V 



KANCH LIFE— I 



OUTSIDERS look at ranch life through rose- 

 coloured spectacles. The word " ranch " has 

 peculiar charm: it sounds more pastoral, more 

 alluring than "farm." A farm suggests hedges, 

 fences, stone walls. Of necessity, life on a farm 

 would seem to be life within bounds, circumscribed 

 by convention, lacking the freedom and freshness 

 of the ranch. A ranch implies ampler pastures, 

 purer air, the essence of Arcadian things. 



In the West the word is linked indiscriminately 

 to a score of industries. We have cattle-, horse-, 

 hog-, fruit-, berry-, chicken-, and even bee-ranches. 

 According to your inclination, according to the 

 amount of capital at your disposal, you may choose 

 any one of these ; but remember, you will infallibly 

 fail — losing money, time, and probably health — 

 unless you give to your ranch undivided energies, 

 unwearied patience, a fair measure of brains, and a 

 leaven of common-sense. 



The writers who have described ranch-life as 

 easy and leisurely, a refuge for men who have 

 broken down in the professions or in business, have 

 — consciously or unconsciously — lied. 



On a cattle-ranch, you will be sensible of its 

 remoteness. You are far from railroad and post- 



