The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1888-12-20
BuFFALo BREEDING,

Hon. T.. J. Jones, Of Garden City,
Familiarity known TO Kansas as
Buffalo Jones'" aud the owner Of
the only herd of domesticated
buffalo IN the world, was In the city
last night aud registered at the
Copeland, where = reporter called
on him aud piled him with numer-
Gus questions in regard to buffalo
breeding. In return he impaired
some valuable information concern
ing his business, which will prove
of more than passing interest to the
general reader.
How many full-blOOded bufTaloes
have you ?" was asked.
81 have I2I full bloOds, about hall
bulls aud half cows"
How many eross-breeds have
you?'
"Twenty-three ranging One-haIf,
three-fOurths. seyen-eights and
fifteen-sixteenth.'
Are there any buffalOes remain
ing I'm q wild state"
There NAV he n few isolated
ones, but they are in the mountains
and are exceedingly hard to find.
DO you breed them for beef or
rObes?n
have only slaughtered one
observation-disclosures buffalo, 3 years
old. He dressed 80 pounds.
sold the meat for II cents per pound,
and the robe for tI5, undressed.
raise them for breeding purposes"
what Is the weight Of = full
grown buffalo,
Bulls will weigh from 2,OOO to
5000 pounds; cows, I'D to ,S00,
cross breeds are much heavier than
full-blOOds."
Can they be kept under feuce >"
"les; although the bulls are
sometimes unruly during the sum
mer seasons, and need stronger
fences than cattle; otherwise they
are about the same as cattle"
Anything that cattle will live on
will fatten buffalo or crOss-breeds,
and they will keep on proVender
that cattle would starve TO death
on"
"ls the meat Of the buffalo as
tough rs the wild ones used to be-"
The wild buffalo knew nothing
but to exert his muscles in running
and roaming over the plains, which
made his flesh exceedingly tough.
The domestic 10 ~ tender rs any
domestic beef"
How are the crOss-breeds for
milk ="
"As far - tried two cases they
give fair qpanity, and 1t 10 very
rich. The calves show up extraOr-
binary, which proves their good
qualities"
DO you cross domestic COW with
the buffalo bull, or vice versa"
The buffalo COW Was never known
to get with calf from domestic bulls,
though often served; crsss breeds
calves readily from domestic bulls
as well as from buffalo bulls. The
half breeders are procured by cross
ing domestic cows with buffalo
bulls"
To what age do buffalo live"
The Ouly case that has been tried,
that | know Of, WAS in Kentucky
The buffalo lived to be - years old,
and was killed at that age"
Are your buffalo dOmesticated 80
that they can he handled like
| cattle"
Yes, just the same"
Would you sell q car load OF buf-
falo, mostly bulls ready for service ."
81 would not sell any females, i
would sell few bulls, but not a ear
load"
Would you sell any OF your half
breeds; and IL so how much for
bull, say one year old >"
al have no crosses for sale before
the fall 81 1889"
do the crosses have the hump
aud shaggy neck and shoulders of
the buffalo,"
The hump almost disappears In
half breeds but shows more prOmi-
nently as they get near the buffalo.
| The shaggy neck and shoulders are
not recognized In half aud three
quarter breeds. The fur IL evenly
spread all over: IL very thick and
compact and IL q great Improvement
on the full blood buffalo robe"
do the cross breeds drift with q
storm as do cattle, and do they
scatter easily"
THE crosses take the instinct Of
the buffalo and always stand and
face the storms-even the seyerest
billiards, when the Thermometer
ranges al sixty degrees below zero.
They are very clannIsh, and never
separate except the old bulls leave
the herd when whipped out by
younger ones"
Where do you expect q market
for buffalo and cross breed robes >"
"All over the world where the
thermometer reaches zero. The fur
bearing animals are virtuallay gone.
The Hudson Bay Fur company sre
iisbandinR their forces because
there are no furs 20 buy.
and furs are OF as much
value a. pure gold"
What class Of cattle crossed with
buffalo would you recommend
THE Galloway or Polled Angus
by all means. The hslf-breeds are
choice for meat and have an excel
lent rube. The three-quarter and
seven-eigbths have q robe rs choice
as the seal skin, and are the exact
color. My honest opinion is they
will sell Sc well for ladies' coats as
the genuine seal skin. I have
named them the seal Buffalo" !
have twelve head and would not
take less than 5000 each for the
bd 81 ones"
Would you sell your herd Of huff
buffalo and half-breeds to Q sydi-
cate and II so about what would lie
your best figures"
Yes, | would sell, but my figures
would scare you so badly fear you
would never recover. ! might sell
one-half interest to . company or
individual, ut what I would consider
fair figures, hut would not sell unless
IcOuld nave the management Of the