202 APPENDIX. 



cannot compete with Plains beef, for, while hay and 

 other fodder has to be cut for winter feeding there, 

 on the Plains the cattle run at large all winter, the 

 natural grasses curing on the ground, and keeping the 

 cattle fat nearly all winter. 



" It has been the custom heretofore among cattle-men 

 in Colorado and elsewhere in the West to depend en- 

 tirely upon grass for fattening cattle for market, and, 

 consequently, sales cannot always be made to advantage 

 unless the grass is in unusually good condition ; but I 

 propose to grow corn, and feed sufficient to keep a cer- 

 tain number of steers in excellent condition for market 

 at any time, and have it generally known that fat cattle 

 can always be had at our ranch. Corn can be raised on 

 the ranch as cheaply as in Kansas, thus saving the 

 freight and adding largely to the value of the cattle, 

 because of their better condition for market. 



" It may be asked, ' Is it desirable to invest so much 

 money in land ?' I reply that it is absolutely necessary 

 to own a large part of your range, especially the water- 

 front, so as to keep out sheep-men, settlers, and other 

 cattle-owners. Sheep and cattle cannot be grazed to- 

 gether, and the interests should be entirely separate. 

 Government lands, where watering-places exist, are fast 

 becoming occupied by settlers and colonies, and very 

 soon the opportunities for locating large ranches will 

 entirely disappear. In a few years at the most it will 

 not be possible — it is scarcely so now in Colorado — to 

 obtain a range where the cattle business can be con- 

 ducted on a large scale. The longer, therefore, these 

 large ranges are kept intact the more valuable will they 



