117 



nee: Bad condition trom wnnt of slieittn-. XcOAho : -Nativo cattle good; Texas cattle 

 poor. MorriH : Texas cattle lost; from .'>5 to 50 pev cent. Domestic rattle in jj;ocd con- 

 dition. J'Jilfin-nrUi : roorei- than ever before knoM-ii. Jlfpxihlic : IJelow average. Na- 

 tives in fair conrlition, hut Texans stai'ved ont. (Irrcirwood : "Winter Kcvere on cattle ; 

 hay less nutritions than iisnal ; no tamo fi;raR3 sown ; wet snmmer made the prairio- 

 <;rass rank and poor ; very little ahelter provided : hence more native cattle have died 

 Tliau nsnal, .and the survivotR are quite poor. Texas cattle have pufiered still more ; 

 losses from 20 to .^)Q per cent. Lwcoln : Very j>oor, generally speaking ; cattle linve met 

 with heavj' losses. Of a herd of 431 Texas and 133 native cattle, one-half of th 

 former and one-foTirth of the latter have died. Ahont 8,000 Texas cattle wintered in 

 the county. 



KEBHAf-iiCA. — 2't'cmalia : Conditioi. fair ; feed jdenty. Texas cattle have tuiflcred from 

 bad weatlicr, and some haA-o died ; in Madixon : Cattle slieltered have done well, but 

 very many have died from lack of shelter. Merrick: Very poor; little care taken. 

 Boone: Rather thin; many .settlers came too late to put up hay. WrltMcr : Cattle have 

 -nffered severely; large heai'd of Texas cattle have died, beside many natives. 



Cattle hare wintered as well in the lioeky Monntnins and on the 

 Pacific coast as in Texas, or in the Missonri Valley, from the Missis- 

 sippi Eiver to Dakota. The grasses, dvrarfed and rinusualiy dry in 

 some localities from the dron.2;lits of last summer, were more nutritious 

 than those of moister climates. All the reports from Dakota are favor- 

 able 5 some representing stock to be in better order tlian last spring-, 

 "notwithstanding the extreme cold." The stock of the Indian Territory 

 is reported comparatively poor, but generally healthy. Colorado and 

 •Wyoming have experienced a very severe winter, " the severest ever 

 known," as some report, with much snow covering the grasses of the 

 plains, and driving herds to the bare-foot hills, often crowding the range 

 and threatening starvation. Yet there are herds in tliese Territories 

 that are in good condition, having suffered little loss. From El Paso 

 County, Colorado, which has a very high elevation, the report is "fine 

 condition, better than last year." The winter has tested the, reliability 

 of this region for winter stock-feeding, and proves that a limited num- 

 ber, with proper attention suitable natural or artificial protection, and 

 feeding in storms or heavy snows, can be cheaply kept, with as good a 

 prospect of immunity from suffering or loss as in almost any other sec- 

 tion of the country. In ISTew Mexico the winter has been exceptionally 

 favorable for stock-raisers, and almost equally advantageous in Utah ; 

 only in Summit County are cattle " generally poor, the winter being 

 unusually wet and stormy." The severe droughts in Arizona, for two 

 or three seasons past, have interfered sadly with the condition of stock 

 in that Territory. In Montana, cattle are thin, but healthy, and in 

 Washington they are generally in fine order, as also in Nevada, and iu 

 Oregon, except Avhere entirely neglected. lu^ South Califcftnia the 

 drought of last season left little feed for Aviuter, and cattle suttered 

 much iu the early part of the season. Favorable returns come from 

 Plumas, Santa Clara, Del Norte, Lake, Mendocino, Tuolomne, and most 

 of the northern counties. 



CONDITION OF SHEEP. 



In a majority of the counties in New England, sheep arc reported iu 

 good or average condition, although the winter has been long and the 

 latter part unusnallj' severe, occasioning in many places considerable 

 loss of lambs. 



Scarcity and high price of hay are complained of iu several counties, 

 but, where the deficiency was supplied by an increase of grain feed, the 

 result was rather favorable than otherwise. The advance in the price 

 of wool has also acted as an incentive to increased attention to the com- 

 fort of flocks. 



