THE CALL OF THE LAND 



best grasses have thus ceased to exist in local- 

 ities where they once abounded as if a 

 farmer had used up all his seed corn or 

 wheat, leaving none to start a new crop. 

 Too close grazing in time destroys any 

 grass. During long drouth cattle pull up 

 grass by the roots. 'Grass is killed by tram- 

 pling. Areas far from streams and springs 

 have to be pastured. Herds are sometimes 

 driven to water 15 or 20 miles daily or every 

 other day, forming trails, each an eighth of 

 a mile wide, where no forage can grow. 

 Just so, a hundred years ago, buffaloes 

 created highways which stage coaches after- 

 ward utilized. Water being scarce, cattle 

 become weak, and though there may be 

 plenty of grass and that always the sweet- 

 est and most nutritious some way from the 

 watering places, the stock, preferring star- 

 vation to death from thirst, crowd near the 

 water, consuming every sprig of vegetation 

 there, and trampling the ground bare for 

 miles in all directions. This effect is the 

 worst in drouth years. Grass and water be- 

 ing then hardest to get, stock must travel 



42 



