The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1917-10-27
TO SAVE CATTLE
Movement Of Stock from Drought
Stricken Portions of Texas to
B Points in the Southeastern States.

! stricken tbftiOlS Oh ttS"> u
Points in the Southeastern States
: Trainloads Of cattle are bclns
shipped from the drOught-Striche1
portions Of Texas to other points n
the South Just as fast as railroad
facilities will permit, according to a
statement Of the Bureau Of Animal
Industry, United States Department
Of Agriculture. which has been
working to relieve the situation OF
the Texas cattlemen.
Since July / there have been
moved from Texas 10 points IN the
Southeastern States more IMAM
$4,000 head OF cattle, aild the de-
partment expects that by the II OF
September fully $4,000 head Will he
so moved. This movement was
made necessary because OF the
drought and other conditions in GER
tain parts of Texas, which threaten
ed the loss of valuable breeding
stock. Most of the cattle no" be-
ing moved are females; practlcalls
all were bought outright by FARMERS
and landowners in the new territory.
The expense of the work Of super
vising shipments of these cattle 10
the end of September, will not eX-
coed $4,000, which makes the cost
incurred by the department for NOV
ing the cattle only about 80 cents
a head.
Why the Work was Undertaken
Because of the lack of rain and
consequent lack of pasturagt IN
much of the range region of Texas,
the Department Of Agriculture un-
dertook to help open up 10 cattle
raisers channels Of outlet Or cattle
which could not be carried on the
range any longer. Under the con-
ditions as they have existed in Texas
the cattle owners first had to get
rid of their older steers, then the
younger, then the calves, which
formed the very basis Of the herds.
The department is doing everything
that it can to get these cattle into
regions of plentiful forage, and has
been using every possible agency;
otherwise many would have died of
starvation on the ranges. Cattle
have gone to Louisiana, Mississippi,
Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, and
Florida, and these States have CO.
operated with the Federal Govern
ment in helping to make the move
ment possible. The authorities In
Mississippi at first thought that
there were too many cattle within
the State, but a survey taken by
counties through the help of coun-
ty agents, showed that while some
counties had an excess of cattle for
sale, in others there were many
Farmers who wished to buy cattle,
and a balancing of those for sale ana
those in demand showed that the
State could take a great many more
THEM it had on hand. Many of these
came from the Texas supply.
"A New Field
One of the advantages of the work
done this year is in showing how the
situation may be handled should
similar conditions arise again. The
department says that in the long
run the cattle industry as a whole
will be decided gamer by the move
ment of these cattle, which are
largely Of high grade and in some
cases even pure-bred stock, and
they have gone to form the nuclei
Of new centers of cattle raising. They
are mainly Herefords, with some
Shorthorns and a small sprinkling
of angus cattle. More important to
Texas cattlemen than the opening
up Of new herds is that their atten-
ton has been directed to the East as
an outlet for their surplus as we'll