California Agriculturist and Live Stock Journal. 



the journey, the road lay through a long 

 stretch of plain (lotted by sage-brush and 

 l^reaso-'u'ood and crossed by two streams, 

 (HI the margins of -n-hich cotton-wood 

 tried to grow, and succeeded so far as to 

 make the roadside quite like chapparel- 



All was quiet, save the sound of my 

 horse's feet as he went otT on a round 

 trot, until after crossing the first creek. 



Soon after getting out of the thicket 

 which the stream encouraged to grow, I 

 heard the sound of another horse follow- 

 ing rapidly. To say I was thoroughly 

 alarmed, is probably a mild way to put 

 it. However, I concluded to make it a 

 question of speed, and striking my spurs 

 into old "Whitey," we commenced our 

 race. 



"This chap," I thought, "intends to 

 come up with me, if possible, at the 

 next creek, where the undergrowth is 

 thicker, and I must beat him there." So 

 I urged my horse to his utmost speed. 



Away we flew through the gloom; but 

 the sound of the pursuer come nearer. 

 No use to look behind. I could only see 

 some fifteen feet about me, and that but 

 indistinctly. 



On I went — the perspiration dropping 

 from my forehead, and on patting my 

 horse's neck (urging him in a low voice) 

 I found he, too, was feeling the pace. 



Still the pursuer gained. From the 

 break-neck pace at which we were going, 

 there could be no doubt of his inten- 

 tions. 



The line of shrubbery of the second 

 creek could now be seen dimly through 

 the darkness, and almost immediately 

 the stream was reached. Through I 

 dashed — a gleam of hope that my pursu- 

 er would stop, making me feel a little 

 elated. 



On regaining the hard road once more, 

 I heard my pursuer nearer than before. 

 I was doomed, I thought; but I was go- 

 ing to make an efibrt for it, even yet. I 

 loosened the saddle-bags and grasped my 

 pistol. The pursuer was close behind. 

 Throwing a glance backward, I could 

 distinguish his dim outline merely clos- 

 ing up the gap between us, his hoi\se 

 breathing heavily. Kicking my feet 

 from the stirrups, I swerved sharply 

 from the road, dashed into the sage- 

 brush, and pulled up, ready to leap from 

 my horse with my saddle-bags, and giv- 

 ing him a blow, send him off ridei-less, 

 hoping to deceive my pursuer into the 

 belief that I was still ujion him. 



As I cleared the road my pursuer flew 

 by, unable to turn as quickly as I had 

 done, and you may imagine my feelings 

 when I founa it was — a riderluss horse! 



It seems some of the horses of the 

 company of cavalry stationed above had 

 got loose, and they were so used to the 

 drill of the camp that, while loose in pas- 

 ture, they would often join in the mount- 

 di-iU, and I suppose this fellow was just 

 amusing himself bj' "following suit." 



I got over my scare, but never told be- 



fore this adventure of mj* 

 ride.'' 



' midnight 



Jesse D. Carr, of Salinas City, recently 

 lost his fine young bull, "Sixth Lord of 

 Oxford," which has been known through- 

 out the State as the finest blooded bull 

 in the country. He has taken the first 

 prize at every fair he has been exhibited 

 at, and arrangements had been made to 

 the Centennial this summer for exhibi- 

 tion. Mr. Carr has been offered on sev- 

 eral occasions $12,000 for the animal. 



The religion which is to save the world 

 ■n-ill not put all the big strawberries on 

 the top, and all the small ones at the 

 bottom. — Ex. 



MUtl WjmkL 



MODERN CATTLE FARMING VS. 

 THE ONE-CROP SYSTEM. 



BY COL. COLEMAN TOUNCER. 



t-^^^HE following paper was prepared by 

 Col. Younger to be read before the 

 California Short-horn Cuttle Breed. 

 i^y^ ers' Association: 



It is held by the most expeiiended far- 

 mers in the older States that breeding of 

 Short-horns, or grading up our common 

 cattle in connection with farming is the 

 most profitable farming. 



I propose to discuss the latter proposi- 

 tion at some length. In some portions 

 of this State farmers are beginning to 

 realize the fact that to cultivate our virgin 

 soil from year to year in wheat or barley, 

 will ultimately impo%'erish the land to 

 such an extent that the yield will be be- 

 low a paying crop. 



It is a fact that formerly our best lands 

 would yield from 40 to CO bushels of 

 wheat per acre, and from GO to 80 in bar- 

 lej'. What is the comdition now, after 

 twenty years of continued cropping the 

 same lands in wheat and barley? It is 

 considered good cropping on this same 

 land if it yields from 30 to 40 bushels in 

 wheat and from 30 to 50 in barley per 

 acre. Now, the American people in anj' 

 other State but this would long since have 

 changed this mode of farming. But our 

 misfortune is that we want to strike a 

 bonanza in every crop we raise, and keep 

 trying, on the same principle from j'ear 

 to year, until our lands are ruined, and 

 we then have to adojit a new mode at a 

 great disadvantage. 



In that portion of California where the 

 soil was light from the beginning, after 

 sowing their land in wheat for some years, 

 they found that they would have to adopt 

 a dift'erent mode or give up farming. 



The practice now is to summer-fallow 

 one-half of their farming lands, and the 

 result is that the one-half produces more 

 than all did under the old process. Now, 

 let us consider for a moment where the 

 jirofit comes in. Let us suppose the 

 farm to consist of 200 acres, under the 

 old mode; these 200 acres have to be 

 plowed, seeded and harrowed; the reaper 

 will have to go over all the ground. Now, 

 to get at the cost, count up what the seed 

 will cost for 100 acres — plowing, harrow- 

 ing, reaping and threshing — and you will 

 realize the amount of money lost every 

 year. But, under the new mode, all this 

 is .saved, except the summer-fallowing. 

 This of itself is a large saving, and should 

 be reckoned as clear gain. 



Now, I contend that there is still a more 

 profitable mode of farming, which must 

 be adopted sooner or later, and that is to 

 combine beef-raising with other branches 

 of farming. All farmers ought to and 

 most of them do own a number of com- 

 mon cows. Suppose everj- farmer would 

 keep as many cows as a third of his cul- 

 tivating laud would keep well, and breed 

 them to a Short-horn bull, what think 

 you would be the result? To come at 

 this we will suppose the farm to be 200 

 acres ; a third of that would be 66 J'^ acres, 

 allowing two acres to each cow. Now 

 allow these cows to produce thirty calves, 

 and to suckle the same. Having ample 

 pasture, at twelve months of age they 

 w-ill average in this climate a thousand 

 pounds, of the most delicious and high- 

 priced beeves. These thirty calves will 

 bring at least ;J1,500. The resting of the 

 land and the droppings are invaluable to 

 the soil — far more so than summer fal- 

 lowing. I am only estimating one-third 



of the land in this proposition. It may 

 be said that this number of cows will 

 cost quite a sum of money. It can be 

 truthfully said that the cultivation of the 

 extra hundred acres will dost much more 

 than the cows. In the first case there is 

 but little expense connected with the rais- 

 ing of the calves; the purchase of the birll 

 is the only extra expense. Young Short- 

 horn bulls of superior quality can be 

 bought of reliable breeders in this State 

 at from $150 to $300. If these proposi- 

 tions are true and are practicable, and I 

 think they are, why have not the farmers 

 of California long since adopted this 

 mode of farming? 



There was a time in this country when 

 there were good reasons for not adopting 

 this course. But few farms were fenced; 

 the country was full of cheap cattle; they 

 roamed over the jilains by thousands, 

 and our people hoped to make a large 

 fortune by some chance speculation and 

 leave the country for their old homes, 

 not realising that this was the best farm- 

 ing and stock country in the habitable 

 globe. The failure of thousands to make 

 fortunes by mining, and not having means 

 to take them out of the country, compel- 

 led them to cultivate the soil. This fact 

 has developed the farming resources of 

 California. These hai'dy pioneers were 

 quick to learn that there was large and 

 quick fortunes to be made in raising 

 wheat and barley, and the owners of large 

 ranches, with their tens of thousands of 

 Sjianish cattle, had as good a thing as 

 thej' wanted to furnish Spanish beeves for 

 the wheat-gi-ower and other non-pro- 

 ducers. These cattle kings could not be 

 induced to use Short-horn bulls. They 

 said what they lacked in quality they 

 made up in numbers. 



The drouth in 1864 made sad havoc of 

 these cheap cattle. Large ranches, that 

 counted their cattle by the thousands, 

 could no longer count them by the hun- 

 dreds. After these vast herds were de- 

 stroyed, the owners of these large ranches 

 were unable to again stock them as before, 

 and of necessity they had to be divided 

 up into small tracts, and sold for farming 

 purposes. 



Then the mania for making fortunes 

 in raising wheat continued, and thiscon- 

 stant wheat-growing has been tried until 

 some of our largest farmers are involved 

 to an enormous amount. This insane 

 policy of taking such desperate chances 

 from ytar to year on a single cropping 

 will, if persisted in, bankrupt any far- 

 mer. What sense is there in cultivating 

 thousands of acres, and handling hund- 

 reds of thousands of dollars every year, 

 only to come out behind four years out 

 five, and ultimately to fail with all your 

 energy? 'Will sensible farmers from 

 sheer desperation follow up this ruinous 

 policy, hoping against hope, to make a 

 gi'eat fortune on a single crop? Or does 

 it gratify their vanity to see their vast 

 farming operations spoken of in the pa- 

 pers? Is this a compensation for the 

 great losses sustained by many? But 

 few are aware of the great struggle, the 

 anxious moments, the fear of failure, the 

 hope of success th.at alternate in the 

 minds of these large farmers, when per- 

 haps their all is staked on a single crop. 

 This inward struggle, these inward mo- 

 ments of despair are concealed from the 

 papers and the -world, at least for a Ume. 



We are compelled to turn from this 

 class of farmers, for they are joined to 

 their idols, and to discuss the beef ques- 

 tion with the small farmer. We are glad 

 to note that a great change has taken 

 place on this coast. In the last few 

 years hundreds of our farmers have 

 adopted the mixed mode of farming. 

 Some have started a small herd of Short- 

 horns and are doing well, but much the 



larger portion have bought young Short- 

 horn bulls and are grading up their com- 

 mon cattle. As a general proposition, 

 there is more money in this course than 

 the other, for any farmer, I do not care 

 how small his means are, can buy a 

 young Short-horn bull and commence. 



There is so much to encourage our far- 

 mers to improve their stock, to raise 

 better beef, that I am inclined to think 

 that if Short-horn breeders' experience 

 and practical information were diffused 

 more fully among our farmers of breed- 

 ing, raising and feeding of Short-horns 

 and grades, it would induce hundreds to 

 add that to their other farming. The 

 great increase of the consumption of 

 beef in America and England in the last 

 twenty years is so marked that there can 

 be no mistake in embarking in tue busi- 

 ness. 



In a few years we will have cheap 

 transportation to the Atlantic States and 

 to England. Then all the beef from Ne- 

 vada will be shipped East, and we will 

 have California to supply. The great 

 supply for the Eastern market is driven 

 from Texas. When that is exhausted, 

 which must be in a few years, where are 

 the millions to get their supply from? 



It is a noticeable fact that Yankee in- 

 genuity is now being taxed to construct 

 vessels, that freoh beef can be shipped 

 to England and to all Europe to feed 

 their millions of hungni' inhabitants. 

 Breeders should bear in mind that it is 

 the quality and not the quantity which 

 gives the greatest profit. Prime beef 

 commands ready sale at good prices when "^ 

 inferior beef is a drug in the market. 



If our farmers needed encouragement 

 to grade up their common stock, they 

 would get it by visiting the herds of Lux 

 & Miller. These gentlemen have been 

 in the business for more than fifteen 

 years, and they now have the largest and 

 iinest herds of Short-horns in this or 

 any other country. Then there is 

 Walsh's estate in Colusa county; Martin, 

 James and Daniel Murphy of Santa 

 Clara county, and Emerson of San Ma- 

 teo. Across the bay, the Page Brothers, 

 Chapman of San Francisco, Carr of Sa- 

 linas, who has a large ranch of grades in 

 Oregon. AU these gentlemen hiive fine 

 thoroughbreds. Yon may say these men 

 are of great wealth, and can afford the ■ 

 outlay. So they are; but I will now 

 mention a few out of the many who are 

 called smiiU farmers who have been in 

 this business for years, and have made 

 it a success. In Santa Clara Valley I 

 find Quinn, Reardon, Clark and Thomp- 

 son, and there are many others in all 

 portions of the Stat«. To see these 

 herds of grades and learn the amount o£ 

 money they have realized from them, 

 would give great encouragement to young 

 breeders. To improve our stock and in- 

 crease their value for feeding the human 

 family, is one of the duties of the Cattle 

 Breeders' Association. 



A good reputation in business affairs 

 is of the first importance to any farmer, 

 and especially to a young farmer. A 

 reputation for being a grower of first-class 

 fruit is worth as much, yea more, than 

 the crop itself, if such a comparison is 

 permissible, A farmer noted for growing 

 fine fruit and for putting up nothing but 

 fine fruit for market is always in market 

 at highest rates. Indeed the market 

 seeks him and pays him a bounty for his 

 care and honesty. A good reputation is 

 a good thing. A farmer who grows fine 

 wool and cleanses it in the most thorough 

 manner, and offers nothing but wool, is 

 known among all manufacturers through 

 their agents, and his product is worth a 

 premium. His reputation makes him a 

 market at his door. — Detroit Tribune. 



