70 THE BEEF BONANZA. 



fortune, and the good wife too. In eleven years you 

 can, by care, be at the head of a blooded-stock farm 

 worth $100,000, and very soon afterwards its sole owner. 



The above letter is remarkable, inasmuch as it is 

 written by a gentleman to his brother, who is already 

 in business, and advises him to come West and engage in 

 cattle-growing. The writer of the letter has made a 

 great deal of money, and takes this method of helping 

 his brother to a fortune. It is likely the business-man 

 gave the whole cattle-trade a careful investigation be- 

 fore advising a brother with a family to leave his com- 

 fortable farm in the East and engage in ranching .cattle 

 out West. There are some singular features about the 

 letter, and I asked the author after reading it how he 

 could possibly expect to get more for old Texas cows 

 than he originally paid for them. His reply was, " I 

 would buy young cows, say two-year-olds, and they 

 would grow. I would fatten them and sell them for 

 beef. I am doing it every year." I asked him, " Why 

 would you not allow the first lot of female calves to 

 breed at three years old ?" He replied, " I think the 

 stock would be better if the heifers were not let get 

 with calf until after they were three years old ; at all 

 events, I wished my brother to try it and see." " How 

 would you prevent them from breeding ?" " Bulls 

 should always be kept in a separate pasture, and not 

 allowed to run with the herd. The cows should be put 

 in to them at night. A good bull will serve five or six 

 cows in a single night. The Durham bull puts a strong 

 impress on his calves, and the first cross with a Texas 



