The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1870-06-24
0ow-Penning in Florida.

Ahu Sre'd Rhpisioh 10 " 10 ao oWhci
Of the greatest possible number of cattle.
not so much for tho sake of their hides
and tallow. or the money they may bring
In the market, rs for tho pleasure of
yearly riding after and gathering In.
herding. and branding their horned po-
sessions. y '"t
How many cattle have your inquired
I Of one of my neighbors.
About 800. reckon ....-..
How many has Mr.. DP'
u reckon about tho same
How many has Mr.. YP' a " ..
He has about $500
lie must have q lively time. thought i.
what does he want with so many? How
does he provide for themP
%. they provide for themselves. After
they have been cow-penned n few weeks,
and all have been marked and branded
which had not been marked and branded
before, wo then turn them out to travel
over the wide range among the pines and
hummocks. where they get fat on the
abundant new grass I'm summer, and suf-
ficicnt living In the winter. We drive up
only In tho spring, unless we wish some
for beef or for market
DO they not wander far away, and &c.
mixed with other cattleP
%, yes. sometimes twenty or thirty
miles, and 1t may be several weeks before
we can get all our cattle home.-Several
of us neighbors ride together week or
more mt time, often camp out at night:
sometimes find quarters with distant neigh
bors who are hunting cattle like ourselves,
so that wo have jovial good times. Per-
haps they have gathered some of our cat
tlc into their pens. All right; they arc
welcome to take all the milk they can get,
and the manure, as long rs we let them re-
main. This Is the rule among us. Every
man has q right To drive into his pen all
tho cattle he can find and keep them until
called for by the owner. ,.
You understand now,' said he, 'whv we
burn our pine woods near home every
spring. II Is done so that the new grass
will quickly spring up and give good feed
to our cattle rs we drive them home. We
put them into our cow-pens every night,
then, after getting little milk from few
of the cows-about pint from each-the
cows and cattle are driven one way and
the calves the other ,.......
But do they not get together againT
said L; do they not get mixedT ~
q, no; we soon tram them 10 know the
right way .af.
From so many cows you have a chance
to select some good mixers, so rs to have
good dairy, so that you can almost foat
in milk
o, no. he replied. we arc after the
manure more than the milk laar
What strange, perverted taste thought
!. How singular! .u.
why, SIR he added, this Is tho way
we fertilize our lands-every year from
one to five acres or more. We rob the
calves sometimes of little oftheir milk
Just for our coffee, and sometimes make
little butter during the season of cow-pen-
ning.'
But why do you not keep In pasture
some few Of your best cows. and have
milk and butter all the year roundP
%, it's too much trouble.' said he.-'We
prefer to let the calves have the milk
and grow fat rather than to eat 1t our
selves
To us Northerners II Is strange, passing
strange, that families can thus consent to
live nine months In the year without q
drop of milk, when It Is so easy for them
to secure this great luxury, How'd their
little children live without itP The
truth Is, they grow up on grease, salts
fed that hog and honiiny are better than
milk. 7Tf rf'. fHH