Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-04-18
state can boast, it has to contend with a
few drawbacks Two of these come within


! few drawbacks. Two of these come within
| the domain of botany and agriculture.
| They are, first, the existence on the feed
! ing grounds of great quantities of certain
| poisonous plants, which are sometimes
eaten extensively, with fatal effect; and
| second, the difficulty of producing suffi-
| cent hay to keep the animals in good con-
dition over winter.
Much attention has been and is still
being given to the subject, especially from
! the chemical standpoint, by DR.. f. w.
| Traphagen. chemist of the Montana sta
| ton, and by his assistants, and from the
veterinary standpoint by DR.. M. +.
Knowles of Helena, the state veterinarian,
and his associates
In the course of the Investigations made
| by Messrs Chestnut and Wilcox Of the
stock poisoning plants of Montana they
| visited every county of the state, both of
| the mountains and the plains. In general,
| the most thorough study was made of
ranges where serious losses of stock had
occurred during the season of 1900 pre-
vious seasons especially where the stock
men manifested a lively interest in the in
vestigation The stockmen took such in
terest in making prompt notifications OF
case Of poisoning that many exceptional
opportunities were had for observing cat
tie, horses and sheep poisoned by different
plants.
The ordinary practice of sheep raisers
under the conditions which prevail upon
the western ranges is to keep the sheep
under the constant attention of a herder.
2,0Q0 to 900. This number of sheep has
been adopted being the largest which
can be conveniently managed by one man,
and also the largest which can conve-
niently spread out far as to Craze with
ease.
But desirable as it is to give the sheep
the greatest possible freedom under pres
ent range conditions in the west, 1t is
manifestly impossible to leave sheep to
their own resources. The country is only
partially fenced, and the greater part OF
the fences which are already built will
not turn sheep. There is nothing there
fore, to prevent them, when not under the
care of a herder, from wandering away to
indefinite distances. 1t must also be re-
membered that wolves and coyotes are still
to be found in some numbers on sheep and
cattle ranges, and an attack by these ami
mails upon the sheep is sure to result in dis
astrous consequences For the present,
therefore, other method of managing
sheep would seem to be practicable than
the one now in vogue. When wolves and
coyotes shall have been exterminated in the
locality of sheep ranges, and these ranges
shall have been inclosed in sheep-tight
fences, it will perhaps be possible to dis
pense with the constant attendance of
herders. 1t is probable that the method of
keeping sheep in comparatively small herds
in inclosed areas and allowing them to
feed without any interference will secure
better results in wool and mutton produc-
ton than are secured by the present
method.
The present method of managing sheep
possesses the advantage that when the
herder knows by sight the poisonous plants
Of the range and is acquainted with their
habitat and distribution he may easily herd
the sheep away from the areas where such
poisonous plants grow during the season
when they are dangerous. On many sheep
ranges certain areas have been found to
be dangerous at certain times Of the year.
and the sheep are always kept away from
these places during the dangerous season.
Altitude of Ranges.
The altitude of the stock ranges in Mon
tana varies from about 800 to 5000 feet.
The prairie ranges average in altitude from
1890 to 5000 feet, cattle and horses during