RANGE AND CATTLE MANAGEMENT DURING DROUGHT. 61 
As a result of the care given this herd, with but few exceptions the 
cows were in good, thrifty condition throughout the year. In the 
fall of 1916 some of the cows were not moved to winter range quite 
early enough and feeding them cottonseed cake was reduced early 
in 1917, so that they were somewhat under the condition they should 
have been in at that time. This is believed to account in part for the 
low calf crop in this herd in 1917. No feeding was considered neces- 
sary in the winter and spring of 1918-19, as the cows entered the 
winter in excellent shape and had an excess of good range forage 
during the whole period. With the exception of the fall and winter 
of 1916-17, 95 per cent of the cows were in good, thrifty condition 
at all times of the year. 
The main herd on the reserve, of approximately 1,500 head, was 
given some special attention to maintain the cows in good physical 
condition, but not so much as was given the special herd. In the 
spring of 1916, 5.1 per cent of the cows were fed at the rate of 8 
cents per head for the whole herd, 13.1 per cent at the rate of 32 
cents per head in 1917, and 85.4 per cent at the rate of $3.03 per 
head in 1918. Calves were weaned when from 8 to 10 months of age, 
except in 1917, when all calves down to 4 months of age were weaned 
in October. Range was reserved for only the poorest cows during 
the winter and spring of each year. The feeding and other care 
given the cows in this herd was primarily for the purpose of avoid- 
ing loss from starvation rather than of increasing the calf crop. 
The cows not fed, therefore, varied from those that were very poor 
but would probably pull through on the range without feeding until 
green grass came to dry cows that were in thrifty condition. Those 
that were not in thrifty condition included some not being fed as 
well as those on feed, and the number of unthrifty stock varied with 
the intensity of the drought. 
The drought and lateness of the season in 1917 resulted in many 
of the cows in this herd not getting into condition to breed that year. 
The small amount of forage produced resulted further in a scarcity 
of range feed for the winter and spring, so that over 85 per cent of 
the cows had to be fed to keep them alive. The drought did not 
break until August of 1918. Therefore, a large percentage of the 
cows did not get into condition to breed for the 1919 calf crop 
before the severe winter set in. Although the drought was over 
before 1919, the calf crop that year was smaller than the previous 
year because the cows were in weaker condition and fewer were 
bred in 1918 than in 1917. The difference in condition of the cows 
in this herd as compared with the special herd probably accounts in 
a large measure for the difference in the calf crop in the two herds. 
However, the care and feed given the large herd to prevent loss from 
starvation had its advantage, since the calf crops obtained were 
