896 THE PEOPLE'S FARM AND STOCK CYCLOPEDIA. 



your stock will be killed and crippled by the dozen in their 

 wild dash for freedom. 



Texas cattle men all employ night herders, and in case of a 

 storm have every man in the saddle all night long. In prefer- 

 ence to risking their cattle in a corral, they take the open bed- 

 ground; but my corral was never broken, and I never had but 

 one animal injured by a run in it, and that one recovered. I 

 will take the corral, properly made, and a good, comfortable bed 

 with my family, rather than the open bed-ground with its risks, 

 and spend stormy nights of Egyptian darkness in the saddle. 



A corral two hundred and fifty feet in diameter will hold 

 one thousand cattle. This may seem small for so many, but 

 experience will teach you that your cattle will lie down on about 

 one-half of it, if that half only is protected from a cold wind. 



Castration. The practice of allowing calves to run till 

 six months or a year old before castrating, is reprehensible 

 enough on a farm where but few cattle are kept, but infinitely 

 worse on the range. During the period when your cows are drop- 

 ping their calves, have in your pocket a knife with a blade keen 

 as a razor, and castrate every bull calf as soon as dropped, if 

 possible, before he ever stands up, unless he is to be kept for 

 service. The calf will not flinch or struggle, or lose a tea- 

 spoonful of blood or notice the operation in any way if per- 

 formed at this time. Do not neglect it. Some cut off the lower 

 part of the sack, but it is best to make a slit for each testicle and 

 leave the sack entire, as it makes a better show on a fat steer. 



For young men of pluck and energy, who can command a 

 small capital, there are still many good openings in the West for 

 successfully prosecuting the cattle business. The better way to 

 manage would be for three or four to unite, and this would re- 

 lieve the camp-life of one of its worst features, loneliness, or 

 the want of society, for with this number of intelligent young 

 men together, the camp would be far more attractive and home- 

 like than if a single man should start, and have no companions 

 but the average cow-boy. With three or four partners there 

 would be more leisure for reading and study, and one could 

 always be detailed to look after the camp, while the herd need 



