40 BULLETIN 1089> U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
Not more than 5 bucks are necessary for 100 does, and records 
indicate that even less than this number may suffice. In one instance, 
a ratio of only 1 to 30 was maintained with successful results, and in 
another case the ratio was 1 to 44. All bucks not needed for breeding 
purposes should be castrated and grown as steers (PI. XV, Fig. 1). 
The female side of the better breeds question must also be con- 
sidered. Old does are either unproductive or have weak fawns, so 
that it is highly desirable to cull out a percentage of them each year. 
These animals should be separated or marked sufficiently early in the 
year for the unproductive ones to be easily identified, and they may be 
profitably butchered either before or soon after the rutting period. 
In addition to the old does, all stunted, sickly, or otherwise undesirable 
animals should.be disposed of. 
In other breeds of domesticated animals the present cry is to 
eliminate the scrub. By applying this practice just as rigorously 
in the reindeer business, and by introducing the practice of selective 
breeding, the first and most important step will have been taken 
toward establishing a better grade of stock. 
Crossing with caribou. — Experiments are being planned to intro- 
duce caribou bulls into a herd of reindeer in which the reindeer bucks 
will first be castrated. The woodland caribou is a much larger animal 
than the reindeer, and dressed weights of over 300 pounds are com- 
mon, while the average dressed weight of reindeer steers is only 150 
pounds. The mixture of caribou blood will undoubtedly have a de- 
cided effect in increasing the weight of the animals. In addition to 
the introduction of the large caribou bulls, a carefully conducted 
program will be carried out of permitting only the best reindeer 
stock to breed, the undesirable or scrub males and females being 
weeded out. It is believed that reindeer may be brought up to 
double their present weight and that this program of improved 
breeding can be generally introduced throughout Alaskan herds. 
It is planned to conduct the experiment on an island where there 
is only one herd. This will eliminate the chance of error by the 
intermingling of stray animals. It may be stated that caribou mix 
readily with reindeer and they are constantly being seen in the herds. 
Unfortunately this is generally late in the season after rutting time, 
and besides this the caribou are wild and do not remain for long 
periods in the herd. These difficulties will be eliminated in the pro- 
posed experiment, which should mean much to the reindeer industry. 
HANDLING THE HERDS. 
ROUND-UPS. 
Numerous round-ups (PL XV, Fig. 2) for trivial reasons and 
much driving of the reindeer during round-ups and on the range 
result in injury to both herd and range and in loss in weight of the 
