SUMMARY. 35 
The reply was given with every confidence in its absolute correctness: 
‘‘It is not only possible, but each year while it is being done cattle 
may be held on the pastures, the proportion increasing year after 
year as the capacity of the pastures to sustain them shall be 
increased.” It was practicable April 1, 1901, to place as many as 100 
head of mixed cattle on the 640 acres included in the grass and forage 
plant station near Abilene and hold them thereon during the succeed- 
ing twelve months without giving them other feed than they could 
get for themselves. But that could not be done with the 640 acres 
thrown into one pasture and the 100 head of cattle allowed during the 
twelve months to range at will over the entire pasture. It pays to 
build and keep up pasture fences, and every stockman should see to it 
that instead of one or two large pastures he should have a number of 
small ones, some of which can be resting while the others are doing, 
perhaps, donble duty. 
THE MATTER OF COST. 
In reply to frequent inquiries submitted by interested stockmen and 
farmers, facts and figures have been given out from time to time as to 
the cost of cultivating the pasture lands. If, as many suppose, such 
work meant an outlay of $2 to $3 per acre per year, it would mean 
that but few pasture owners would take such work in hand. The 
actual cost to the Department of Agriculture of having the station 
pastures cultivated can not be considered as fairly determining what 
the cost of similar work will be to pasture owners. The Department 
owned no horses, did not employ men to do the work, except from 
day to day or from week to week, hence had to pay more for the labor 
in proportion than farmers and stockmen are in the habit of paying 
for labor by the year. It was estimated that a man working steadily 
with a disk harrow could go over an average of 12 acres per day and 
do the work thoroughly. The prices paid were: For two-horse team 
and driver, $2.50 per day; for three horses and driver, $3, and for 
four horses and driver, $3.50. At times when there was plenty of 
work and labor was in demand higher prices had to be paid, but those 
named were about the average for the pasture work. Taking the 
highest price, as above, as a basis for calculating the cost of cultivat- 
ing the station pastures, it would mean a trifle less than 30 cents per 
acre per year; for the three years’ work, 85 to 90 cents. In fact, the 
cost to the Department did not average 25 cents per acre per year. 
Taking these figures as the basis of the calculation, it means that a 640- 
acre pasture would cost $160 per year, or $480 in three years. If the 
gain in the capacity to sustain stock should equal 100 per cent, it would 
mean that the income-producing value of the land would be doubled. 
If the vaJue of the land for pasture purposes should be $5 per acre at 
