeds during June and July, making a total of 25,650 pounds 
of cake fed during the year. [If all of the 500 cows and 20 bulls are 
- considered, this would amount to slightly less than 50 pounds per 
head. 
In the matter of range the special herd had no advantage over the 
other stock except to be by themselves. This made it possible to 
watch them more closely and pick out those in need of special feed. 
Approximately half of one man’s time was spent in caring for the 
herd. This involved riding the fences, looking after watering places, 
feeding, and general care. 
From the beginning of the herd record, November 17, 1915, to 
November 17, 1916, a total of 406 calves were branded. With a 
herd of 500 cows, this amounts to a calf crop of 81 per cent. Over 
96 per cent of the calves had good Hereford color and markings and 
for the most part had good backs, straight tops and underlines, and.as 
a whole showed up well. It is true that the experimental herd were 
selected cows, and it is possible that the selection of a number of 
2-year-old heifers shghtly increased the number of calves. This 
advantage, however, was probably offset by the extra handling of 
the stock when they were selected, dehorned, and branded, and by 
the dry year. It is hoped that an average calf crop of 81 per cent 
or better can be produced without materially increasing the quantity 
of supplemental feed. 
The loss for the year amounted to five cows and, so far as known, . 
five calves, four of which died before branding. This loss of approxi- 
mately 1 per cent is exceptionally small and probably will be ex- 
ceeded slightly in future years, even with more favorable range con- 
ditions and better care. It is believed, however, that the average 
loss in this herd can be kept within 2 per cent for cows and 4 per cent 
for calves. 
Selection of the 500 cows for the special breeding herd left about 
1,450 female stock of breeding age in the main herd on the Reserve. 
