Philip weekly review. [volume] (Philip, Stanley County, S.D.) 1907-1912, 1908-02-07

most cases not more than one team
and one or two cows. Tall grass and
great abundance of hay meets the
eye OF the traveller everywhere he
may go, and in talking with the old
time cowmen, most of whom ! am
personally acquainted with, / found
that the general tendancy has been
market-wards with their herds, regard
less of sex or age. 1--WE cannot help
ourselves" they said. "The settlers
are making it too hot for us, for most
of these people have no idea what
this country is adapted to. They
want no stock i'm the country and will
not fence their crops, so we are COM
PEELED to sell off the she stuff, calves
and all, and just sit down and wait
to see what they will do" Cant
you rent their land from them and
keep your coasf'' !'Tou cannot do it.
You cannot get enough together to
make it pay, and then they want too
much rent"
Thus they all expressed the reason
which drove them to this wholesale
marketing of their young stock for
whatever they can get for it. found
the condition for carrying young cat
tie through the winter better than /
ever saw in the history OF this
country. Hay was never more plenti-
full and never could be bought more
cheaply. The great trouble is sum-
mer grassing, and SO the COW and her
offspring must go, creating shortage
Of cattle.
/ would advise every man who in
tends to stay In this country to get
all the young cattle he can care for,
especially breeding stock, for this
country needs cattle in the future as
much or more than 1t has needed
them in the past. This country will
be a stock country yet for long time
TO come. In fact / believe the cattle
business Will have a greater future In
this country than it has in the past
The majority Of the people who set
tied the country are not practic.l
either as farmers or stockmen. Most
of the land has been taken TO sell;
and since most of them are OF limited
means, they are unable 10 use their
land for any purpose, consequently
the lands will soon pass into second
hands, and the man who invests
more than government price in
the land has to put this land 10 some
use: and most investors as a rule, are
practical men who know the right
thing and know how TO do tt. Conse-
quently the first thing they will look
for will be some good breeding stock
TO stock up their newly acquired
ranches; and this will be done more
from necessity than from choice, for
cattle are an absolute necessity for the
upbuilding OF new home, II 1t Ii only
a small herd; and for that reason it is
my opinion that man can't invest
his money today in anything which Is
safer than a good bunch OF yearling
heifers, which owing to the present low
market, can be bought very reason
able; for not onlyiin the range country
is the wholesale selling resorted to-
East of the river, owing to the high
price paid for grain the last two
years, the farmers have disposed of
practically all their young stock, save
a few dry cows; and instead OF rails
ing stock, they are bending every ef-
fort TO plant larger acreage Of
grain, and In the corn belt the cry is
for more acres of corn-and not corn
for feeding, but corn for market.
In my opinion, we have. arrived at
a point where there must be turn In
the road. We will undoubtedly soon
see the day Of cheaper feed, and with
it a shortage in feeding cattle. And
| hen the pendulum In feeder prices
will swing he other way, and with 1t
stock cattle will begin to soar; for
every man who will have room TO
keep breeding COW will want one,
and it is my opinion that about that
time the most of US on the west side
will have place TO keep q few and
will want them--and want them bad
ly. For l expect that In another
year or two, we will all agree that
farming without live stock is not the
proper thing in this country; In fact,
a good many OF those who have come
here to stay are already taking this
question into serious consideration,
for they are beginning to recognize
the fact that man with few hogs,
some cows and mares, can do fairly
well in this country, but without
that it Is all going out and nothing
coming in. Dan Bierwagen, Stanley
CO., s. ID.