ARSENICAL POISONING FROM SMELTER SMOKE. 
419 
For these reasons I had to go out of the stock business, and nearly 
all of the ranchmen in this vicinity have got rid of their stock.” 
Mr. Liffring and Smith Cosens agreed to the following state¬ 
ment : “ Formerly the increase of stock was supposed to pay for 
the hay that it was necessary to feed, but for several years there 
has been practically no increase; and formerly Jd to i ton of hay 
would winter a cow, but now it requires twice as much; neverthe¬ 
less, there is more grass now than then.” 
L. E. Cosens said : “ This year from 4 mares served there was 
produced 1 colt, and from 18 cows, 8 calves. Some of the females 
failed to become pregnant, others aborted. There are now 9 head 
of horses, all with sore noses.” 
The writer made notes of the conditions at nearly all the 
ranches he visited, but they were practically repetitions of the 
statements made in those just given. All agreed that it was very 
difficult or impossible to produce and raise calves and colts, that 
the older animals required about twice as much hay as formerly, 
that the cattle did not take on flesh well and the horses were weak 
and of little value. For instance, Jerry Ryan said he had in 1906 
a team of horses coming four years old, one-fourth Percheron and 
one-half Hackney, weighing about 1,000 pounds each. They 
were not thriving on his hay and he concluded to sell them. When 
he tried them at the time of sale they were so weak and lacking in 
wind that he could only get thirty-five dollars each for them. 
Dr. Formad, who made investigations for the Government, 
obtained statements from 49 persons showing that whereas the 
holdings of horses by these ranchmen in 1902 were 2,447, they 
had been reduced by 1906 to 423, and their losses of cattle were 
even greater. “ The decrease was said to be due almost entirely 
to deaths, as on account of the unthrifty condition of the animals 
there was practically no sale for them. Three men who under¬ 
took to raise sheep went out of the business, and five other 
ranchers also left the valley on account of their losses during this 
period ” (32). 
It seemed to the writer, and he so expressed himself to the 
farmers and their attorneys, that the evidence as to losses from 
these several causes was not collected and presented to the Court 
