Changes

The term "mixed farming" better applies to southern Alberta agricultural practices during 1881-1914 than does "ranching." "Pure ranching" involves cowboys working predominantly from horseback; it was the norm when huge ranches were formed in 1881. Quickly practices were modified. Hay was planted and cut in summer to provide winter cattle feed; fences were built and repaired to contain winter herds; and dairy cows and barnyard animals were maintained for personal consumption and secondarily for market. Mixed farming was clearly predominant in southern Alberta by 1900.<ref>W. M. Elofson, "Not Just A Cowboy: The Practice Of Ranching in Southern Alberta, 1881-1914."  

The term "mixed farming" better applies to southern Alberta agricultural practices during 1881-1914 than does "ranching." "Pure ranching" involves cowboys working predominantly from horseback; it was the norm when huge ranches were formed in 1881. Quickly practices were modified. Hay was planted and cut in summer to provide winter cattle feed; fences were built and repaired to contain winter herds; and dairy cows and barnyard animals were maintained for personal consumption and secondarily for market. Mixed farming was clearly predominant in southern Alberta by 1900.<ref>W. M. Elofson, "Not Just A Cowboy: The Practice Of Ranching in Southern Alberta, 1881-1914."  

''Canadian Papers In Rural History'' 1996 10: 205-216.</ref>  

''Canadian Papers In Rural History'' 1996 10: 205-216.</ref>  

Captain Charles Augustus Lyndon and his wife, Margaret, established one of the first ranches in Alberta in 1881. Lyndon homesteaded a site in the Porcupine Hills west of Fort Macleod. They primarily raised cattle but also raised horses for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for additional income. Lyndon's herds suffered with others' herds during the hard winter of 1886-87. He developed an irrigation system and a post office as the district grew during the 1890's. Although Lyndon died in 1903, his family maintained his enterprises until 1966 when the ranch was sold.<ref>Patricia  Hawk, . The Lyndon Ranch. Alberta History  2000 48(1): 10-13.</ref>  

Captain Charles Augustus Lyndon and his wife, Margaret, established one of the first ranches in Alberta in 1881. Lyndon homesteaded a site in the Porcupine Hills west of Fort Macleod. They primarily raised cattle but also raised horses for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for additional income. Lyndon's herds suffered with others' herds during the hard winter of 1886-87. He developed an irrigation system and a post office as the district grew during the 1890s. Although Lyndon died in 1903, his family maintained his enterprises until 1966 when the ranch was sold.<ref>Patricia  Hawk, . The Lyndon Ranch. Alberta History  2000 48(1): 10-13.</ref>  

Benson (2000) describes the social structure for cowboys and other workers on large, corporate ranches in southwestern Alberta around 1900. Four of those ranches, the Cochrane, the Oxley, the Walrond, and the Bar U, demonstrate the complex hierarchies that separated cowboys from cooks and foremen from managers. Ethnic, educational, and age differences further complicated the elaborate social fabric of the corporate ranches. The resulting division of labor and hierarchy permitted Alberta's ranches to function without the direct involvement of investors and owners, most of whom lived in eastern Canada and Britain.<ref>Kristi Benson, "Cowboys and Cattlebarons: Status and Hierarchy on Alberta's Early Corporate Ranches." ''Alberta History'' 2000 48(4): 2-9. Professor Sheldon, "A Visit To The Bar U" ''Alberta History'' 2000 48(1): 21-26, reprints an 1891 travel account.</ref>  

Benson (2000) describes the social structure for cowboys and other workers on large, corporate ranches in southwestern Alberta around 1900. Four of those ranches, the Cochrane, the Oxley, the Walrond, and the Bar U, demonstrate the complex hierarchies that separated cowboys from cooks and foremen from managers. Ethnic, educational, and age differences further complicated the elaborate social fabric of the corporate ranches. The resulting division of labor and hierarchy permitted Alberta's ranches to function without the direct involvement of investors and owners, most of whom lived in eastern Canada and Britain.<ref>Kristi Benson, "Cowboys and Cattlebarons: Status and Hierarchy on Alberta's Early Corporate Ranches." ''Alberta History'' 2000 48(4): 2-9. Professor Sheldon, "A Visit To The Bar U" ''Alberta History'' 2000 48(1): 21-26, reprints an 1891 travel account.</ref>