BREEDING OF THE SHEEP ON THE RANGE 399 



to use that they are obliged to pay the price asked, whether or not 

 it is reasonable. 



Railway Land Grants. When the various railways were pro- 

 jected through the West, the companies received encouragement 

 horn the Federal Government in the form of great land grants 

 which extended in alternate sections for 20 miles or more on either 

 side of their roads. Although much of the land in these grants 

 has been disposed of, the railway companies still own large areas 

 which are leased for grazing purposes. Should the alternate sec- 

 tions still be public domain the person leasing from the railroad 

 will have twice as much land as he leases,* but he can make little 

 use of fences for it is unlawful to fence public domain. In recent 

 years, however, many of the intervening sections have been occupied 

 by homesteaders who, as a rule, do not care to rent their land for 

 pasture ; this makes the railroad 1 land inconvenient to use. 



Other Lands. In addition to the above there are certain lands 

 in the control of the Xational Reclamation Service and there are the 

 lands in the various Indian reservations which may be leased for 

 grazing; and finally, there are lands owned by private citizens. In 

 the Southwest, and in New Mexico particularly, there are large 

 tracts of land that were granted to private individuals at an early 

 time by the Government of Spain. A number of these tracts are 

 leased for grazing purposes. In many cases the sheepmen own con- 

 siderable tracts of land. Usually these tracts are strategically 

 located so that the owner may control extensive lands which he 

 does not own. 



Cost of Leases. From the foregoing it is clear that a sheep- 

 man may be so located that he must have his pockets full of leases 

 and permits before he can operate. The cost of leases on land 

 grants, reclamation lands, reservations, and private lands ranges 

 from two and one-half cents to twenty-five cents per acre per year. 

 This applies to wild range or uncultivated lands. Cultivated lands 

 rent at much higher prices and according somewhat to the urgency 

 of the sheep owner's need of them. Permits in the National Forest 

 cost from six to fourteen cents per sheep per season. At present 

 the tendency is to increase the rates of rent for sheep on all types 

 of range. 



Breeding of the Sheep on the Range. In general, range sheep 

 should be of a type that produce both mutton and wool of good 

 market quality under range conditions; they should be hardy, that 



