TENURE AND USE OF ARID GRAZING LANDS. 33 
cent) is alone almost enough to pay the interest on the capital in- 
vested in the animals themselves. 
Difficulty of controlling disease. — The fence plays a dominating 
part in the control and eradication of contagious diseases. The 
quarantine is above all else the most effective measure against the 
spread of contagious diseases, but it can not readily be used on an 
open range. Much of the work of the United States Bureau of Ani- 
mal Industry in the eradication of diseases that must now be handled 
indirectly could be much more easily managed if the ranges were 
divided into convenient-sized areas by fences. The spread of cer- 
tain very dangerous contagious diseases, like foot-and-mouth disease, 
could be stopped on an open range only with the greatest difficulty, 
while on fenced areas an effective quarantine could be established 
as easily as in a farming district. 
Unbranded range horses. — In certain regions bands of unbranded 
range horses are a source of irritation and loss. They are almost 
valueless to their owners, who fail to brand them in order that they 
may avoid taxation, yet no one else can put them out of the way 
without incurring an obligation to pay for them. These animals 
use and trample out much forage that might be used by meat 
animals. 
Financial drawbacks. — The general precariousness of the business 
is much greater on the open range, and the degree of complexity of 
organization possible and the probability of plans being consummated 
is considerably less. Hence operating capital is more difficult to obtain 
because of the risk entailed, and the cost of such capital is greater. In 
the final analysis these difficulties all arise from the compulsory over- 
stocking that can not be avoided on open ranges. The ultimate 
effect of an open range system of management is to standardize the 
business at the level of its lowest rather than its highest productivity. 
Effects of drought. — At no time do the undesirable consequences of 
the open range method stand out so glaringly as during a period of 
drought. Yet such periods, varying in length from one or two to 
three or four years, occur at more or less regular intervals. They 
constitute one of the most important limitations of the range stock 
business, because the supply of feed produced upon the arid grazing 
lands is practically determined by the amount of water available to 
the plants during the growing season. 
When a drought occurs the stockman must do one of three things : 
(1) Remove some of the stock from the range, (2) begin or increase 
feeding operations, or (3) let the stock die. These necessary prac- 
tices suggest a means of estimating the effects of a drought, from 
data that give comparisons between results obtained during years 
of average rainfall and years of drought. The removal of stock 
60835°— 22— Bull. 1001 — -5 
