Beef Producers of the West 41 



and springs, he can in this way control the use of a large 

 area of outside range for which he has no legal title. In 

 addition to controlling a large tract of government land, 

 the cattle-man may run some of his stock on the Forest 

 Reserves in the summer. In the case of much of the open 

 range, however, no one stockman has complete control; 

 but instead, cattle belonging to a number of persons will 

 be found running together. This is true of nearly all of 

 the government land, whether unappropriated or Forest 

 Reserve. 



The system of management is comparatively simple. 

 During the summer the cattle are run on the range, mainly 

 in the higher and more inaccessible districts. Wherever 

 possible, the cattle are worked from the lower to the 

 higher altitudes as summer approaches, so that by June 

 or July they are on the high mountain pasture where the 

 grass is green in midsummer but where the grazing season 

 is very short. As fall comes the cattle are moved down to 

 lower altitudes where the season is longer and where in 

 some cases the cattle may graze all winter. They are 

 given little care except occasionally to give them salt and 

 to see that they do not stray too far away. One man will 

 look after several hundred cattle. Practically no attempt 

 is made in the way of herding. In some cases there is 

 a little line riding; that is, guarding a certain line to 

 prevent the cattle from going into some district where 

 they are not wanted, or perhaps to keep them from stray- 

 ing into the Forest Reserve when no permit has been 

 granted. In the fall of the year the cattle are rounded 

 up ; that is, the entire district is carefully ridden over, all 

 the cattle gathered together at one or more central points. 

 At this time those that are to be sold are separated and 

 sent to market. Sometimes the cattle are rounded up in 



