TENURE AND USE OF ARID GRAZING LANDS. 33 



cent) is alone almost enough to pay the interest on the capital in- 

 vested in the animals themselves. 



Difficulty of controlling disease. — The fence plays a dominating 

 part in the control and eradication of contagious diseases. The 

 quarantine is above all else the most effective measure against the 

 spread of contagious diseases, but it can not readily be used on an 

 open range. Much of the work of the United States Bureau of Ani- 

 mal Industry in the eradication of diseases that must now be handled 

 indirectly could be much more easily managed if the ranges were 

 divided into convenient-sized areas by fences. The spread of cer- 

 tain very dangerous contagious diseases, like foot-and-mouth disease, 

 could be stopped on an open range only with the greatest difficulty, 

 while on fenced areas an effective quarantine could be established 

 as easily as in a farming district. 



Unbranded range horses. — In certain regions bands of unbranded 

 range horses are a source of irritation and loss. They are almost 

 valueless to their owners, who fail to brand them in order that they 

 may avoid taxation, yet no one else can put them out of the way 

 without incurring an obligation to pay for them. These animals 

 use and trample out much forage that might be used by meat 

 animals. 



Financial drawbacks. — The general precariousness of the business 

 is much greater on the open range, and the degree of complexity of 

 organization possible and the probability of plans being consummated 

 is considerably less. Hence operating capital is more difficult to obtain 

 because of the risk entailed, and the cost of such capital is greater. In 

 the final analysis these difficulties all arise from the compulsory over- 

 stocking that can not be avoided on open ranges. The ultimate 

 effect of an open range system of management is to standardize the 

 business at the level of its lowest rather than its highest productivity. 



Effects of drought. — At no time do the undesirable consequences of 

 the open range method stand out so glaringly as during a period of 

 drought. Yet such periods, varying in length from one or two to 

 three or four years, occur at more or less regular intervals. They 

 constitute one of the most important limitations of the range stock 

 business, because the supply of feed produced upon the arid grazing 

 lands is practically determined by the amount of water available to 

 the plants during the growing season. 



When a drought occurs the stockman must do one of three things : 

 (l) 1 Remove some of the stock from the range, (2) begin or increase 

 feeding operations, or (3) let the stock die. These necessary prac- 

 tices suggest a means of estimating the effects of a drought, from 

 data that give comparisons between results obtained during years 

 of average rainfall and years of drought. The removal of stock 

 60835°— 22— Bull. 1001 5 



