AGRICULTURE. 219 



the Americans. American cows are the only ones used for the 

 dairy, but many of them are now kept also for breeding alone, 

 and, like the Spanish cows, they are never milked. 



§ 161. Corral and Reata. — The corral is an important part 

 of all cattle-ranchos, and on many of them it is the only enclo- 

 sure. It is a pen, from thirty to fifty yards square, surrounded 

 by a high, strong fence. It is used whenever horses or cattle 

 are to be branded. 



The reata^ used for lassoing, is a rawhide rope, about five- 

 eighths of an inch in diameter and thirty yards long. It is 

 made of four strips of cowhide, from which the hair has been 

 scraped ; and after plaiting, it is greased and dragged along 

 on the ground after a saddle, to render it pliable. Rawhide 

 is better than any other material, because it has just the proper 

 w^eight and stiffness for the purpose. A running noose, which 

 slips very easily, is arranged at one end. When the reata is 

 to be used, the noose is made from four to six feet long ; one 

 side of the noose and the reata just outside are taken in the 

 right hand, so that while in the hand the noose will not slip ; 

 the remainder of the reata is held coiled up in the left hand, 

 ready to be let go. The vaquero swmgs the noose round his 

 head, in such a way as to keep it open ; and when he has a 

 good swing, he lets go, and away it Avill fly, its whole length. 

 If it catches the object aimed at, the noose draws tight. It is 

 not an uncommon thing for a vaquero to catch a cow at a dis- 

 tance of thirty feet, while she and his horse are both running 

 rapidly ; but usually he will get within fifteen or twenty feet, 

 if he can, before throwing his reata. A good vaquero, stand- 

 ing in front of another man, can push the latter back, and the 

 moment his foot leaves the ground, throw a reata under it, 

 and thus lasso him by the leg. When cattle or horses are to 

 be branded, they must be thrown down ; and this is generally 

 accomplished by catching the head with one reata, and a hind- 

 leg with another. 



§ 162. Occasional Starvation. — Nineteen out of twenty of 

 the cattle of California never get any food, save such as grows 



