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BULLETIN 25, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
this bulletin where shrinkage is mentioned it should be under- 
stood that it is the net shrinkage which is referred to. This net 
shrinkage is the amount of weight lost to the shipper of the cattle, 
and for this reason is the shrinkage of most interest to the cattleman. 
All cattlemen, shippers, and carriers of live stock are cognizant of 
the fact that, as a rule, there will be some loss in weight of the ani- 
mals due to shipping, and if the shipping conditions are about the 
average, the shrinkage should be about the average or normal, and 
that this normal loss should be borne by the shipper. However, if 
the service of the carrier is poor because of accidents, delays, rough 
handling, or willful carelessness, it is natural to suppose that the 
shrinkage of the animals would be greater, and that this difference 
between the normal and the excessive loss in weight should be paid 
for by the carrier and not lost by the shipper. 
Each year there are thousands of dollars involved in legal en- 
tanglements between shippers and common carriers because of this 
excessive shrinkage. In the Southwest the usual method of settling 
these claims is rather crude. It is simply a matter of opinion of 
those who are supposed to know something from experience about 
shipping cattle. These opinions are at times very conflicting. In a 
case in point one witness stated that cattle shipped from a certain 
point would shrink 90 pounds a head, while a witness on the other 
side was of opinion that the cattle would not shrink over 30 pounds. 
There are no scales in any portion of the range country of the South- 
west, and all estimates of the weights and shrinkages of the animals 
were guesses — good ones sometimes, no doubt, but frequently very 
poor. 
This method is an unsatisfactory way of settling claims. A knowl- 
edge of the normal shrinkage of animals moving to market will en- 
able the shipper or cattleman to get a more definite idea of the value 
of his cattle at home from the market reports. If he knows approxi- 
mately what the freight and other expenses on his cattle will be and 
also knows about what to expect from shrinkage, he can figure fairly 
accurately what they will bring on the market, and will be in a posi- 
tion to save many dollars by -knowing what to ask local buyers for 
them. Of course, there is always the possibility of a variation in the 
shrinkage, a change of market, etc., which entails a little risk in 
shipping, and it is this risk which enables local buyers or speculators 
to secure cattle. 
OBJECT OF THE INVESTIGATION. 
The objects of the work may be briefly stated as follows: 
I. To secure weights of enough cattle of each class in order that 
comparisons could be made of the shrinkage of one class of cattle 
with another for a given .period of time. 
