Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-07-26
RANGE CATTLE PASSING
Believed That Fewer Range
Cattle Will Be the Rule In
the Future
GRAZING LANDS DECREASING
Many Herders Will Go Out Of the
Business This Year, and it is Likely
Large Number of Range Stock Will
be Manifestations Profit in Sheep
Raising.

Sioux City, July 26.-!The Sioux City
stock yards yesterday received it's first
consignment of range cattle for this
season. This is the time of year when
the range cattle begin coming in and
they will continue to come until late in
the fall.
There are several things of interest
in connection with the marketing OF
range cattle this year. ALL of the
railroad companies operating lines IN
the western country have been mak-
ing desperate efforts this year to set
tie up the western country and con-
sequently the ranges are being cut
up into farms at very rapid rate.
Men who used to find 1t highly
profitable to maintain a big herd of
cattle on the western plains, not
being particular whether or not the
land upon which it fed was his own,
are now finding the business not quite
SO profitable as 1t used to be. This
is one reason why 1t Is believed the
sale of range CATTLE this year will be
SItstlSI Oily liCSiouo y C1As ~
is predicted that many of the great
range of cattle raisers will this fall
decide to go out of the business en-
tirely and will therefore sell out their
entire stock. AS q matter Of fact al
ready several OF the biggest herds that
ever tramped the western ranges have
been taken to the markets.
Letter Raising Sheep.
Joseph Letter the man who be-
came famous few years ago in the
Chicago wheat pit, is one Of the great
cattle raisers who has seen the end
of the range business. Only a short
time ago he sold his herd of 10000
cattle to Harris Franklin, banker
at Deadwood, s.. d. Instead OF raisA
ing cattle, in the future he will raise
sheep, because wool is high priced
and he can raise rlany more sheep
on the same land. Moreover, the
sheep breed faster, and the losses are
less. j. NJ. Holt is another of the
big western cattle raisers who has
given UP the cattle business for the
sheep industry.
But there Is another fact that leads
to the belief that this years sale of
range cattle will be greater than
ever. Last year when the time ar
rived for the sale of the range cattle,
the great packing house strike, which
was felt so keellly in Sioux City,
broke out In Chicago and scattered
to all packing points Prices dropped
out of sight, and rangers could not
afford to sell. Rather than to give
their stock away they choose to hold
it until this year. This stock In addi-
ton to the regular supply will there
fore be placed on this years market.
Buffalo Grass 10 Good.
The buffalo grass, upon which the
range cattle feed to a large extent,
is said to be good this year on ac-
count Of the heavy rains which have
prevailed The grass cures Of its
own accord, and the cattle eat is as
they would eat hay. However, the
buffalo grass is more nutritive than
hay and it produces new grade OF
beef, some of which is superior in some
respects to the corn fed beef.
Range cattle as rule are not OF
as high quality as are the corn fed
cattle. When carload Of range
cattle reaches the Sioux City market,
the animals are closely inspected and
sorted. Eight or ten Of the best
of the carload are sold for fine beef;
the remainder Of the carload is sold
for cutters and Gamers. The better
ones Of the remaining number are
sold for cutters, the Gamers being the
poorer quality. Much of the range
supply is employed for the purpose OF
canning 81