FATTENING CATTLE IN ALABAMA. 3 
been sold at sacrifice prices in the fall under such conditions, when, 
if they could have been wintered there would have been an abundance 
of grass to fatten them the following summer. 
The buying of commercial feeds to use for wintering stock cattle 
has been practiced to a certain extent, though it is far more common 
in the South to turn the cattle loose on the range and let them take 
care of themselves the best they can during the winter. Cattle 
treated in this manner always become very thin before spring, 
and some losses occur. A few of the better stockmen, who handle 
their mature cattle in this manner, sometimes drive up the thinnest 
of the cattle during the latter part of the winter and give them some 
feed until grass comes in the spring. 
