40 BULLETIN 1089, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Not more than 5 bucks are necessary for 100 does, and records 

 indicate that even less than this number may suffice. In one instance, 

 a ratio of only 1 to 30 was maintained with successful results, and in 

 another case the ratio was 1 to 44. All bucks not needed for breeding 

 purposes should be castrated and grown as steers (PL XV, Fig. 1). 



The female side of the better breeds question must also be con- 

 sidered. Old does are either unproductive or have weak fawns, so 

 that it is highly desirable to cull out a percentage of them each year. 

 These animals should be separated or marked sufficiently early in the 

 year for the unproductive ones to be easily identified, and they may be 

 profitably butchered either before or soon after the rutting period. 

 In addition to the old does, all stunted, sickly, or otherwise undesirable 

 animals should be disposed of. 



In other breeds of domesticated animals the present cry is to 

 eliminate the scrub. By applying this practice just as rigorously 

 in the reindeer business, and by introducing the practice of selective 

 breeding, the first and most important step will have been taken 

 toward establishing a better grade of stock. 



Crossing with carihow. — Experiments are being planned to intro- 

 duce caribou bulls into a herd of reindeer in which the reindeer bucks 

 will first be castrated. The woodland caribou is a much larger animal 

 than the reindeer, and dressed weights of over 300 pounds are com- 

 mon, while the average dressed weight of reindeer steers is only 150 

 pounds. The mixture of caribou blood will undoubtedly have a de- 

 cided effect in increasing the weight of the animals. In addition to 

 the introduction of the large caribou bulls, a carefully conducted 

 program will be carried out of permitting only the best reindeer 

 stock to breed, the undesirable or scrub males and females being 

 weeded out. It is believed that reindeer may be brought up to 

 double their present weight and that this program of improved 

 breeding can be generally introduced throughout Alaskan herds. 

 It is planned to conduct the experiment on an island where there 

 is only one herd. This will eliminate the chance of error by the 

 intermingling of stray animals. It may be stated that caribou mix 

 readily with reindeer and they are constantly being seen in the herds. 

 Unfortunately this is generally late in the season after rutting time, 

 and besides this the caribou are wild and do not remain for long 

 periods in the herd. These difficulties will be eliminated in the pro- 

 posed experiment, which should mean much to the reindeer industry. 



HANDLING THE HERDS. 



ROUND-UPS. 



Numerous round-ups (PL XV, Fig. 2) for trivial reasons and 

 much driving of the reindeer during round-ups and on the range 

 result in injury to both herd and range and in loss in weight of the 



