SHRINKAGE OF WEIGHT OF BEEF CATTLE IX TEAXSIT. 
31 
after an average trail from 15 to 20 pounds while cooling in the 
railroad pens. The distance traveled, the condition of the roads as 
to whether they were dry. muddy, or covered with snow, and the 
condition of the weather all have something to do with this loss of 
weight after arrival at the yards. 
An experiment was made with one lot of yearlings, averaging 
slightly less than 1,000 pounds, that had been driven between 2 and 3 
miles under normal conditions. Weights were taken promptly on 
arrival and again after 3 hours of rest in open pens without feed or 
water. In this • instance the shrinkage while cooling amounted to 
12 J pounds per head. 
The fact that there is a shrinkage while cooling would appear to 
be an added reason for feeding and watering before loading when 
there is opportunity to do so. As before stated, it was observed that 
when feed was provided at the yards previous to loading it was gen- 
erally consumed, with the result that the shrinkage was eliminated 
and the cattle fortified for the journey. 
BREED NOT A FACTOR. 
The investigation embraced all kinds of cattle common to the range 
and the feed lots. It included practically all of the beef breeds fat- 
tened on various feeds in different parts of the West and Middle 
West. Some of the animals were wild and difficult to manage; 
others were docile and quiet. Data were obtained on shipments 
ranging from 15 hours to several days in transit. Cattle acclimated 
to a rough environment may withstand more hardship and appear to 
be more rugged, but it was not ascertained that such cattle expe- 
rienced less shrinkage in transit than others. True, the amount of 
shrinkage varied in individual shipments of the same breeds over 
like distances, but there were conditions experienced that accounted 
for the differences. 
There was no particular difference noted between the cattle fat- 
tened on the ranges and those fattened on corn and hay. The shrink- 
age in transit and the fill at market of these two kinds, without re- 
spect to breed, was quite similar under like conditions. It was ob- 
served, however, that there was a difference in the fill at market of 
straight corn-fed cattle as compared with silage-fed cattle. It was 
also observed that the amount of shrinkage experienced by the ani- 
mals fed on silage was somewhat more, as a rule, than cattle fattened 
on the range or on dry feed, but the increased fill at market was more 
than sufficient to offset the increased shrinkage of these animals, so 
much so that the records show a large percentage of increased net 
fill in favor of the silage feeding. 
