22 STOCK-l'OISONlNG PLANTS OF MONTANA. 



being driven rapidl}- and in a hungry condition tlian under conditions 

 of rest and full stomach. Similar statements ma}' be made concerning 

 the trailing of sheep, a practice which prevails to a considerable extent 

 among sheep men who are located at some distance from the railroad. 

 In the early spring the sheep raiser selects those sheep which he wishes 

 to sell and drives them to the nearest railroad or possibly a much lon- 

 ger distance toward some larger market. During the transit a much 

 larger percentage of deaths occur from eating poisonous plants than 

 would occur in the same band of sheep if allowed to feed on the range. 

 The only reasons which have been suggested or which seem adequate 

 to explain this condition have already been mentioned. 



The ordinary practice of sheep raisers under the conditions which 

 prevail upon the Western ranges is to keep the sheep under the con- 

 stant attention of a herder. The size of the^ bands is generally from 

 2,000 to 2,500. This number of sheep has been adopted as being the 

 largest which can be conveniently managed by one man, and also the 

 largest which can convenientlv spread out so far as to graze with ease. 

 This method of managing sheep has certain disadvantages which 

 become apparent upon close observation of their feeding habits. As 

 is well known to sheep raisers, it requires a considerable length of 

 time for a band of 2,500 to become widely enough scattered for graz- 

 ing purposes after being let out of the corral in the morning or after 

 being rounded up on the range. During this time the sheep which 

 happen to be on the outside of the band have good opportunity to 

 graze, while those which are crowded together in the center are utterly 

 unable to feed until the outside sheep have moved away to some dis- 

 tance. Experienced herders interfere with the movements of the 

 sheep just as little as is compatible with directing them over the desired 

 course for the day. On the other hand it is a fact which all sheep 

 raisers have observed that a considerable proportion of herders con- 

 tinually urge forward the sheep which are in the rear of the bands and 

 drive in the stragglers with the aid of the dog in order to maintain as 

 compact a herd as possible. This is certainl}" a wrong method of man- 

 aging sheep. Whenever they are frighte"ned by the dog or otherwise 

 their habit is to crowd together in a compact mass, and they remain in 

 this position for some time before again scattering over the range for 

 grazing. The worry incident to this repeated dogging and otherwise 

 frightening the sheep must be severe, aside from the consideration of 

 the loss of grazing time. 



But, desirable as it is to give the sheep the greatest possible free- 

 dom, under present range conditions in the West it is manifestly 

 impossible to leave sheep to their own resources. The country is only 

 partially fenced, and the greater part of the fences which are already 

 built will not turn sheep. There is nothing, therefore, to prevent 

 them, when not under the care of a herder, from wandering away to 



