1884.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
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 horses which had come there at such 
a time; these rushed madly into the water, and 
being weak and exhausted, could not extricate 
themselves from the mud. Sheep get along 
with but very little water, and when the grass 
is almost entirely burnt up by the sun, nothing 
green to be seen, and the clouds of dust stifle 
one, if they can get a pint of watery day, they 
will live for weeks. The deprivation they can 
endure is almost incredible. 
Sheep-raising there is generally done on 
shares. A' large farm, or “ estancia,” consist¬ 
ing of from three to eight square leagues, 
(5,700 acres is a square league,) is divided into 
sections, and . on 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 estancia to a person 
wno takes care of a flock of his sheep on 
shares. The shepherd, or “ puestero,” as he is 
called, on entering into this contract, either 
buys one-third of a flock of about 1,500 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. He will then, if purchaser of one- j 
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 estancia, on 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 he bought 
_n 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 
$3 50 (gold) is paid; if all ewes, somewhat more. 
The sheep have no covered shelter through¬ 
out the year, their only protection being merely 
Avire, or rarely narrow board inclosures 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 Avith other flocks. To distinguish and 
separate them, they are all marked by cuts in 
the 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 Avinds, 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 
ut> three or four times to walk through the 
flock and see if any lambs have come, and if so, 
take them into the house and keep them warm 
until morning, when they are taken to the flock, 
and their mothers easily find them. Winter is 
considered a better time for lambing than in 
Summer, when the heat is so oppressive that the 
ewes Avili leave their young and let them die. 
It may be seen how many lambs die Avhen a 
flock only doubles itself in three years, and yet 
some of the ewes lamb tAvice a year. The 
droughts or “ secos” are also great drawbacks, 
the entire increase of the flock sometimes dying 
from that cause alone. As a guard against the 
disastrous results of these secos, on the best 
Estancias each puestero has planted near 
his house two or three acres of “Alfalfa,” 
or Lucerne, which strikes its roots to an 
amazing depth, and thus is able to Avithstand 
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 
feed, and in a drought the only salvation of the 
flock. The sheep require constant care, such 
as would only be given by an interested party; 
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 an}'' com¬ 
mercial business starting on the same capital. 
Irishmen (where are.they not?) who Avent 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 Avay, 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-selling has controlled clieese-wiafc- 
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 Ave will 
call Cheese Factors, residing, in the district 
Avhere 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. Generali}'-, 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 Avatching the 
market, are enabled to fill contracts for ship¬ 
ment, or take advantage of a rise in prices, with 
great success. The cheeses are sometimet 
sold on commission, but are usually bought bj 
factors or country dealers directly from the far 
mers. There is, howcA'er, al ways a great dif¬ 
ference in cheeses made by different persons, 
and too often in those made in the same dairy, 
liOAvever great the care of the factor in frequent¬ 
ly visiting the dairies supplying his stock. 
We recently visited part of the dairy region 
of the “Western Reserve,” Ohio,.(where for¬ 
merly the system of receiving the curd from the 
farmers, and making and curing the cheeses at 
a “ factory,” was tried and finally given' up.) 
Throughout this region, and also extensively 
in the State of NeAV-York, the much superior 
system of receiving the milk, morning and 
night, and conducting the entire process at the 
factory, is rapidly gaining in favor Avith the 
farmers. These establishments are known as 
“Cheese Factories” or “Associated Dairies.” 
They are conducted on two totally different 
business methods, but in tlieir management 
of the milk, curd, and cheeses, they are very 
much alike. An “Associated Dairy” is managed 
by the farmers wiio supply the milk; they are 
united as a-business firm or a joint 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 the 
stock owned and milk furnished. The other 
class of establishments are 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 
alloAving 1 cent per pound for labor, are greatly 
reduced, and the result is not only a pecuniary 
gam to the farmer, but a relief from all the la¬ 
bor of the dairy, except washing the milk-pails. 
There are, liOAvever, 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 avc can 
not discuss in this article. There Is, 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 farmers 
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 is appreciated in 
the market, and will rapidly work a great 
change in our dairy system. 
Justice gives to every one according to hia 
due, and provides that injury be done to no one. 
