8 
BULLETIN 1394, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
been driven nearly 20 miles and in some instances had been corralled 
overnight. In such cases the weighings after the cattle had been on 
good feed for a few days were used as the initial weights. 
Table 10. — Summary showing gains annually made by cattle in pasture at Salina 
experiment station, 1916 to 1924, inclusive 1 
Year 
1916 
1917. 
1918. 
1919. 
1920. 
1921. 
1922. 
1923 
1924. 
Animals 
weighed 
Number 
9 
11 
6 
3 
8 
13 
20 
22 
16 
Initial weights 
Date Average 
Pounds 
June 7 
616 
June 19 
618 
May 30 
626 
June 23 
781 
June 10 
582 
June 11 
618 
June 10 
634 
June 9 
607 
June 14 
640 
Final weights 
Date 
Sept. 23 
Sept. 28 
Sept. 29 
Sept. 26 
...do 
Sept. 24 
Sept. 23 
Sept. 22 
Sept. 21 
Average 
Pounds 
887 
873 
920.5 
1,064 
885 
878 
878 
858 
852 
Average increase 
in weight 
Pounds 
271 
255 
294.5 
283 
303 
260 
244 
251 
212 
Per cent 
44 
41.3 
47 
36.2 
52.1 
42.1 
38.5 
41.3 
33.1 
Time 
observed 
Days 
108 
101 
122 
95 
108 
105 
105 
105 
Average 
daily 
gain 
Pounds 
2.51 
2.52 
2.41 
2.98 
2.81 
2.48 
2.32 
2.39 
2.14 
i These cattle were not used in experimental feedings. 
The average gain for the different seasons is seen to be fairly uni- 
form, varying between 33.1 per cent in 1924 and 52.1 per cent in 
1920, and having an average of 41.05 per cent for all animals. 
The low average gain in 1924 was made during a very dry season; 
that of 1919 was for only three animals, all of which were 3 or more 
years old and were in the pasture only 95 days. The high average 
of the 1920 group was for five yearlings and three 2-year-olds which 
had been under observation 108 days. 
The average gains, estimated as pounds per animal, in the different 
years varied between 212 pounds in 1924 and 303 pounds in 1920, 
with a general average of 255.1 pounds for all animals. 
The average daily gains range from 2.14 pounds per animal for 
16 animals during 99 days in 1924 to 2.98 pounds per animal for three 
animals during 95 days in 1919. The average daily gain per head 
for all animals in all years was 2.43 pounds. 
Figure 4 shows the average ratio of gain of all the cattle used in 
the nine years. In this illustration the length of time the animals 
had been under observation, rather than dates, was used as the basis 
for determining gains. This was advisable because the weighings 
did not start on the same date each year. The date on which the 
cattle were put into the pasture was more dependent on the advance- 
ment of the season than on any other one factor. In working out 
these gains the week was used as the unit of time and the gains were 
figured as percentages of initial weights. 
In the nine years the weights of 108 cattle were obtained. These 
weighings continued in all the years for at least 13 weeks. The 1919 
group consisting of three animals was not continued for 14 weeks, 
and so only 105 animals are included in this average. Similarly 
the 11 animals of the 1917 group and the 16 animals of the 1924 
group are not included in the fifteenth week. Stated in another 
way, for the first 13 weeks the weights of 108 animals are used in 
computing the percentage gained ; in the fourteenth week the weights 
of 105 animals and in the fifteenth week those of 78 animals were 
used. The six animals of the 1918 group were continued for 17 
