300 ARID AGRICULTURE. 



men occupying the great ranges have so in- 

 creased their flocks that the forage is depleted, 

 and undoubtedly there are many ranges upon 

 which grazing animals do not get sufficient feed 

 to do their best. This is evidenced by the de- 

 crease in weight of feeder lambs. Some flock 

 owners whose lambs formerly averaged from 

 sixty-five to seventy pounds when sold in the fall, 

 have found them weighing less than sixty pounds 

 even in a good season, when the only apparent 

 reason for the decrease was the lack of food and 

 their necessity of traveling too far to obtain it. 



There are a few sections where large open 

 ranges of public land are still in use, but they are 

 controlled by range men, who acquire title to the 

 water-supply and either fence the water or hire 

 riders to see that no stock but their own gain ac- 

 cess to it. Such range men hire a water gang- 

 that looks after the building of small reservoirs 

 or water holes and the development and care of 

 all the water-supply on the range. If an outsider 

 attempts to run his stock on such range, they are 

 kept away from the water unless the owner of the 

 stock pays tribute to the company controlling the 

 range. 



The free use of the public domain has made 

 it necessary that stockmen exert some manage- 

 ment to make the business certain or profitable. 

 This has everywhere given rise to stock associa- 

 tions. The cattlemen divide among themselves 

 a certain section of the country ; each knows how 



