Bisbee daily review. [volume] (Bisbee, Ariz.) 1901-1971, 1907-11-30
Western RANGES
ARE FAST
GOING
ih1 Chicago DRIVERS journal
Quotes Stockmen Who Dis
cuSS Causes Of Deterioration
and Suggest Remedies,
(Drovers Journal.)


The question of the preservation
and care OF the ranges is gaining vast
Importance throughout the west. The
range is fast being curtailed in area
owing to the coming in Of settlers, ir-
rigation. dry farming and the forest
reserves.
Taking Montana as an example, the
area OF this state is approximately
80, 000, 900 acres. Not so many years
ago the greater part of this vast do
main was open TO the large herds of
cattle and big droves of sheep. But
iris is no more. 1t has been esti-
mated that in the years to come the
permanent range in Montana will fall
70 56,000,0O0 acres. This number
looks big on paper, but when it is
considered that there We're in this
state in 1906 upward of $4,000 cattle,
5,636, 200 sheep and $4,000 horses, it
can readily be seen why stock raisers
should take serious thought of the fu-
ture, for the live stock industry is
largely dependent upon the grass crop
OF the ranges.
To the men engaged in the raising
of live stock in the western range
country the question is how to pre-.
serve and increase the grasses. That
the present methods followed by them
do not tend this way is generally con-
cedeG.
1t is the opinion of l. D. Mcdonnell,
of Billings, Mont, practical farmer
and extensive ranchman, that the
open, unprotected range will. In 9TH
er words, such will produce twice the
amount OF feed that the latter range
viii. Mr.. O'Donnell's ideas along this
line follow:
| One acre of inclosed fenced or pro
tected) range win pasture one steer
Tor twenty days; one acre of average
| open range will feed that the latter
range viii feed one steer ten DAYS.
or 100 acres Of the incIosed range will
! feed so sheep one year; 100 acres OF
open range viii run 40 sheep for one
year"
Deterioration of the range through
out the west has been going on for
| years. The loss in this alone is enor,
nous. According to Directors +. b.
| Linfield, of the Montana agricultural
experiment station at Bohemian, who
| las made it a business to interview
leading stock raisers of Montana, the
| deterioration of the range has been
not for from one-half from not so
| many years ago. 1t is not hard to
| find why range grasses are poorer in
stocking of the range has been the
quality and smaller in quantity. Over
potent factor.
To realize the enormous loss sus-
tanned in Montana through poorer
range it would be well to take the last
year book of the department of ag-
riculture. In this il is found that the
value of cattle, horses and sheep was
put at about $40, 100000 From this
/ industry the gross yearly income has
been placed at around $4,000, 444,
most of which is derived from the
range. Thus the methods of handling
live stock in Montana, as well as in
other western range states, where
general conditions are no better, must
result in untold loss.
Director Linfield, anent the situa-
ton, says in the Helena Independent:
The losses from present methods of
range feeding are in two directions.
First, the winter losses, which are due
partly to overstocking the range and
partly to lack of adequate preparation
for winter feeding, or to a desire to
get out onto a good range early in
the spring before the other fellow
gets there and when a late spring
storm may destroy the already weak
ened stock.
The loss from this cause must be
/ enormous,- and during the time the
range industry has been in existence
must have exceeded two gor three
times the present value of the live
stock of the state.
THE next question Is, can this
range be restored to it's old-time crop
yield? In Montana l believe the
range can be restored. In districts
where the ground is bare and the
grass eaten to the ground, IL the
country is level a system Of dykes
turned up with the pillow would help
materially to hold the snow and the
water till It soaked into the ground
: In a rolling, billy country small dams
] in the coulees and series OF diversion
: canals to catch and carry the water
out of the benches would prevent a
! rapid run OF and help to more thor
: oughly wet the range ground"
III