32 BULLETIN 1001, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



best conditions tht round-up work is hard on men, horses, and cattle- 

 night guard work is altogether disagreeable, as are other round-up 

 duties. Taken altogether, it is an undesirable practice. Experienced 

 cattlemen who have used both open and fenced ranges all prefer the 

 latter and agree that there is much less work on the fenced range and 

 that the required work is easier. Stock handled in fenced pastures, 

 especially if they are fed occasionally, are usually gentler than those 

 that run on an open range. From the standpoint of the stockman, 

 gentle stock are much more satisfactory to work with and they 

 utilize the feed better than those that are wild and nervous. Open- 

 range conditions tend to produce the latter condition while the fenced 

 range has the opposite effect. 



Losses. — The losses so far mentioned are indirect — -the result of 

 reduced production of feed, reduced output of salable animals, a lower 

 standard of quality in the animals sold, and an increased expense of 

 production, all of which make for a smaller net income than might 

 reasonably be expected from the business. 



The open-range system of management also causes direct losses. 

 The most important of such losses are naturally those which result 

 from starvation of stock during periods of drought. 



In addition most ranges produce certain poisonous plants. On an 

 overgrazed range these plants are generally more conspicuous and 

 better grown than others that are good feed, because the stock will 

 not eat them when other feed is obtainable. Hungry stock will eat 

 the poisonous plants, and a certain percentage of them die in con- 

 sequence. 



Some animals " drift" from one watering place to another, causing 

 considerable extra riding to bring them back and the loss of a few 

 head. 



A small number of animals are missed each year at the round-up 

 work. Some of such animals should be sold off the range that season, 

 either because they are in good condition for sale or because they are 

 of too poor quality to warrant carrying over another season. Such 

 stock when left on the range are a distinct loss to the business, since 

 they eat feed that should be going to other animals. 



Sick animals are hard to find, and many die that might be saved if 

 they could be found in time. This condition is worse on an open 

 range than in fenced pastures. 



The custom of New Mexico and Arizona cattlemen is to figure on 

 a 10 per cent loss on the open range. This figure is doubtless an 

 average that includes the big losses from death during drought. 

 Figures obtained from fenced ranges show average losses of from 2 to 

 3 per cent only. (See p. 38.) Since this percentage applies to the 

 whole number of animals, the possible reduction of loss (7 to 8 per 



