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Show fVORICULTURE , THE PASSING OF THE RANCH AND TWO RANCHING DISTRICTS. J. A. W. : Written for the Dcscrct Farmer. The ranch has come to mean a livestock live-stock farm somewhat far removed from centers of population, which depends de-pends very largely on the adjoining public range for winter feeding, and on the hay raised on the farm for winter feeding. Tho methods of farming on the ranches hove usually bocn of the. most primitive kind. The isucccss of a ranch frequently has rested rest-ed more on the accessibility of a rich grass range, than on the intelligent skill employed in its operation. It lias 'been emphatically, extensive farming, wastcfully conducted. As the country has become more thickly settled, the ranches have become be-come smaller and less numerous. The greater acre profit to be realized from systematic farming lias compelled many ranchers to sell out or adopt better methods. Moreover, with the contraction of the public domain, the public range,- which has been the main dependence of the ranches, arc being used more and more as accessories to the neighboring farming districts. Ui- timatcly, the ranch will rarely be found in places of soil and climatic conditions favorable to more intensive inten-sive agriculture. It will of necessity be confined to mountainous districts, of short seasons, and adjoining large areas of mountain ranges. However, the sparse population of the West yet makes it possible, and will make it possible for a generation or more, for ranches, very much of the early type to exist and to prosper. To a person who desires to vieW the ranch with its characteristic life, and to study the methods employed, few places are more interesting than Grand Valley, Idaho. This valley be gins a few miles from the Grand canyon can-yon of the Snake river and continues to the upper end cf Swan Valley. The valley is little more than ai brorfd ' canyon, through -which the river flows. The ranches completely fill the arable area. Timothy is the standard hay crop. Occasionally the native grasses, fenced in, are made into hay. Once in a while a field of oats is encountered. The oat tic (and the ranches arc all cattle ranches) range the hills in the summer, and in the fall come in to cat the hay atvl 1' the snow which lies several months m in the valley. At nearly all the jff ranches butter is made, but chiefly I for home use. It commands only M about 15 cents -per pound, since the 1 outside market insists upon creamery 1 butter. Eggs and poultry arc pro- 1 duccd, but sold on the ranches at 1 ridiculously low prices. There would seem Jo be an excellent opportunity 1 for improvement in the methods used J by these ranchers. However, farming M from a horse's back seems to have a M special charm that often unfits a per- M son for more systematic and detailed j work. The beauty of a drive through 9 Grand Valley, Idaho, fully rccom- Ij penecs for the trouble taken. II j Ranphing of a still more primitive 1 type may be viewed in Jackson's ij Hole, Wyoming. The valley lies cast ! of the grand Tctons, and is adjacent i to immense grazing "areas. The small population, not above a thousand souls ;itlc long distance to railroads, fifty to one hundred and fifty miles; and ' the loiigv. winter, usually from j four to six months of snow, combine to make farming in the district of the ij simplest kind. Timothy is raised' in jj fair abundance; oats may be grown II thcic; root crops do well, and the 1 cattle fed on the thousand hills are I slick and fat. The difficulty of the J short season the most formidable, j This might be overcome in a large I measure by growing fall sown cer- f cals. Fall oats had never been heard of by the farmers who were met. s Tt was almost amusing to learn' of the anxiety of Jackson's Hole farmers farm-ers concerning new itrigation canals, in order to get more writer on the land. Smke river flows through the valley, and the numerous fair-sized creeks flowing into the river. The only question before the irrigation farmier is to dig ccmals in which to carry the water. A little fall plowing .and more systematic methods would probably make irrigation wholly unnecessary un-necessary in Jackson's Hole, where the snow lies five feet deep, and there arc ample fall and spring rains. It seems impossible to predict a time when the farmers of the West will consent to use water economically- j A brave little lady, a school teacher from somewhere in Kansas, has homestcaded a large farm in Jackson's Jack-son's Hole. She is fulfilling -all the requirements of the law, just .as completely com-pletely as any of the men. She talked of 1 orscs and cattle and plowing, and hardy trees, and of the possibility of getting a, good course in agriculture in the Agricultural College. It would not be surprising if some of the best farmers of the future should bs women. They will probably do the head work, and make the men do the hand work. This young lady, who by the way is handsome and intelligent, intelli-gent, spoke of a possible future day when sonis lucky fellow might bz adopted to run her ranch in partnership partner-ship with her. She was nursing a woman, a neighbor, who had suddenly sudden-ly been taken ill, at the time she wad asked questions about her ranch. There was nothing unwomanly ta'bout her because she ran a ranch, and personally per-sonally .cared for seven head of horses. hor-ses. Why should there be? Jackson's Hole is the hunters' paradise. para-dise. The somewhat primeval condition con-dition and the stringent game laws of Wyoming, have preserved large numbers of wild -animals. Nearly all I the ranchers seemed to spend some of their time acting as guides for hunting parties from every corner of the world, and they declared that it " was more profitable than .farming. However, there is a good! agricultural future for Jackson's Hole. Man was made to conquer, and- he will do it. Meanwhile, if some of the disgruntled, dis-gruntled, dissatisfied and complaining farmers of Utah will take a trip to Jackson's Hole and some similar district, dis-trict, they will come back happier men. |