CAl^rLE REARING 103 



splendid district for cattle-rearing, in a country where 

 cattle and beasts of burden might be reared by hundreds 

 of thousands. But the blasting influence of unceasing 

 strife in a land where revolutions form the stock-in-trade 

 of a part of the people, is the cause why one may pass 

 mile after mile of admirable pasture-land without seeing 

 a horse or an ox. And to think that there is no region 

 where such animals as horses and cattle can be reared at 

 less expense and in greater number than on the llanos of 

 Venezuela ! 



In the Jiatos or cattle farms on the Caura, it is 

 customary to have one llanero or cowboy to look after 

 every forty or fifty animals. This is also the proportion 

 of the bulls to the cows, so that each cowboy may be 

 said to be in charge of a kind of animal harem, an 

 arrangement which is sure to appeal strongly to those 

 who have imbibed Mohammedan ideas. The principal 

 work of the llanero consists in attending to the calves 

 for the first few days after their birth, this being the 

 period during which they are in need of most care, 

 especially as they are liable to be attacked by worms 

 while still young and delicate. The weaning of the 

 calves begins at a very early period — that is, two or three 

 weeks after birth. Compared to our milch cows the cow 

 of the llanos produces but little milk, but where there are 

 large numbers of cows, although the individual yield may 

 be small, still the day's supply is considerable. Two 

 sorts of cheese are made on the Jiatos, queso de cinclio 

 and queso de mano — that is, pressed cheese and hand-made 

 cheese ; the former, which is manufactured in large 

 quantities, being an article of commerce, while the latter 

 may be looked upon as a delicacy prepared only now and 

 then to meet a limited demand. The manufacture of 



