The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1911-02-28

there been so many cdllle MlHtele'
on the ranges in this state. In grea
part this was caused by the drought
in the lower Texas Panhandle coun
try. making II necessary for the COW
men to find other pastures for thei
herds. and in addition to many thou
sand head left on the Oklahoma rang
es from last summers feeding, hun
dreds of additional carloads have beer
brought up from the southland. The
cowmen have been fortunate, too, fol
there has been plenty of flowing wa
ter in the Usage nation druing the
winter months, and the homesteaders
and ranchers have found a ready mar
ket for the corn. kaffir corn and fod
der raised last season.
Thus early the movement to market
from the winter pastures OF this state
has started augmenting the food sup
ply Of the nation and furnishing ma
terial for the big packing houses of
the central west. According TO j. NJ.
De Lozier, the live stock agent for
the Frisco Railway company, there
we're 125,000 head in the Osagoe coun-
trv alone this winter of Texas cattle,
and it will not be long until the an
nual spring movement of cattle from
the south to the pastures will begin.
As soon as the pastures begin to green
the annual movement starts and the
Usage country will, as usual, accom-
modate several hundred thousand head
during the coming summer Because
OF so many cattle being wintered in
the state the inbound shipments will
not be as great as usual.
Drown Texas Fever Tick.
Something accurate relative to the
cattle business in this state can be
gained from the figures recently made
public by G. T. Bryan, president OF
the state board OF agriculture. During
the past two years a total OF $4,000
head, shipped from the south into Ok
lGhoma, were dipped at the various
Oklahoma cattle pens along the lines
Of the interstate railways. The dipping
is necessary in order to kill the Texas
fever tick and thus protect the native
cattle. He places the number thus
protected at 100000 head. He says
that the state eXpends $4,000 annual
ly in the tick eradication business
alone. II is OF interest in this connec-
ton that the department has found
that the arsenical dip Is less expensive
and less injurious 10 cattle than the
old method OF dipping in crude oil.
The Movement to Market.
The spring movement Of cattle to
market, Oklahoma being one OF the
few states OF the union that furnish
a spring supply, IS one of annual in
terest and anxiety even to the pack
ing industries, for much depends
upon the number and quality received
from this state. One railway company
last spring transported $1,000 cars to
the Chicago, St. Louis and Kansas
City markets. Two other railway com
panies, having the same connections
were also busy and the total number
% frnn, nlylahnnu ll .
spring was close to 10000
In addition to wintering cattle on
the pastures of the Usage and other
indian tribes. and also in the extreme
western portion OF the state, as well,
there are Al cotton-seed oil mills in
Oklahoma. including three in Guthrie
alone, that have facilities for winter
ing and feeding $4,000 head of cat
tie annually. As a rule these cattle
also come from Texas, and after re-
naming in the feed pens for about
Al days they become a part OF the
spring shipment of cattle to market.
For the stranger visiting the cotton
growing section OF the country the
feeding of cattle at oil mills is always
an interesting sight The cattle pens
are similar to the shipping yards
maintained by railway companies in
practiclly every town In these yards
great wooden troughs or managers are
placed, averaging u feet in length and
three in width. Sufficient facilities
for watering the cattle are part of
the pens.
The cattle fatten rapidly Several
teams are kept busy at each oil mill
hauling the cotton-seed hulls from the
warehouses to the managers which are
kept pretty we'll filled all the time.
AS the cattle grow fatter they also
become lazier, and within a remark
ably short time after being brought
from the range to the pens they be
come docile and are easily handled.
The three oil mills in Guthrie, for
instance, have facilities for wintering