The Washington herald., 1921-09-11

vhE utiizauon oil thc range III inc
forests of the West for the production of
wool, beef, mutton and pork is steadily in
crcasing from year to year. Ranchers and
stockmen manifestng growing appreciation OF
the advantages afforded by government pasturage.
And in the degree they all too frequently
negiectng their livestock after is turned the
mountain ranges, state officials OF the United States
Department of Agriculture.
On all open ranges there many losses from
predatory animal poisonous plants disease and acci-
dents and similar dangers Unless of livestock
campaign inteigently and perseverngy against such
sources of disaster their herds and ocks usually suffer
a mortality of from to per cent yearly. To illus
trate one ranchman grazed 700 head Of cattle last
national forest without herder. AS
result he lost dozen head of worth $50 each
Lasttyear in forest district S. which includes Cali
fornia and Western Nevada, the total livestock
tality in seventeen forests amounted to 1881 CATTLE
S horses and $3.50 sheep The total number of per-
mttees who used the Federal grazing lands aggregated
$500. They grazed 2344Is cattle and horses 633soo
sheep and goats and $500 hogs the forest ranges
Two hundred and seventyfve cattle died of disease
aoo cattle and I62 sheep killed by eating poison
plants. 81 cattle, horses and 2.745 sheep were
killed by predatory animals and 486 cattle and 1858
sheep succumbed to accidents and miscellaneous causes
of death.
THIS matter of livestock losses on the government
United States Forest Service made detailed survey
of the specific of mortality among livestock in
the Stanislau Forest of California during year.
b During the period under discussion total OF 88I
head of livestock of the animals pastured in
the forest lost their lives The in which these
losses distributed should be of value to stockmen
and ranchers who are interested in curtailing these
losses and who anxious to know what the weak
points in their present methods Of management are.
The losses among cattle distributed follows:
Under I-year DID, from blackleg, 90; Iyear
old from blackleg, 81; calves loss OF mother from
arkspur poisoning 10; cattle losses from larkspur So;
other posons, predatory animals 20; accident 50;
in calvng lost strayed stolen "a; from anthrax,
from eating giant powder from railroad construction
camp. S. from neck and spine disease, IS; killed by
hunters, blind aged crippled and ruptured A. losses
from contagious abortion I22; from lack of proper
food and starvation H. and from unknown 337.
The losses from predatory animals are being
checked rapidly as the Federal agencies for this
work able to cope with the situation. Whenever
the forest note that the predatory animals
causing heavy damage professional hunters
destroy them. The losses due disease and accident
and miscellaneous causes could be substantially de-
creased if more herders employed by the
Under conditions which obtain on the national forest
ranges one or two herders could handle from 500 to
1000 cattle without particular difficulty On the
scale that it pays to herd sheep the government
ranges it also is profitable herd cattle and poten-
TALLY, permittees probably will come to this decision
of their accord.
POISONOUS plants and particularly larkspur, are
L responsible annually for large losses of live
stock throughout the Western States There is only
effective system of riddng the ranges of arkspur
and that is to grub the plants out
until finally the range will be free of this Objectionable
growth.
The experiences Of a certain rancher whose range
abus of the California national forests, and who
under the supervision of the United States Forest
Service, has been wagng a winning fight against
arkspur during the last four years are luminative in