34 BULLETIN 211, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
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With a fenced range, the spring and fall round-ups become merely. 
the gathering of the stock in the separate pastures and can be done by 
afew men. The operations on each ranch thus become independent 
of each other and are not subject to a time schedule that may be in- 
convenient. The need of extra help is not so pressing. The branding 
can be done at the corral, where a ‘“‘squeezer”’ obviates the necessity 
of running, roping, and throwing the animals, with the consequent 
losses that attend this method, losses that range all the way from the 
effects of overheating the horses and cattle to the killing of an occa- 
sional animal. Working at the corral often obviates the necessity of 
the round-up wagon, with its attendant expenses. To summarize: 
The fencing of a range and its division into separate pastures reduces 
the operative force necessary to handle a given area and makes the 
work itself easier for the men and not so hard on the stock. 
The control of breeding operations.—Probably the most important 
function of a fence on a cattle or horse ranch 1s the control that it 
gives to the breeding operations. All stockmen recognize the impor- 
tance of producing only well-bred animals, but this can be done on 
an open range only by the enforcement of laws controlling the char- 
acter of males that are allowed at large. Considerable has been done 
in this respect in New Mexico as regards bulls, and the manner of 
handling sheep gives control of the bucks. There is at present but 
poor control of stallions and burros. Even with good laws there is 
creat difficulty in their enforcement, since opinions differ very much 
as to what is a desirable animal for breeding purposes. Many of the 
men, for pecuniary reasons, especially if their means are limited, do 
not see how they can afford to buy well-bred animals for their small 
ranches, so they allow grade bulls to run and all their neighbors must 
put up with the consequences. One of the commonest complaints 
of the progressive owner is that his neighbors do not buy good bulls 
or enough of them. This is one of the exasperating losses which 
the larger single owners and practically all of the big companies 
have to endure under the present system. Yet all stockmen know 
that the practice is economically a bad one. 
It is probably desirable upon some of the ranches in the higher 
mountains to restrict the breeding to certain months in the year, in 
order to avoid the losses resulting from the birth of calves during the 
cold weather. This plan has been tried in a few places; and while 
the percentage of calves dropped is smaller, the losses are noticeably 
less, and the total calf crop is about the same, with some advantage — 
in favor of the practice because of the strength of the calves. With 
the proper precautions taken as to the number and distribution of 
bulls, it is likely that the percentage of dry cows could be reduced 
to the normal for the open range, even under this system. 
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