known in the country but has hitherto not caused 

 much trouble, whilst white scour in calves and sun- 

 dry other maladies which occasionally crop up ap- 

 pear to yield to that panacea of all ills — the dip. 



COST OF LAND. For some years previous to the outbreak of war, 



the rapid increase in the value of plantation land had 

 its influence on areas only suitable for stock, and 

 owners of such land were loth to part with any por- 

 tions of it except at a high figure. But many 

 of them hold acreages so vast that they could never 

 be adequately stocked by a single individual 

 unless ranching were possible, and there is no 

 doubt that some of them at any rate will be willing 

 to sub-divide their holdings later on. Moreover, land 

 at some distance from the railways can always be 

 bought at a reasonable price, whilst hundreds of 

 A GREAT STOCK thousands of acres of what is probably the best cattle 



DISTRICT. country in the Protectorate have already been sur- 



veyed on the Laikipia plateau and elsewhere, and this 

 land should be obtainable at prices well within the 

 reach of men of quite moderate capital. 



COST OF 

 STOCK. 



PURE BRED 

 BULLS. 



As already mentioned the price of native cattle 

 tends to increase, but even should the settler pay up 

 to £\2 for a cow, the investment should prove sound 

 when the half-bred produce of this animal may realise 

 double that figure. As soon as the native comes for- 

 ward as a vendor of cattle the price will automatically 

 fall again, and good stock be available to the white 

 farmer. An even more serious difiiculty at present 

 confronting the cattle breeder is the scarcity and 

 high cost of suitable bulls. The Government Farm 

 at Naivasha is at present the principal source of 

 supply of pure bred bulls, and so great is the demand 

 that prices up to ^120 are realized at the annual sales. 

 The highest prices have generally been paid at these 

 sales for Ayreshire bulls, which have been found 

 specially suited to use vwth the native cow, but Short- 

 horns, Herefords, Holsteins, and their grades, all meet 

 with a keen demand. The few breeders who have 

 been enterprising enough to import pure bred cattle 

 of both sexes have also reaped a rich harvest by the 

 sale of their young bulls, even a moderate Shorthorn 

 commanding a price of £s^ at any time. 



