B. P. I.— 133. G. F. P. I.— 108. 



THE PRICKLY PEAR AND OTHER CACTI AS 

 FOOD FOR STOCK. 



INTRODUCTION. 



In the arid and semiarid regions of the United States the rancher is 

 periodically confronted with a condition of drought which endangers 

 the well-being, if not the actual existence, of his nocks and herds. 

 His pastures are usually taxed to their utmost capacity during average 

 years, and when a season of famine occurs he suffers tremendous losses 

 by death of animals. Under these conditions he is obliged to sell when 

 neither his stock nor the market prices are favorable to his interests. 

 Under such circumstances it is sometimes advisable to buy hay or 

 grain, but the prices of these feeds where freight rates are high are 

 often prohibitive. It is very seldom that a rancher can afford to feed 

 ha}' at $10 per ton to stockers, even if it can be secured conveniently. 



The case is much more aggravated when the haul to the feeding 

 grounds is long', necessitating a considerable expenditure of money for 

 hauling the same expensive feed. This latter expense may often be 

 obviated h\ driving the stock to a region in close proximity to the 

 feed; in other words, to the feeding ground. This common practice 

 in the West is a very important factor in the stock business. Stockers 

 are shipped from the southwest to the Pacific coast, Montana, and 

 Canada to take advantage of feed in those localities when it is unob- 

 tainable in the southern breeding grounds. The practice, while com- 

 mon, if not universal, is expensive, because of the long distance to 

 feed. Short pasture and the settling up of the intervening regions 

 render driving impracticable, although formerly this could be more 

 easily done. The large holder usually has a knowledge of the con- 

 ditions which prevail in other sections of the country, and his superior 

 experience gives him a decided advantage over the small rancher, who 

 has less means and usually less knowledge of the conditions of the 

 country at large at his command. The rancher of moderate means is 

 therefore confronted, during 3 r ears of famine, with the alternative of 

 feeding expensive feed or selling at ruinous prices in order to save 

 his stock from starvation. 



9 

 30445— No. 74—05 2 



