EAISING AND FATTENING BEEF CALVES IN ALABAMA. 6 
year, before losing any of their normal summer weight, they averaged 
perhaps 800 pounds in weight. It will be seen later that these small 
cows raised calves which attained an average weight of 560 pounds 
by the time they were 12 months old. The Kernachan cows averaged 
about 830 pounds in weight at the end of the winter, but the calves 
from these larger cows were undersized, due largely, perhaps, to 
the presence of the cattle tick. As a result of the use of good bulls, 
the calves obtained from these grade cows were, as a rule, good ones. 
They were in the first place much larger than the average calves 
of the State, and in the second place measured up much more closely 
to the ideal beef conformation than calves obtained frOm native 
cows. 
MANAGEMENT OF THE HERD. 
The cows were bred so as to have the calves dropped during the 
spring months. During the summer months the animals, both 
young and old, grazed upon a moderately good pasture; no feed 
except salt was given in addition to the pasture. During these 
pasture months the cows ate nothing but pasture grasses while 
the calves had the cows' milk in addition to the grasses. The 
main pasture was made up principally of Japan clover and broom 
sedge, which had come naturally after the dealing of the land. 
This large pasture consisted of approximately 1,000 acres, but a 
very large part was covered with trees; under these trees the ground 
was bare. A small adjoining pasture of approximately 30 acres had 
been partly set to Bermuda, bub this was used only occasionally 
for some calves. These permanent pastures afforded the animals 
reasonably good grazing for about six months of the year. 
When the pastures became exhausted in the late fall the calves 
were weaned, the males castrated, and the cows and calves placed 
in separate fields and fed and managed differently. The cows were 
placed in the old corn and cotton fields, thus being fed the rough 
feeds of the farm along with small amounts of cottonseed cake. The 
calves were prepared for the winter fattening period. The fol- 
lowing short statements give a brief history of the management 
of the cows and the lives of the calves from January 1, 1911, to 
April 1, 1912: 
. (1) The calves were born during the months of January, February, March, and 
April in 1911. The majority were born in March and April. At this time the cows 
were running in a field of 640 acres which had a small growth of cane; a part of this 
field consisted of old corn and cotton fields. 
(2) The cows ate nothing except the cane and what roughage they secured from 
the old corn and cotton fields until January 23. By this time the rough field feeds 
had been pretty well consumed, consequently a small daily feed of cottonseed cake 
was introduced to supplement the range. The feeding of cottonseed cake was con- 
tinued until April 14. On this date the cows and calves were all turned into the large 
