18C4.] 
AM KRICAN AG-RTCUIVTURIST. 
15 
up, and cattle sometimes have to travel a hun- 
dred miles for water. I saw one large lake, the 
bottom of which was whitened by the bones of 
cattle and borses which bad •■nine there at such 
a time; these rushed madly into the water, and 
being weak and exhausted, could not extricate 
themselves from tii«- mud, Sheep gel along 
with but very little water, and when tlic gran 
is almosl entirely burnt up by the sun, nothing 
green to be seen, and the clouds of dust stifle 
one, if they can got a pint of water a day, they 
will live for weeks, The deprivation ihcy can 
endure is almost incredible. 
Sheep-raising Quire is generally done on 
shares. A large farm, or "estaneia," consist- 
ing of from three to eight square leagues, 
(5,760 acres is a square league,) is divided into 
sections, and ou each section is built a small 
one-story house, of mud or sun-dried brick, 
with one or two rooms, which is let by the 
owner or owners of the estaneia to a person 
who takes care of a lloek of his sheep on 
shares. The shepherd, or " pucstcro," as he is 
called, on entering into this contract, cither 
buys one-third of a flock of about 1,600 to 
commence with, or pays to the owner interest 
at the rate of from 9 to 15 per cent, on their 
value. The contract is for three years, and in 
this time the flock should double. The shep- 
herd gets one-third of the wool and one-third of 
the increase each year. He pays a low rent for 
his house, and has all the mutton he wants to 
kill. The sales of the wool for the first two 
years pay all his household expenses, even if he 
have a family, and leave him a good surplus 
the third. lie will then, if purchaser of one- 
third at the start, have about 1,000 sheep of his 
own, and can form, if he chooses, a new con- 
tract with the owner of the estaneia, ou halves 
for one year, and so on until his flocks increase, 
and he finally becomes manager of several 
flocks. Some poor grades of sheep may be 
taken on thirds without having to buy any at 
the start ; but a share has always to be bought 
in flocks producing a good quality of wool. 
Importations of German Merinos, within the 
last 8 or 10 years, have much improved the 
character of many flocks. Large importations 
of blooded sheep arrive often, and sell at high 
figures. I saw a ram sold for $650, (gold,) 
$1,000 refused for another, and ewes sold at 
$100 to $80 each. For medium native flocks, 
well bred, sold " in a cut", — that is, rams, weth- 
ers, ewes, and lambs, together, — from $1 50 to 
s:'. 50 (^old) is paid ; if all ewes, somewhat more. 
The sheep have no covered shelter through- 
out the year, their only protection being merely 
wire, or rarely narrow board iuclosures called 
"corrals," in which they are shut at night. The 
herdsman is on horseback with them all day. 
The section limits are marked out, and he must 
see that they do not get off their own ground, or 
mix with other flocks. To distinguish and 
separate them, they are all marked by cuts in 
Die ears. Stormy and rainy nights the sheep 
are kept out of the corral, on the grass, lest the 
mud damage the wool, and then the shepherds 
have to remain up all night, occasionally riding 
around them, or "rounding them up," to pre- 
vent their straying off and getting scattered and 
lost. The storms are sometimes very severe, 
and the strong winds, or " pamperos," in their 
furious course oftentimes cause considerable 
confusion and loss in a flock, as the sheep start 
and run with the wind, so that it is impossible 
to stop them. Many lambs are thus lost, and 
also by the exposure in Winter, when the ewes 
lamb. On a cold night the shepherd has to get 
up three or four times to walk through the 
flock and sc e if any lambs have come, and if BO, 
take them into the bouse and keep them warm 
until morning, when they are taken to Ihe Hock, 
and their mothers easily find them, Winter i 
considered a better time for lambing than in 
Bummer, when the heat is s.i oppressive that the 
ewes will leave their young and let them die. 
It may be seen how many lambs die when a 
Mock only doubles itself in three years, and yel 
some of the ewes land) twice a year. The 
droughts or "seCOS" are idso great drawbacks, 
the entire increase of the flock sometimes d\ Ing 
from that cause alone. As a guard against the 
disastrous results of these sccos, on the best. 
Estaneias each pueslero has planted near 
his house two or three acres of "Alfalfa," 
or Lucerne, which strikes its roots to an 
amazing depth, and Huts is able to withstand 
severe dry weather. They can cut it once a 
month, and get a very good yield for five or six 
months of Spring or Summer. It is excellent 
teed, and in a drought the only salvation of the 
llcck. The sheep require constant care, such 
as would only be given by an interested parly ; 
it is for this reason that the business is done on 
shares, and not by hired laborers. Many young 
men (a good many Americans) are engaged in 
this sheep-farming, living alone in these "pues- 
tero houses," who start on thirds and follow it 
up until they gain a competence in many 
less years than a clerk in almost any com- 
mercial business starting on the same capital. 
Irishmen (where are they not '?) who went there 
20 years ago without a cent, are now the proud 
owners of thousands of acres and tens of thou- 
sands of sheep. He who goes must be prepared 
for bachelor's life in earnest, washing and cook- 
ing for himself, making his own bed, sweeping 
out the house, etc. By the way, they have no 
coal or wood there, but burn sheep manure or 
" bosta," cut in the " corrals" and dried in the 
sun. It emits no offensive odor, makes a very 
hot fire, but you have to keep adding more and 
raking out all the time. It is not quite as good 
as coal. Oveja. 
Cheese-making— Manufactories and Asso- 
ciations—Their Mode of Operation, 
and Advantages. 
Cheese manufacture is making most inter- 
esting progress. For many years the busi- 
ness of cheese-seBmj has controlled cheese-»)«/;- 
ing, in some parts of the country, by associating 
the dairymen to a certain degree, so that not 
only has a steady demand been created for 
certain kinds of cheese, but very uniform and 
remunerative prices have been obtained by the 
makers. A class of merchants, whom we will 
call Cheese Factors, residing in the district 
where the cheeses are produced, engage the 
dairymen to make cheeses of a certain character, 
and these factors enter the market with the 
products of perhaps a score of dairies — not as 
speculators but as producers. 
The cheeses are made as nearly of a uniform 
size as is possible in families, and delivered to 
the factor when a few weeks old. All the 
dairies which supply cheeses to the same factor, 
receive accurate directions from him how to 
scald the curd, how deeply to color, and how 
to finish the cheeses. Generally, also, we believe 
the dairy supplies of boxes, bandages, etc., are 
to be obtained from the factors. These cheese- 
merchants store the cheeses in large quantities, 
assort them, brand the boxes, and watching the 
market, are enabled to fill contracts for ship- 
ment, or take advantage of arise in prices, with 
great success. The cheeses are sometimes 
sold «m commission, bul are usually bought by 
factors or country dealers directly from the for- 
mere. There I . howi ,cr, alwaj o great dif- 
ference in cheeses made by different pot 
and too often in those made in the ame dairy, 
however greal the care of the factor in frequent- 
ly visiting the daii it suppl] ing his 
We recently visited part of the dairy rej 
of the "Western Reserve," Ohio, (where for- 
merly the system of receivingthe eurd from the 
formers, and making and curing the cheeses at 
a "factory," was tried and finally given up.) 
Throughout ibis region, and also extensively 
in the State of New-York, the much superior 
system of receiving Ihe milk, morning and 
night, and conducting the entire process at the 
foi tory, is rapidly gaining in favor with the 
farmers. These establishments arc known as 
"Cheese Factories" or "Associated Dairies." 
They are conducted on two totally different 
business methods, but in their management 
of the milk, curd, and cheeses, they are very 
much alike. An "Associated Dairy" is managed 
by the formers who supply the milk ; they arc 
united as a business firm or aojoini stock com- 
pany. The association puts up the dairy build- 
ings, hires the dairy-folk and business agent, 
and divides the profits in proportion to I lu- 
stock owned and milk furnished. The other 
class of establishments aro owned and managed 
by individuals. In some cases these persons 
buy the milk brought to them, at a stipulated 
price per gallon. Others receive one cent per 
pound on the cheese made, to cover the entire 
cost of labor up to the time the cheeses are ready 
for shipment. When the cheeses are sold, the 
cost of salt, rennet, bandages and boxes, and 
of transportation and other expenses of selling, 
together with the one cent per pound for labor 
and supervision, is [deducted ; the net proceeds 
are divided among the farmers, in proportion 
to the amount of milk furnished by each. 
The price which "Factory-made cheese" 
commands in this market, is 2 to 3 cents per 
pound more than can be realized by the private 
dairyman. The expenses of manufacture, even 
allowing 1 cent per pound for labor, are greatly 
reduced, and the result is not only a pecuniary 
gain to the farmer, but a relief from all the la- 
bor of the dairy, except washing the milk-pails. 
There are, however, several difficulties. People, 
even farmers, are not all honest. Some will 
water their milk, either after it is drawn, or in 
the watery messes fed to the cows. The milk 
may be filthy and sometimes sour rapidly, 
owing to uncleanliness of the cows or milk-pails, 
or the length of time which intervenes between 
the milking and its delivery. So dissatisfac- 
tions will doubtless arise, and few associations 
continue long without some hard feelings. 
The particulars of the manufacture we can 
not discuss in this article. There ie, how- 
ever, no reason why in every cheese-making 
community there may not be one or more 
factories established. Doubtless the "Asso- 
ciated Dairy" principle is best for the fanners 
if well managed, and if some of them are not 
too tricky. The cheese is made on the well- 
established principles recognized in all good 
dairies, and on so large a scale that greater uni- 
formity and a superior character is the inva- 
riable result. This it is seen i3 appreciated in 
the market, and will rapidly work a great 
change in our dairy system. 
Justice gives to every one according to his 
due, and provides that injury be done to no one. 
