10 



of the land — in this case largely the State and public institutions and 

 railroads — were not on liand to maintain their riglits, they were ignored, 

 and the result was then as it is now in most of tlie Western States 

 and Territories containing unalienated Government land, that every 

 blade of free grass was stripped from the soil. No thought was given 

 to preserving the inheritance of those who were to occupy the land 

 in future years; it was every man for himself, and he was the best 

 man who could put the most cattle on the ranges to eat the most of the 

 free grass. The natural outcome of this was that the ranges through- 

 out the entire region were overstocked. Cow men thought that they 

 could not put enough cattle on the ranges to eat all the free grass, 

 and it was a very great surprise to most of them when in 1884 they 

 began to discover the fallacy of this idea. The losses at that time 

 throughout the whole Southwest were enormous, and the only thought 

 of those who continued in the cattle business during the succeeding 

 years was to recoup at all hazards and to follow the same tactics 

 that had been previously employed— putting upon the pasture every 

 head of stock which it was believed the land would sustain. As the 

 strength of any structure is equal to the strength of its weakest part, so 

 the carrying capacity of any large area may be considered equal to the 

 number of stock which may be supported upon it during its poorest 

 years. Just so sure as the number of grazing animals is allowed to 

 increase beyond this conservative estimate there enters a greater lia- 

 bility to loss. For example, it is never safe to attempt to graze 75 or 

 80 head upon a section of land which will only safely carry 50 head the 

 year round, although if the natural conditions are exceptionally favor- 

 able during a particular year a man nuiy overstock his pastures and 

 realize a profit during that year. On the contrary, should the natural 

 conditions not prove to be as favorable as the stockman had hoped, his 

 losses at 75 or 80 head per square mile will largely exceed the normal 

 losses were the land stocked only to the extent of its mininuini carry- 

 ing capacity. Not only will the pecuniary loss, or the liability to such 

 loss, be less and the actual profits on the cattle be more in the case of 

 undergrazing, but the land itself will gradually increase in value and the 

 grazing capacity will be augmented from year to year. In one case the 

 land is stocked beyond its carrying capacity, so that it rapidly and con- 

 tinuously deteriorates in value; in the other case there is a constant 

 increase in value both of the land and its products during the same 

 series of years. 



INVESTIGATION OF GRAZING PROBLEMS. 



In the prosecution of an investigation of the Texas ranges a num- 

 ber of circular letters were sent by the chief of the division to cattle 

 and sheep owners in the Southwest asking for estimates as to the per- 

 centage of increase or decrease of the carrying cai)acity of the ranges. 

 An inquiry was also made as to what , in the opinion of stockmen, were 



