STOCK RAISING
| The foregoing description of the water
system of Lyon County cannot fail to show that this is preeminently an
inviting field of stock raising. The wild blue-joint grass of our
valleys forms the finest meadows in the world. It grows from three
to six feet high, yielding from two to three tons of hay per acre equal in
value to that of the tame grasses. This is secured with machinery at
small expense to the stock raiser. The grasses of the prairies are
nutritious, and the range of pasturage is unlimited. We cannot represent that "stock flourishes the year around upon the natural grasses without shelter, hay or other feed," for this is not true. Stock is turned into the uncut stalks of the corn fields in the fall, where they subsist until winter. The feeding season generally lasts about sixteen weeks, and stock is brought out in good condition with shelter and hay only. It is a mistaken idea that stock raising may be carried on successfully without feed anywhere in the West. This is not attempted in but limited portions of the United States east of the Rocky mountains, and is attended with difficulty and frequently with great loss. Statistics, or reflection aloe, will convince any person that the principal and most profitable stock raising is carried on in the northern States where winter feeding is necessary. The raising of cattle, horses and sheep is here a safe and profitable business, and we advise immigrants, when convenient, to bring stock the more the better. |