4 BULLETIN 628, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
much better than meal to feed in the open for several reasons : A 
sudden rain will not injure cake to such an extent that the steers 
will not eat it; wind will not blow it away: and it is hard enough so 
that the steers must chew it, thus preventing greedy ones from eating 
more than their share, which they could do if meal were fed. The 
winter pasture consisted of orchard grass, blue grass, herd's grass, 
and clover, which had grown up during the summer without being 
grazed. 
Fig. 2. — Character of grazing lands and pasture. 
I. WINTERING STEERS PREPARATORY TO GRAZING ON PASTURE. 
OBJECT OF THE WORK. 
Most of the cattle in the mountainous section of North Carolina 
are roughed through the winter, that is. carried on very light ra- 
tions, and then finished on pasture for feeders the following sum- 
mer. The experimental work was undertaken in order to determine, 
first, just how much it costs to carry stock cattle through the winter; 
second, if it is advisable to allow steers to lose in weight during the 
winter months: third, to determine not only the best and most eco- 
nomical method of wintering cattle, but also the effect the different 
methods of wintering cattle have on the way they gain in weight on 
pasture the following summer. 
PLAN OF WORK. 
This particular work was planned to cover a period of three years 
in order to get an average of season, feed, cattle, and condition tend- 
ing to produce variation. The steers were divided into four lots, 
using a carload in each lot. and those in each corresponding lot were 
