DAIRYING ON THE PEAINS. 21 
to the country by the settlers or such as could be bought at the 
ranches. The dairy type of cows had a chance to become promi¬ 
nent during the hard times. In 1896 there were some Holstein and 
Jersey cross-bred animals in the country. But as beef cattle rose 
in price the dairy types of cows diminished until now they are 
hard to find. Cattle which are grades of one of the beef breeds 
are seen everywhere. In Washington county, Polled Angus and 
Galloway grades occupy most of the range. In Yuma county the 
honors are about even between Shorthorns and Herefords. The 
same is true of Kit Carson county. In Cheyenne and Lincoln 
counties Hereford grades predominate, but the other three lead¬ 
ing beef breeds are well represented. Then there are many Mexi¬ 
can cattle in some of the country which is purely a range country. 
Practically all the cattle on the plains in other counties, as well 
as in the counties named, are of the same character. Nearly all 
of the cows have been allowed to run with their calves during the 
season. Very few of them have been touched by the hand of 
man, except at branding time. 
Cows raised and trained in the manner described and which 
are cross-breeds of beef-making breeds instead of dairy breeds, are 
not likely to prove to be very profitable dairy stock. After the 
settler has decided to return to dairying, it will require two or 
three years to train cows for the business so as to make it profit¬ 
able from the business-man’s standpoint. The range cows give 
milk during only about five months of the year. They must be 
trained to give milk during ten months. The cow that has be¬ 
come accustomed to running with her calf will not readily consent 
to adopt a man to take the place of the calf. If forced to submit 
to being milked by a man, she cannot be compelled to give all 
her milk. In order to get a herd ready for dairying, the heifers 
must be broken to milk and developed as milch cows. By choos¬ 
ing the best from large numbers, a herd may be obtained which 
will give some profitable returns the second year. If the heifers 
pay expenses the first year, they will do well. Some men milk a 
large number of cows after the calves are weaned, getting a little 
from each cow for a short time. This is pure gain to the man 
who does-his own work as nothing is fed the cows and they are 
milked in order to keep the udders from spoiling. 
Some milk their cows during the summer, or during the time 
when grass is good, and allow them to go dry when the cold 
weather begins and it is harder for the cow to get plenty of feed 
on the prairie. With the average range-bred cow, this is probably 
the best way, because she will not respond to heavy feeding by 
giving more milk. Instead they will put on flesh when fed heav¬ 
ily. When they have dairy cows they can then find profit in 
feeding costly feeds during the winter. As it is now it will re- 
