AGRICULTURE. 283 







cans. American cows are the only ones used for the dairy, 

 but many of them are now kept also for breeding alone, and, 

 like the Spanish cows, are never milked. 



. 203. Corral and Reata. The corral is an important 

 part of all cattle-ran chos, and on many of them it is the only 

 enclosure. It is a pen, from thirty to fifty yards square, sur- 

 rounded by a high, strong fence. It is used whenever horses 

 or cattle are to be branded. 



The reata, used for lassoing, is a rawhide rope, about five- 

 eighths of an inch in diameter, and thirty yards long. It is 

 made of four strips of cowhide, from which the hair has been 

 scraped ; and after plaiting, it is greased and dragged along on 

 the ground after a saddle to render it pliable. Rawhide is 

 better than any other material, because it has just the proper 

 weight arid stiffness for the purpose. A running noose, which 

 slips very easily, is arranged at one end. When the reata is 

 to be used, the noose is made from four to six feet long ; one 

 side of the noose and the reata just outside are taken in the 

 right hand, so that while in the hand the noose will not slip ; 

 the remainder of the reata is held coiled up in the left hand, 

 ready to be let go. The vaquero swings the noose around his 

 head in such a way as to keep it open ; and when he has a 

 good swing he lets go, and away it will fly its whole length. 

 If it catches the object aimed at, the noose draws tight. It is 

 not an uncommon thing for a vaquero to catch a cow at a dis- 

 tance of thirty feet, while she and his horse are both running 

 rapidly ; but usually he will get within fifteen or twenty feet 

 if he can, before throwing his reata. A good vaquero, stand- 

 ing in front of another man, can push the latter back, and the 

 moment his foot leaves the ground throw a reata under it, and 

 thus lasso him bv the leer. When cattle or horses are to be 



J O 



branded, they must be thrown down ; arid this is generally ac- 

 complished by catching the head with one reata and a hind 

 leg with another. 



