RHODESIA 169 



The Cattle Industry. 



Essentially, Rhodesia is a stock country. The conditions point 

 strongly to meat as the principal ultimate product to be 

 elaborated off the veld. Dairying, too, undoubtedly has a bright 

 future, yet primarily beef is to be looked to as Rhodesia 's staple 

 export to the world's markets; milk, butter, and cheese will 

 chiefly meet the local demand. 



Cattle-raising requires more capital and a longer time before 

 profits accrue, but ultimately yields a higher return. Crop- 

 growing yields a more regular and an earlier return — a more 

 vital consideration to the newcomer and the man of limited 

 means. Ranching, or at least cattle farming on extensive lines,, 

 is a growing feature of the times in Rhodesia, so far with a very 

 promising measure of success, the one general want as yet being 

 numbers. The indigenous native cattle supply the foundation 

 stock, improvement being gradually etfected by the introduction 

 of bulls of European breeds. The Government is endeavouring 

 to encourage the systematic improvemeiit of cattle in the country,, 

 and steps for the establishment of a stud farm have been taken, 

 whilst no inconsiderable time is devoted to tendering information 

 and advice on the subject. 



There is no doubt that Rhodesian methods in cattle farming 

 are advancing, the most noticeable signs being increased atten- 

 tion to such matters as hay-making for winter use, production of 

 forage and of root crops for stall feeding, the construction of 

 dairies and dipping tanks, better housing, more attention to the 

 care of calves, and, perhaps above all, fencing. Changes in the 

 direction indicated are conspicuous on some of the large ranches 

 in Lomagundi and the farming districts of Goromonzi, Umtali,, 

 and elsewhere, where cattle now run day and night in camps, 

 undisturbed and free, with very obvious advantages, as against 

 the primitive custom of herding all day and kraaling at night. 

 The mortality of cattle from casual ailments and accidents is 

 singularly low throughout the country, but particularly so where 

 fencing enables the nightly concentration in kraals to be avoided 

 — an effective protection against the appearance and spread of 

 contagious disease — and where the conditions of life are other- 

 wise rendered wholesome, natural, and easy. 



