PASSING OF THE FEDERAL PASTURE 



vail on free ranges elsewhere. In 1895 

 Texas passed a leasing law, since which time 

 the improvement has been extraordinary. 

 That state now produces fine range cat- 

 tle. The longhorn Texan has disappeared, 

 being supplanted by the Shorthorn, the 

 Hereford, and the Aberdeen-Angus. De- 

 struction of the range has ended, and reha- 

 bilitation is slowly but surely setting in. The 

 average size of herds is less than under 

 promiscuity, the number of cattle greatly 

 increases, as also the number of individuals 

 who profit by the cattle business. 



The ruin of grass and soil is not the sole 

 source of loss occurring through the drift 

 system. One hardly less important relates 

 to the quality of cattle. The drift system 

 offers no motive for the improvement of 

 breeds. When different men's herds contin- 

 ually intermix, no one owner will go to the 

 expense of purchasing blooded stock. The 

 tendency upon the free range in Texas and 

 elsewhere has always been to produce the 

 sorriest specimens of cattle which could 

 live long horns, large bones, the maximum 



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