Semi-weekly herald., 1915-01-28
Cattle Business Present
and Fuinre.

| In recent report of the u. 5. de-
partment of agriculture this part of
| Colorado is mentioned as one of the
four natural breeding grounds for
stock in the world. A well known au-
thority, DR.. Henry w. Hoagland, ad-
vances the theory that the high type
Of stock grown in this state is due
quite as much to geological and eli
matte reasons as to the nutritive
value of the grass. To the climate he
gives the credit for our cattle having
a great heart girth dung capacity
bigger bones and possessing that valu-
able luster of hair designated by
stockmen as bloom.
The nutritive grass grown on our
snow soaked mountain ranges and
ideal climatic conditions each have a
part in the rapid development of cat
tie raised here. 1t is estimated the
gain in weight in favor of this section
is about 100 pounds year. The quail
ity of the beef cattle produced bring
from 80 cents to S100 more hun
dred than the eastern fed stock. The
death rate of stock is also in our IA
vor, it being the lowest in any part
of the United States.
During the season just ended, the
Durango forest reserve produced suf-
ficient forage for $4,000 head of cat
tie; the Montezuma' reserve grazed a
few thousand more while the San Juan
many. The cost to the stockman was
from 80 to 40 cents head.
About 10000 cattle were shipped
from the different stations in the ba-
sin this year and netted the growers
in the neighborhood of 100000. A
few brought only $40 head, but
the average was about $50. Two hun
dred and fifty yearlings were sold f.
o. b. Tiffany, in this county, for $50.
One range steer raised in our neigh
boring county of Archuleta brought
Sll0 in the Denver markets.
Sheep Raising in the San
Juan Basin.
The flocks of Abel never had finer
pasture or yielded better profits than
| those OF this section. During 1914
about 250,000 head grazed on the
three forest reserves in the basin. The
average cost to flockmasters was
about tx cents per head. During
| the winter months the greater por-
ton of the sneep are ranged on the
government land across the state line.
| The sheep exported during the past
season, according to the government
inspector, totaled 100000 and netted
the owners a sum equal to that real
lied by the cattlemen, about $780,
900. Clippings of wool brought Sl75,-
900 and the hides and pelts increased
the profits $4,000.
Horses and Mules.
DR.. Hoagland, the authority quoted
above, holds that Colorado offers a
better field for growing horses than
| Kentucky. We have the same lime
stone formations that have had an
important part in perfecting the best
type of horses in the southern state.
| Horses grown here have greater vi
| tality than those raised in lower alti-
tudes. The rich grass, perpetual sun
| shine, and pure water do their parts
toward producing an animal superior
to those bred in Kentucky. The con-
stant mountain climbing over hard
ground has resulted in short legged
horse with perfect foot.
| Our stockmen-farmers are learning
that it is just as cheap to grow a
good horse as mustang and that the
former will bring as must as dozen
cayuses. From $3.50 to 5000 is the
price of horse worth raising. Dur
ing the year about $4,000 worth of
horses We're shipped to the eastern
and southern markets. Next year
the shipments bid fair to be consid-
erably larger. In horse growing also
the cost of production is low owing
to the forest reserve grazing privi-
Ieges, the ranging prices per season
beng only so cents.
Hog Raising.
About 5000 hogs were exported
from here this year which brought
about 100000. By utilizing skim
milk, alfalfa and barley hogs can
be grown here as proiitably as any
place in the west.
A local packing plant affords a
market for many thousand. That hog
raising should be increased several
hundred per cent is evidenced by the
fact that $2O,000,000 worth Of pork
was shipped through the Denver mar
ket for western distribution last year.