The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1875-12-31
VOLUME
AGNES CITY.
Herd Law Talk


Miss Hattie Gotten has returned
from her visit to Marshall county.
AS Mrs. Clounseng and Mrs. Dix were
returning from EmpOria, lately, their
horses got away from them, ran into
the woods, breaking and getting loose
from the buggy, damaging the har-
ness, and finally arriving at home.
"A word with the antl-herd law
folks. A. p. says, to illustrate: "Take
the average farmer with thirty head
OF cattle, and sixty acres in cUltiva-
ton (the farmers near Agnes City do
not average thirty head of cattle TO ev-
cry sixty acres cultiVated-fiffeen head
to sixty acres would be nearer q gen.
eral average)-the law says to this
man, there is q fence made around
your field with paper, so you can do
what you please with your fence, but
you must do one of three things with
your cattle-ience them, herd them, or
sell them" We accept the illustra-
ton. To fence sixty acres would cost
at least $500. The interest on $500 at
Is per cent. is $72 yearly-sunk Tor
what? Thirty head of cattle, such as
the average farmer has been in the
habit of carrying, say calves, Texas
long horns, and, perhaps, some good
natives, averaging for the lot $l2 per
head, II times 30=$36O-more money
invested In fence than his cattle are
worth. But suppose we have herd
law, and those farmers put about eight
such herds together, and hire herder,
times 30=24O. One good hand will
manage that many; wages SO pei
month, eight months, costing each far
mer but $25; little more than his own
time would be worth during the busy
season looking after his own stock, and
no herd law. The $72 interest on In
vested money, less $50, equals $47, left
to the farmer to invest in cattle sheds
each year, the improvement of stock
or some other laudable Enterprise.
Paper fence! Why not? Does moi
the law recognize mans right of pos
session to all space above and below
the surface of his land, so that your
building may not project over it? and
should it then give you the right tC
cover it with yOur cattle, sheep, horses
hogs, &C., and appropriate the pro.
ceeds of his labor, because your facili.
ties for getting on his land are little
bit better than his for keeping you of
Four-strand wire fence, indeed? Oh
vanity of vanities! We have tried
them five and six strands. They are {
fraud. Stock go right through them
Sweet would like to ask ''if the time
spent in driving few cows to a hero
every morning, and going for them a
night, will not about balance the tim,
spent in hunting, on an average?" W.
believe one job does about equal tn
other; but when it comes to putting
both in our hash, we'll go to the her
all the time.
He "always supposed it was ever.
mans privilege to keep his work horse
where he could get them, without hav
ing q herd law to force him to do so.
That proposition is far Fetched
"thin," If you please.
| We do not want the herd law to zeal
the righteous, but sinners, to repent
ance." ANYONE" says Sweet, "wh
knows what stock Is, when they get
taste, can Judge of the difficulty G
getting them to water, as the bottOI
lands near the creeks will then all b
cultivated" We know by dear expe
rience what stock is when they get
taste, and thereby we demand proteC
ton from their ravages, presuming
to be every mans privilege" to max
such arrangements about watering a
may suit his convenience. The her
law will hardly dry up all the spring
) that come from the hillside. "Vexa
zion of spirit" Who hath vexatiOn {
spirit? They who have had their crOI
destroyed by theiving stock.
Sweet still further alleges, "speak
, ing of the man who was taking h
sheep through herd law county" tt
: idea that because there is not a heI
law In this county u man cannot
e just as we'll by them, in every respeC
Ia too ridiculous to be dished up +,
people supposed to have q decel
d amount of common sense. Hope he
not fair example of the Intelligent
q of the community which he left.
= words and invectives were argumeI
8 then, sheep man, be vanquished. B
= he may represent more intelligen
:, than here given credit for. Perha
= he came from q community whe
q stock are properly cared for, inste
l. of being left to SHIFT for themselves (
q poor hay and worse shelter I'm
l. spring comes and finds half of the
dead or fit subjects for the bone yar
II He doubtless wanted to raise sol
- grain for these sheep. We cannot DC
g. itiYely tell that he had five hundred
\ thousand dollars loose change in
= pocket to sink in fences. Then WI
20 decision more logical, as his she
" OC AEOAOON any hO"1 ShoS
a would drive his stock in q herd Il
n county? It Is time that that delusiC
n all stock and no grain, should be e
re ploded. We must improve our stO
breed up. 1t cannot be done withC
better feed and shelter; neither c
blooded stock be successfully hand
= while all kinds OF scrub stock roam
:, will on the prairles. Mr.. r. RobeI
q successful stock raiser of this cot
= ty, says 1t takes g good farm, well Ct
tivated, to run q herd of cattle. Il
" possible to winter them on hay,
ne not expedient. "But this is not q gr
ca county" 1t is though. Mr.. Lambc
III of Americas, came from one of
best grain growing States In the Uni
VI He says, and has demonstrated, q
Vi Kansas Is the best farming eOuntr.
had piles of grain to sell last ye
he ~The uplands won't raise grain"
o. know of spelndid wheat being raj
on last year, and this on side hill. A
Ast Mr.. Maxson, of the State Grange,
Ne old settler OF this county, says that
In, noticed when the corn was good in
A. bottoms it was good on the uplan
b. too, and that he would not live on
as bottoms for ali the land they conts
ng He owns . bottom farm, too, but il
IN on his hill farm.