FARM ANIMALS 241 



Westerner would really not be in a position to 

 compete. 



Trie business of sheep raising in the western 

 states has been and still is greatly handicapped 

 by range wars and trouble between the sneep 

 raisers and the cattle raisers. This state of affairs 

 has greatly diminished the possible production 

 of the western ranges in both mutton and beef. 

 The grasses of these ranges are of unusual value 

 and nutriment, in fact, they correspond to and even 

 excel the famous blue grass pastures of Kentucky. 

 These grasses, however, cannot be abused without 

 suffering to a greater or less extent and it may be 

 said without entering in much detail into the 

 range troubles of the western states that most 

 of their range lands have been overstocked and 

 their carrying capacity greatly reduced in conse- 

 quence. If, however, the range is cared for and 

 the grasses given a chance the range may readily 

 be brought back to as fine a condition as it ever 

 showed. In some parts of the range the grasses 

 have not deteriorated to any great extent as the 

 result of grazing. These favorable conditions 

 are usually due to the fact that the men lease the 

 land or have some ultimate claim upon it so that 

 they take an interest in preserving its present 

 condition. On the other hand, so long as the range 

 remains public and everybody's property it is 

 simply a case of being nobody's property and for 

 that reason is treated without any regard to its 

 future condition. It is possible by means of a 

 system of rotation, keeping the sheep on one part 

 of the range in winter and another in summer 

 and not grazing any of the range the year round, 

 to preserve the native grasses in their present con- 

 dition or even make them more abundant. This 



