Southwest-sentinel. [volume] (Silver City, N.M.) 1883-189?, 1894-02-20
Cattle Notes.

DlOOQ, were eve 70 DC nAu tOr
less money than to-day. All breed
ers are more than willing, they are
anxious to sell. The necessity Of
getting hold Of ready money is
hardly less with them than with
those who raise stock for butchers,
or wool for manufacturers. There
never wOs such an opportunity for
grading up hocks and herds but
the very cause hat has made the
opportunity has created a barrier
which prevents its being used. No
matter how cheap thoroughbred
stock may be, the majority of men
who live by raising and fattening
live stock have not the money to
take advantage Of the chance of lay
ing the foundation for greater pro-
fits in the future. They know what
they are missing aud turn away
with sad hearts from the bargains
that are within their reach. A few
fortunate Ones have the spare cap
ital, and others, by pinching and
depriying themselves and their
families, perhaps, of what seem
necessaries, T buying, but how
few these are TO the great number.
The position is almost the same in
every walk Of life. Everything or
nearly everything in men and
women's dress, OF household furn-
fishing, is cheap, but it is cheap be-
cause the masses have no money to
buy with. The winter of 1894,
will be long remembered as one of
extreme cheapness and extreme
p%roverty, extreme cheapness in
duced by extreme poverty. The
community is in the position that
in some seasons California farmers
have been in, a long hot weather
parching and burning up their
crops while the rivers were running
bank full with melting snow water
water, and too much water, in the
rivers, no moisture in the soil. To-
day we hear Of immense reserves
&C coin IN the banks of San Fran
cisco, New York and London, but
none in the safes of manufacturers
or producers and none in the poe
kets of the people.
The range cattle business as at
present conducted ought to be
abhorrent to a humane man. In
southern Arizona we have a dry
summer every two or three years,
and serious losses in cattle from
starvation necessarily follow. Al
most every spring, too at the
change from dry winter feed to
watery spring grass, many old COWS
die off. Most of these might be
saved by all the large calves being
weaned ere winter sets in, but many
ranchmen give no attention what
ever to that important matter. /
e almost every day, sleek calves
8 to 10 months old, whose skele-
tonlike mothers died during the
winter. When we have only light
summer rains, cattle must go six or
more miles for feed. They stay
out as long IS possible, and then
driven by thirst they hasten back
under a fierce sun to the water
troughs, where they drink Sc
immediately that the weight oil
their load forces them to lie down
near by. If the water is cold, and
they have been going On in the
same way for weeks, many of them
never get on their feet again
There is no attempt made 10 save
the life of an animal once it il
unable 10 rise. A kind hearted
owner kills his PROSTATE stock al
once, but out on the range there
are scores-or it may DO hundreds
which he viii never see. 1t ii
known that a COW will live eight ol
ten days without feed or watel
after she is too weak to get up
Hay Of some kind should be pro
yided to carry the cattle through
the worst storms OF winter, anC
every anchman Who can possibly
put up hay is doing so. The dead.
ly winters Of northern latitudel
are worse from a humanity viewed
standpoint than our summer dis.
asters. but neither can be contem.
plated with any satisfaction In the
southwest we are NOT lOrtunte
enough except Ia a few favored
localities 90 command water and
hay production; hence the only
remedy ems 70 b. understanding
OF fhe ranges.-COr. American
Agriculturist