THL IRRIGATION AGE. 



29 



Some readers ask, "Can this meadow 

 grass be killed and the land cultivated ?'' 

 That depends upon the surrounding con- 

 ditions. As a general rule water will not 

 destroy any of the grasses ; though their 

 natures may be desert, they flourish under 

 water. The best and in fact only plan to 

 get rid of the wild grasses, rushes and 

 willows of these native meadows is to 

 thoroughly drain the land, and when in 

 proper condition plow and cultivate. An- 

 nual inroads are made upon the natural 

 swamps and hay fields of the west, where 

 land is valuable, by systematic and thor- 

 ough drainage, followed by clear cultiva- 

 tion. The land is suited to growing oats, 

 potatoes, onions and similar crops, vary- 

 ing with altitude and local conditions. 

 Drains may be mere deep channels, cut at 

 proper angles through the meadows, 

 with sufficient fall to carry the water to 

 some stream, or regular tiling may be put 

 in upon proper levels, leading to a reser- 

 voir or stream. 



During the past season several experi- 

 ments have been made with the Russian 

 brome grass, and in every instance so far 

 as I have heard, the plant has given per- 

 fect satisfaction. This is an arid grass 

 which thrives well under irrigation and 

 cultivation and will no doubt take a very 

 prominent place among the forage plants 

 of the western states. The old Idaho 

 coffee pea, advertised so extensively as a 

 novelty is certainly an excellent forage 

 plant, of which I shall say more in a fu- 

 ture issue of the AGE. I tried it this sea- 

 son and found it more than ever the most 

 enthusiastic advertiser claimed for it as a 

 feeding plant for farm animals and poul- 

 try. This is nothing .more than the wild 

 pea found in Idaho and Montana, so 

 much relished by stock, but it is one of 

 the valuable additions to western grasses 

 and plants that cannot be overlooked 

 when speaking of the ranges of the arid 

 region. 



JOEL SHOMAKER. 



The future is what we hoped the past 

 would be but wasn't. 



HINTS TO CATTLE RAISERS. 



The Chicago Inter Ocean recently con- 

 tained^ an interview with R. W. Tansill, 

 of Eddy, N. M., in which there are some 

 valuable hints for cattle raisers. Mr. 

 Tansill says he received his information 

 on the subject from James A. Lockhart, 

 vice-president and general manager of the 

 Alfalfa Land and Cattle Company, of 

 Colorado Springs, and that he wishes ev- 

 ery cattle raiser on irrigated land to have 

 the benefit of it. 



; 'This, then, is Mr. Lockhart's plan." 

 said Mr. Tansill : "He takes calves at, 

 say 6 months old and puts them in fenced 

 lots and feeds them on alfalfa, supple- 

 mented by one pound of fine-ground corn- 

 meal per day, fed dry from troughs in- 

 creasing the cornmeal as winter ap- 

 proaches to two pounds per head per 

 day. As soon as the calves become used 

 to the feed he dehorns them. Five men 

 can dehorn from 600 to 800 head in a day. 

 In the spring he turns them on native 

 grass pasture or range. In the fall he 

 takes them up and puts them in feed lots 

 again, giving them now a full feed of corn, 

 for. say, six months, with other solid food. 

 At from 18 months to 2 years they are 

 ready for the market, will weigh about 

 1,100 pounds and command top prices. 



The secret of the great advantage in 

 this plan is that by taking the calves from 

 the cows and feeding them as described 

 the stomach is rapidly distended instead 

 of being allowed to become contracted 

 and rigid, which must of necessity result 

 if the young animals are allowed to run 

 on the range after weaning. For when 

 the stomach is permanently contracted by 

 eating dry food and range grass directly 

 after the calf has been weaned it is im- 

 possible to obtain satisfactory results from 

 full feeding later on. These facts will ac- 

 count for the poor results obtained from 

 the full feeding of stock which has been 

 allowed to run on range until 3 or 4 years 

 of age. 



Another advantage should be noted. 

 By taking calves early from the cows the. 



