SHRINKAGE OF WEIGHT OF BEEF CATTLE IN TRANSIT. 75 
When the distance to market is considered, the shrinkage on the 
cattle from the northwestern ranges was about the same as the 
shrinkage of Texas cattle during a normal year. The grazing season 
of 1911 was a normal one over the entire West, so the shrinkages of 
range cattle for that year are directly comparable. 
In Part III the shrinkage on cattle from the Southwest was 34 
pounds for cows in transit less than 24 hours ; 32 pounds for cows in 
transit from 24 to 36 hours, and 26 to 42 pounds for mixed cattle in 
transit for the same periods; while in the Northwest the shrinkage 
for the first 36-hour period was 39 pounds for cows. 39 pounds for 
steers, and 18 pounds for mixed cattle. In other words the shrink- 
age in the Southwest was 3.5 per cent of the live weight for cows 
and 3.7 per cent for mixed cattle, while in the Northwest the per- 
centage was about 3.3 for an average of all the cattle for the first 36 
hours en route. 
In Part II the shrinkage for mixed range cattle in transit over 
72 hours is seen to be 53 pounds per head, or 5.1 per cent of their live 
weight, while in Part III the shrinkage on range cattle in transit 
for the same length of time is 70 pounds for steers, 61 pounds for 
cows, and 21 for mixed cattle, or an average of 60 pounds per head 
when all are considered. The range cattle used in Part II were 
shipped from Wyoming and Montana., while those recorded in Part 
III were from Montana and the Dakotas. The shrinkage on the lat- 
ter cattle was 5.9 per cent for the cows and 6 per cent for the steers, 
which was a little greater than for the cattle recorded in Part II. 
When all of the cattle from the Northwest are considered which 
were in transit over 70 hours, the shrinkage ranged from 3.96 to 7 
per cent, or an average of about 5^ per cent of their live weight. 
The shrinkage of all the cattle from the sand hills of Nebraska 
was about 5.2 per cent of their live weight. 
In Part II is shown the shrinkage data on pulp-fed and silage- 
fed cattle. The pulp-fed cattle shrank very materially when they 
were put on dry feeds for 24 hours just previous to shipping. In 
one case this shrinkage was 32 pounds and in another case 68 pounds 
per head. Despite these large losses in weight just previous to load- 
ing, the shrinkage in transit and the net shrinkage at market were 
greater per head than for any other class of cattle. They did not 
take as large a fill as might have been expected. The net shrinkage 
on the pulp-fed cattle was 5.4 per cent of their live weight. 
Some very interesting data are found in the table on pulp feed- 
ing in Part II. It is shown that the shrinkage on the pulp-fed cattle 
increased with the length of the journey. The distances and time of 
shipments in transit from the Colorado feed lots to market were about 
as follows: To St. Joseph, 520 miles or 57 hours; Kansas City, 580 
