Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1881-02-10
:. Novelties in Farming.

81 " p
OSTRICH farming has been SO remark
ably successful among the British set
tiers inthe Cape Colony of South Africa
as to have become the leading source of
supply for ostrich feathers in the Lon
don markets. It is, therefore, not sur
prising that the capitalists of California,
in their eager pursuit of opportunities
for diversifying the farming interests of
that State, should have introduced
ostrich-farnling, just as they had previ-
ously adopted the culture of oranges,
lemons. olives, tea, coffee, grapes, and
the production of raisins. This peculiar
feature of stock-raising belongs to a
class of advanced developments in the
great department of agriculture which
promises to expand the investment of
capital in farming to correspond with
the marvellous progress of railroads,
manufactures, and mining. The ordi-
nary stock farming in. America has of
late years increased enormously in con-
sequence of the rabid multiplication OF
butter and cheese factories, and of the
immense demand for American meat
products in Europe. Parallel with that
development there have come into exist
ence various kinds of what may be called
fish-farming, which not only includes
the artificial propagation of salmon,
black bass, and other food fishes in our
rivers and running streams, but has been
developed into lobster-farming on
large scale on the coast of Maine, and
carp-farming in all the ponds, lakes, and
inclosed sheets of water of the New Eng
land and Middle States. Thus in New
Jersey, where artificial lakes are numer-
Gus, carp-farming has suddenly become
new source of profit to the farmer,
which in former years no Jerseyman
ever dreamed of. Whether the humble
bullfrog is destined to be similarly prof
liable to the farmers of this section of
the country depends upon the favor
ing by the people of New York and
Philadelphia. Indeed, viewed in this
light, stoct-farming may be extended
to anything required for domestic con-
sumption 1t has already been extended
on an immense scale to the trade in
eggs, butter and cheese, and if the &C
counts respecting the productiveness OF
the food carp may be relied upon. that
particular class of fish farming promises
to eclipse all others. AS regards the
adaptiveness of our country to ostrich
farming, there is no room for doubt that
the business would prove successful IN
many of the southern parts OF the State
of California, and that it might be in
troduced with equal success in Arizona,
New Mexico and Texas. A number OF
years ago some attempts were made by
prairie farmers in Kansas and Nebraska
to domesticate the bison, or buffalo, and
to raise herds of that species by farming
ION the range,'' as it is called, but the
Agricultural Department has not lately
published any accounts on the subject.
Should the ostrich farming in California
be successful, that State will undoubted-
" surprise the American market with a
cheaper and better article OF ostrich
feathers than the imported article. OF
course, the local trade in California will
be too small to support the business to
any extent. Therefore the demand TOR
feathers would have to come from the
Atlantic division of the Union. This
item of trade is by no means small or
unimportant one, and should the
California experiment prove successful
it may lead to the domestic production
of camel's hair by stock-farming IN
Texas, where the climate is adapted to
those animals. In our own section of
the country decidedly the greatest nov
city is carp farming, which promises to
attain a remarkable development, es-
pecially in the Middle States, where the
first experiments have resulted most au-
spiciousIy and have excited general at
tention. Philadelphia North american.