NORMAL GROWTH OF RANGE CATTLE 11 
In the growth curves for the different years, shown in Figures 1, 
2, and 3, there are several irregularities in which the rate of increase 
for a given week is greater or less than that expected from the general 
trend of the curve. This is well shown in the curve for 1923. The 
first portion of this curve, from June 5 to 9, shows the very rapid 
gam of 66 pounds in four days. The animals had been held in a 
corral the night of June 4 and driven 20 miles the next day before 
being weighed. In tins case the weights of June 9 were taken as 
initial weights. During the week of July 21 to 28 an average gain 
of only 3.5 pounds was made, and between August 4 and 11 the 
cattle lost weight. In each case, however, the gains during the 
following week were greater than the average. Perhaps such in- 
equalities in a curve are to be expected when so few animals are 
used. Several factors may influence the weights at a given time, 
such as weather conditions, the time of day they are weighed, 
whether they have been near the watering places or on. the ridges 
just before being weighed, and the length of time they have stood 
in the corral before being weighed. The last two factors are prob- 
ably the most important. 
It was customary to collect all the cattle in the corral before starting 
weighing. When they were scattered over the pasture, it meant that 
some animals stood in the corral three or four hours before the others 
were found, which allowed a considerable shrinkage in weight. The 
loss in weight or shrinkage is brought out in the table of weights for 
1920. On August 7 of that year eight head were brought in and found 
to have an average weight of 781 pounds. They were left in the corral 
without feed or water until 11 a. m. August 8, when the weight had 
fallen to 721 pounds, or a loss of about 60 pounds per animal. They 
were then allowed to run about two hours in a corral where there was 
water, when the average weight was found to be 15 pounds more, or 
736 pounds. This average gain was made in spite of the fact that 
apparently two of the animals did not drink. The shrinkage over- 
night varied between 39 and 91 pounds, the largest loss being 9.7 
per cent of the weight of the animal when it was brought in from the 
pasture. . The average shrinkage of all the cases was 7.6 per cent. 
During the two hours in the watering corral the changes in weights 
varied between a loss of 12 pounds and a gain of 45 pounds. Although 
it is not probable that these are the only causes of the irregularities in 
the curves, they may well be important factors and at least serve to 
illustrate the importance of the greatest possible uniformity in the 
conditions under which weighings are made for comparative purposes-. 
SUMMARY 
Data obtained at the Salina experiment station on the normal 
gains made by cattle during the summer months under range condi- 
tions show, in brief, that : 
The average gain of 108 animals for the season was found to be 
255.1 pounds, or 41.05 per cent, and the average daily increase was 
2.43 pounds. 
The rate of gain was most rapid in the early part of the season and 
gradually slowed down in the fall. 
Young animals made larger gains than the older ones, when figured 
as a percentage of the initial weight, though the gains vfere about the 
same in pounds. 
