RANGE AND CATTLE MANAGEMENT DUEING DROUGHT. 55 



were branded with a special brand for the herd, dehorned, and placed 

 in a separate pasture. 



In order to improve the grade of the herd as rapidly as possible 

 the plan was to cull 10 to 15 per cent of the least desirable cows each 

 year and replace them with good young heifers. Sixty-nine head 

 were culled in the fall of 1917, These included a few cripples and 

 two barren cows, while the rest were light-boned or otherwise lack- 

 ing in desirable qualities or were past 11 years of age. They were 

 replaced by an equal number of the best two and three year old 

 heifers on the reserve, partly selected from the 1915 calf crop of 

 this herd. It was thought best not to cull more heavily because of 

 the possibility of decreasing the calf crop through introducing too 

 many heifers. Sixtj^ additional cows were culled in 1918, but no 

 replacement was made at the time because of forage shortage and the 

 prevalence of drought. 



THE MAIN HESD. 



After the selection of the 500 special cows, the remainder of the 

 breeding herd consisted mainly of native or common stock and 

 grades.^''' (PL V, fig. 1.) No less than 600 head, however, were 

 off-color and Mexico stock.^^ Following the selection of the 500 head 

 the main herd was worked over and 325 of the off-color and otherwise 

 undesirable cows were cut out and marketed. In 1916, 101 head, and 

 in 1917, 318 head of the least desirable cows were disposed of. These 

 were replaced each year by 2-year-old heifers from the natural in- 

 crease of the two herds. No culling was done in the fall of 1918 on 

 account of interference with plans by an outbreak of scabies and the 

 possible demand for breeding cows to restock ranges after the 

 drought. 



Average culling for the three years 1915 to 1917, inclusive, was at 

 the rate of 12.6 head per hundred cows annualW. By 1918, culling 

 at this rate had resulted in marked improvement in grade and type 

 of stock in the main breeding herd, aside from the improvement due 

 to adding 2 and 3 year-old heifers. All the Mexico stock had been 

 removed, as well as other off-colored, extremely light-boned, or 

 otherwise undesirable cows. Approximately half of the herd con- 

 sisted of white-faced stock, characteristically Hereford, the breed de- 

 sired, and the rest were red and red-mottled-faced. 



1^ " Common " or " native " stock, as here used, is applied to offspring- whose parents 

 were of very poor breeding and uncertain origin. In " grade " one of the parents was 

 pure bred and the other common or native ; or both parents were well bred, so that off- 

 spring had over 50 per cent pure blood of a single breed. 



1'' " Mexico stock," the long-legged, long-faced, slim-bodied, various colored stock com- 

 ing originally from Mexico and the one-time characteristic range animal for northern 

 Mexico. 



