Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1921-11-17

= Cattle Grazing on a
prepared by the United States Department
of Agriculture,)
The utilization of the range in the
national forests of the West for the pro-
ductiOn of wool, beef, mutton and pork
is steadily increasing from year to
year. Ranchers and stOckmen are
manifesting growing appreciation of
the advantages afforded by govern
ment pasturage. And in the same de-
gree they are all too frequently neg
lecting their stock after it is turned
out on the mountain ranges, state Off
cials of the United States Department
Of Agriculture.
On all open ranges there are many
losses from predatory animals, poison
Gus plants, disease and accidents, and
similar dangers, Unless owners of live
stock campaign intelligently and perse-
veringly against such sources of disas-
ter, their herds and flocks usually suf-
fer a mortality of from to per cent
yearly. To illustrate, one ranchman
graZed 100 head of cattle last sum-
mer on a national forest without a
herder. AS a result he lost a dozen
head of steers worth $50 each.
Mortality High Last Year.
Last year in forest district 3, which
includes California and western Ne
vada, the total live stock mortality in
II forests amounted to. 1,151 cattle, D
horses and 5,S40 sheep. The total num-
ber of permittees who used the federal
grazing lands aggregated 1929. They
grazed 234, ,415 cattle and horses, $685.
500 sheep and goats and $500 hogs on
the forest ranges. Two hundred and
seventy-tive cattle died of disease; 299
cattle and 1,462 sheep were killed by
eating poisonous plants; 81 cattle, .
horses and 2,745 sheep were killed by
| predatory animals, and 4S6 cattle and
| 1913 sheep succumbed to accidents
and miscellaneous causes of death.
/ This matter Of live stock losses on
| the government ranges has become of
such Importance that the United States
| forest service made a detailed survey
of the specific causes of mortality
among live stock in the Stanislaus for
est of California during a recent year.
| During the period under discussion a
/ total of SS1 head of live stock out of
/ the 10000 animals pasrured in the for
est lost their lives. The manner in
which these losses were distributed
should be of value to stockmen and
ranchers who are interested in curtail-
ing these losses and who are anxious
TO know what the weak points in their
present methods of management are.
! The losses among cattle We're distrib-
uted as follows:
Under one year old from blackleg,
9S; over one year old from blackleg
81; calves, loss of mother from lark
spur poisoning, 10; cattle losses from
larkspur, SO; other poisons, 81; preda
tory animals, 20; accident, SO in calv.
ing IA; lost, strayed or stolen, IA
powder from railroad construction
camp, 5; from neck-and-spine disease
10; killed by hunters, ,; blind, aged
crippled and ruptured, 4 losses from
contagious abortion, 100; from lack OF
proper food and starvation. II. and
from unknown causes, 337.
Check Predatory. Animals.
The losses from predatory animals
are being checked as rapidly as the
federal agencies for this work are
able to cope with the situation. When
ever the forest rangers note that the
predatOr; animals are causing heavy
damage, professional hunters are sen
TO destroy them. The losses due t.
disease and accident and miScelane
Gus causes could be substantially de
creased if more herders were employed
by the owners. Under conditions whicl
obtain OF the national forest range.
one or two herders could handle from
five hundred to a thousand cattle With
out particular difficulty. On the SAM
scale that it pays to herd sheep on tn,
government ranges it also is profit
able to herd cattle and, potentially
permittees probably will come to thi
decision of their own accord
Poisonous plants-and particularl
larkspur-are responsible annually fo
large losses of live stock throughou
the western states. There is only on
effective system of ridding the range
of larkspur and that is to grub tn
plants out season after season unit
finally the range will be free of thi
Objectionable growth.
The experiences of a certain rancho
whose range abuts one of the Califol
mia national forests, and who, unde
the supervision of the United State
forest service, has been waging wir
ming fight against larkspur during tn
last four years, are illuminative in thi
regard. After careful trial and stud
of the control methods and the result,
this stockman is enthusiastic about tn
, efficiency of the plan and he urges ev
cry other rancher or stockman VIII
owns infested range to give the systel
of eradication Il thorough and impa
tial trial
Ideal Pasturage Infested.
J In this instance the larkspur wa
7 prevalent in large amounts on a rang
where the grazing was otherwise exec
t tionally good. The infested area W.
: on a side hill where seepage from
l spring near the top of the hill pr
vided plenty of moisture so that II
! grass was unusually luXuriant at a
times during the grazing period I'll
rancher had to have herder with ii
cattle constantly in order to kee
l them off the larkspur-infested are
Not only did he lose the use of exec
= Dairy improvement Work.
A lot of dairy improvement work
s.lIIl1 cd In thn Of n nn11